“𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪｡ 𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙄 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪｡”
♥Book Review♥
📚Burn by Nia Myst
I don't have enough vocabulary to define my obsession with Nia Myst' — “Burn”. But here I am to yap anyway because I just can't shut up about it now! So this was my first read by author Nia Myst and I am officially a fan 😌utterly consumed by the way she wrote this book and its characters!! The plot, the twist, the world building and emotional depth this book holds while still holding onto its dark elements is impressive. This is one of those books where I swooned, blushed and got emotional altogether!
The story follows Tara Soni, our FMC who is a vigilante with the code name ' Shadow panther' in ‘WildCats'— An all women vigilante group that delivers justice to women who have been abused and failed by legal system. Tara is an acid attack survivor herself, the incident leaving half of her face scarred and insecure enough to hide behind a mask. Then we have our MMC - Knox Steele—A lieutenant with an antisocial personality disorder - ' A psycho ' in other words hiding behind the prestigious image of a diligent Cop. As Tara and Wildcats keep clearing criminals off his streets, Knox notices and starts connecting the dots to the presence of a vigilante in city. Vowing to capture the criminal who dared to steal his prey, Knox immediately becomes fascinated with Tara after their first encounter and fight. What follows is a deadly game of cat and mouse as they both stalk and keep playing with one another and soon they'll realize— some burns ignite a fire instead of leaving just scars....
What really stood out to me about Tara and Knox is that even though Knox is a psychopath who does not understand normal human emotions- both are each other's anchor. The chemistry between them feels sexy, electric yet healthy. Their obsession never feels toxic or dubious and gives way to care, respect and a satisfying dark devotion. I loved how Knox became even more obsessed with Tara after seeing her scars and how his fixation gradually built steady confidence in Tara.
Tara isn't just a strong FMC but epitome of resilience and strength to all survivors who are still holding onto their broken pieces. She feels real so does her pain and struggles surrounding her scars. Author has made her healing feel painfully real. The topic of her trauma is handled with sensitivity and it shows - how the victim feels and how difficult it is to look in the mirror and see the aftermath of someone's cruelty on their skin.
My heart broke for Tara— I found myself getting emotional whenever she recalled her suffering and felt insecure! I am so glad that Knox found Tara 😭 and that the fact he loves her so much she forgets her scars and feels beautiful again.
The found family trope is splendidly done here, I loved Wildcats - each of them felt like family rather than just side characters- Sloane and Sami are two of my favorite characters Along with Shadow -Tara's doberman baby and knox's initial headache ( or should I say leg ache 😉). Each interaction between him and Knox was hilarious and cute 😘
Knox Steele feels like the perfect dark romance MMC- his thoughts are obsessive, possessive and sometimes borderline violent- a side which he usually keeps to himself and yet beneath it all is a man who loves and cares for his people intensely. His devotion, care and obsession towards Tara is absolutely swoon- worthy! This man knows what he wants and he does not hesitate to show it. Even with his darkness, his relation with his brother and mom adds such a softness to his character. Yes, this is one of those books where MMC' parents and siblings are not only mentioned but hold a positive presence in his life. ( again impressive) He cleans, he cooks and brings her rose EVERY SINGLE day while taking her dog out for a walk. Like how can I not Love this man!? Hands down one of the best book boyfriends I've ever read about 🙌
Throughout the book, I was hooked and spectacularly invested in the story. In the last few chapters, I was a MESS of emotions. I FELT Knox's desperation for Tara ( 😭 This man! ) and that makes this book so much more than just any other spicy dark romance. Yes, there's spice but it does not overshadow the plot - something which a lot of dark romances forget but ' Burn' really stood up to it. There's plot— action, suspense, romance with emotional elements perfectly balanced together.
Overall, I LOVED this book and I am completely, Pathetically, Irrevocably in love with Knox and Tara and their baby Shadow and will not hear any word against them ( 😤) If you enjoy dark romances where both characters are obsessed with each other without toxicity, heartwarming found family vibe, a strong FMC and MMC that would burn down the world for his girl, Then ' Burn' is the best of the best you can ever pick. If you do not like this, I'll definitely judge your reading taste 🙃 and if you do love this, then bestie same!
