laurenjodi's review against another edition
4.0
Burning Alive
4 Stars
Three separate Sentinel races work together to protect humanity from demons known as the Synestryn. Drake Asher is a Theronai warrior who will die if he cannot channel his immense power through the woman destined to be his mate. Now he has found her, but Helen Day wants nothing to do with him as he is the dark-haired man who watches her burn alive in her visions.
First-time author for me and I was not disappointed. Butcher’s writing is smooth and her world-building is imaginative and well-developed. While almost everything about the nature of the Sentinel races is explained throughout the book, there are some tantalizing hints at revelations yet to come.
The primary and secondary characters are skillfully drawn. The characterization is so good that each and every person in the book evokes emotion from me whether amusement, sadness, annoyance or even outright dislike.
The romance is intense and the chemistry between Drake and Helen sizzles. Their remarkable connection drew me right into the story. Helen is a bit too passive and accepting at the start but grows stronger and more determined as the book progresses. Even though she fears everything that Drake represents, she is unwilling to sacrifice others and is ultimately able to overcome her fears when the moment of truth arrives. Drake is fierce, sexy and loyal. He can be overbearing and possessive but this is understandable considering the fact that he has finally found the mate who can help him survive and will do anything to keep her.
The book ends with a compelling twist and I look forward to reading more in the series.
4 Stars
Three separate Sentinel races work together to protect humanity from demons known as the Synestryn. Drake Asher is a Theronai warrior who will die if he cannot channel his immense power through the woman destined to be his mate. Now he has found her, but Helen Day wants nothing to do with him as he is the dark-haired man who watches her burn alive in her visions.
First-time author for me and I was not disappointed. Butcher’s writing is smooth and her world-building is imaginative and well-developed. While almost everything about the nature of the Sentinel races is explained throughout the book, there are some tantalizing hints at revelations yet to come.
The primary and secondary characters are skillfully drawn. The characterization is so good that each and every person in the book evokes emotion from me whether amusement, sadness, annoyance or even outright dislike.
The romance is intense and the chemistry between Drake and Helen sizzles. Their remarkable connection drew me right into the story. Helen is a bit too passive and accepting at the start but grows stronger and more determined as the book progresses. Even though she fears everything that Drake represents, she is unwilling to sacrifice others and is ultimately able to overcome her fears when the moment of truth arrives. Drake is fierce, sexy and loyal. He can be overbearing and possessive but this is understandable considering the fact that he has finally found the mate who can help him survive and will do anything to keep her.
The book ends with a compelling twist and I look forward to reading more in the series.
shan198025's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it. Drake is an alpha who wants his chick and doesn't know why she's scared of him. Helen is "ordinary", but she's having lustful feeling towards a guy she thinks is gonna kill her. After a lot of miscommunication everything gets mostly worked.
lucy_qhuay's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad, but I was expecting a lot better.
Review to come
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't actually expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. It's one of a long line of urban fantasy books where a tortured (and in this case, literally so) hero finds his one, true mate and together they take on the bad guys.
I think what I liked about this was that the ancillary characters had their own stories going on that kept up interest throughout the book even with the whole tried and true "I have to go out on my own and attack the bad guys to save my love" and "I'm not worthy of love" thing that often is found in these kind of books.
I also liked the bad guys, the Synestryn in this world. There are several, yucky, well-described forms the demons can take and the battle scenes were cool.
I'll probably go on and read the next one.
I think what I liked about this was that the ancillary characters had their own stories going on that kept up interest throughout the book even with the whole tried and true "I have to go out on my own and attack the bad guys to save my love" and "I'm not worthy of love" thing that often is found in these kind of books.
I also liked the bad guys, the Synestryn in this world. There are several, yucky, well-described forms the demons can take and the battle scenes were cool.
I'll probably go on and read the next one.
booklvrkat's review against another edition
3.0
I can't decide if I liked this or just kinda liked this story. It was a bit all over the place with the information, and world building. The romance/sex/bonded pair part was hot. I wanted a bit more ... I don't know.... oompf. Something that would drag me kicking and screaming into another series. The story line saved the series, I will continue with it, but not sure when I'll pick up the second.
tkat's review against another edition
5.0
Not as good as I was expecting, coming from the wife of one of my favorite authors, but still enjoyable nonetheless.
This story follows the lives of men called Sentinels in their war against demons, protect humanity behind the yellow curtain and all that jazz.
The thing is these men have an expiration date if they do not find a mate. They have so much power in them to fight these demons that it hurts them and their women act as conduits for that power. The strength of the women lies in throwing around magic spells, while the strength of the men lies more in martial arts. The women siphon off this raw physical energy to fuel their own spells. Only problem is all the Sentinal women were murdered two thousand years ago, leaving the men alone with no ability to procreate and no hope of survival after a certain length of time.
So of course when one of their women are found, all the men around her go crazy for the chance to bond with her and save their lives.
Love the concept of the story, and it was written well. My only problem is the end, when out of nowhere it seems the leader of the demons pops up talking about having a child with someone. What? Where'd you come from, and who are you talking about?
Little bit of a sloppy ending, but interested me enough that I will continue on with the series.
This story follows the lives of men called Sentinels in their war against demons, protect humanity behind the yellow curtain and all that jazz.
The thing is these men have an expiration date if they do not find a mate. They have so much power in them to fight these demons that it hurts them and their women act as conduits for that power. The strength of the women lies in throwing around magic spells, while the strength of the men lies more in martial arts. The women siphon off this raw physical energy to fuel their own spells. Only problem is all the Sentinal women were murdered two thousand years ago, leaving the men alone with no ability to procreate and no hope of survival after a certain length of time.
So of course when one of their women are found, all the men around her go crazy for the chance to bond with her and save their lives.
Love the concept of the story, and it was written well. My only problem is the end, when out of nowhere it seems the leader of the demons pops up talking about having a child with someone. What? Where'd you come from, and who are you talking about?
Little bit of a sloppy ending, but interested me enough that I will continue on with the series.
jbsmunky's review against another edition
3.0
I thought it was different and entertaining. Bummed my library does not carry the rest of the series!
raven_acres's review against another edition
4.0
A bit choppy, and the main explanation of Sentinels and such could have been explained a bit earlier in the storyline, IMO, but overall, I didn't find it a bad read. Rolled through it in about 2 hours. And have the other books in this series to dive right in to.
kriff08's review against another edition
3.0
It’s got potential. I got into the beginning but then wandered off a bit towards the middle/end, characters are ok and romance to action fairly balanced for this kind of read. However I very much disagreed with the Thomas event and that had me setting the book aside for a few, not sure who thinks no training will yield anything resembling success. Overall pretty entertaining and a nice change from the usual go-to’s of the genre, I probably will give the next book a shot.