My Ramblings on Slow Burn by EB Walters

Slow Burn
By E.B. Walters
Release Date: May 1, 2011
Author Website
Blog Tour Hosted By: Forbidden Reviews


Summary:

She doesn’t want to deal with the past...

Ten years ago, Ashley Fitzgerald witnessed the death of her parents in a tragic fire and blocked the memory. She pretends to have moved on, is a successful artist and photographer, until the morning she opens her door to a stranger she assumes is a model and asks him to strip to his briefs .

He wants to expose the truth....

Wealthy businessman Ron Noble has the body, the jet, the fast cars and the women, but he hides a deadly secret. His father started the fire that killed Ashley’s parents. Now someone is leaving him clues that could exonerate his father and they lead to Ashley’s door. Blindsided by the blazing attraction between them and a merciless killer silencing anyone who was there the night of the fire, Ron dare not tell Ashley the truth. Yet the answer he seeks may very well tear them apart.

While a demented arsonist...SLOW BURN(s)...and plots his ultimate revenge

My Ramblings:

When I saw this book come up for blog tour I was interested right away. Based the summary I recieved (the same one provided here) I wanted to know more. Slow Burn combines some elements that I like- action, mystery and romance. I liked the idea that there are two people, Ron and Ashley, who are still realing from the loss of family members (in the same fire), and who both want answers. I was really intrigued by how their relationship would work, because they are, at the very heart of it, using eachother for their own ends. Still, when you are dealing with really personal issues, like love and loss and family, and you find someone who really understands how you feel, it's hard to not form a bond. So how would that play out? You are working with eachother, but agaist eachother. You are using eachother, but are drawn to eachother. It could be really interesting stuff.

Unfortunately there was alot about this book that didn't work for me. I had to reread several passages to make sure I had the plot right and the character relationships right. Even after a few re-reads I wasn't entirely sure I knew what was going on. There were also a lot of secrets floating around and there were times when I'd notice that the secret had been revealed to the characters, but not ot the reader. It wasn't anything earth shattering, but it was enough to take me out of the story and that's never a good thing.

I'm generally forgiving on errors in books, and with an ARC (which this was) I'm even more so. I expect a few mishaps here and there and for the most part ignore them. However, here, the errors were to plentiful to ignore. The book was riddled with grammar, formatting and spelling issues, so many that I found it hard to get into a groove with this story. I assume that these will all be cleaned up in the final published copy, but I felt it worth noting here because these issues directly impacted my overall feelings on this book, and I'd be remiss if I didn't explain myself clearly on all fronts.

So, in the end how is this book? I'd say that it's has a good concept and plot idea. I honestly feel like the story could do with a good once over and some clarifying and tightening up, and the technical issues absolutely have to be fixed for it to really have a chance.