70 reviews for:

Burn It Down

Jillian D. Wray

3.84 AVERAGE

littleredbook's review

3.5

emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

keeperofthetrees's review

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writing wasn't clicking with me

reading_with_april's review

5.0

challenging emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

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“How do I explain that Dylan Ryder was never a choice. From the moment I saw him, a change took place in me at a cellular level. My very DNA changed, unwilling to accept that I was the best version of myself without him.”

“Sometimes the only way to get the life you want is to burn the life you have to the ground.”

Tropes
🔥MM romance
🔥Cheating (not on each other)
🔥Found family
🔥Billionaire x Mechanic
🔥Forbidden romance
🔥Opposite side of the tracks

I went into this book completely blindly and really only read it because I loved the cover (the cover on Goodreads isn't the actual cover). Right away I fell in love with Dylan and Jake and just knew I was going to devour their story. Their story grabbed at me and never let go, but what I didn’t expect was the suspense part of the book which just made me love it even more. It certainly had some twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting and I love how Dylan and Jake stuck with each other and came out on top with their HEA. Spice 🌶️🌶️

_touchmyshelf's review

4.5

emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I am GUSHING. From their first (unhinged) meeting, to the very end… these two had me in a vice. Did I care that Jake closeted himself, and is in a relationship with a woman to get access to his trust fund (because his dad is a horrible human) but then is secretly pining for Dylan? No. I was 100% screaming at him to GO GET HIS MAN! 

What a beautiful love story! Not only was there a fantastic plot, full of twists, suspense, mystery, and delicious spice, but the character development was so beautiful! Dylan especially. Jake is the perfect man. Dylan deserves that perfect man. They deserve all the happiness in the world, and their happily ever after. I am obsessed! I gobbled this up in less than 24 hours. I am itching for the next in the series!

bostonkatreads's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

xenymarie's review

4.0

emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Not all lot of authors manage to pull one over on me, and I gotta say, even though I saw some of it coming, there were other things that I didn't expect at all. Now that I'm done being vague, let's talk a little about the story.

Jake is a billionaire and CFO of his family's company who's been clear about his sexuality since he was a kid, but has been forced to live a lie by his father who threatenes him with taking away everything he's earned unless he marries a woman of his choosing. On the other hand, Dylan is a Mexican-American man who has the love and acceptance of his parents and sister, but his grandfather disowned him, telling him that men don't get on their knees for nobody.

From the moment Jake laid eyes on Dylan he knew that he needed to have this man in his life and he took some extreme measures to make sure he would have to interact with him again even though he thought Dylan was straight. 

Jake and Dylan had a beautiful connection, and once they came to terms with their feelings, they were all in, no matter what, no questions asked. I loved how Jillian presented all the struggles Jake and Dylan had to deal with, both as individuals and as a couple. But in contrast, she also brought some amazing side characters who gave both of them all the support they needed, and some pretty cool cameos who reminded Dylan and Jake that love comes in all shapes and sizes.

Quote: “I guess burning your life down is one way of forcing you to rebuild it. And if you have to rebuild it, it might as well be exactly what you want.”

woeckie03's review

4.5

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4.5 ⭐️ and I ate this book up!  The story between Jake & Dylan had my attention from the start and I was rooting for them so hard!  The spice is delicious, but also the emotional connection they are building with their relationship had me swooning.  Both of them have such big hearts and care for the people they love with everything they have.  Definitely didn't anticipate some of the plot twists, especially that big one, IYKYK!  

What to expect: MM, billionaire x mechanic, found family, BIPOC rep, arranged marriage, living a lie

Thank you so much to Jillian D. Wray for letting me read/review an ARC of this book! All opinions are my own. 

cressthebookdragon's review

5.0

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 

𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟏.𝟐𝟖.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥! 𝘑𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘋 𝘞𝘳𝘢𝘺’𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘔𝘔 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵!

 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘺𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳! 𝘐 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴.

𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘺𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤. 𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦.

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:

𝘔𝘔 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦

𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦

𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦

𝘉𝘪 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘔𝘊

entangledinthepages's review

5.0

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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🖤 MM

🧡 Mexican American rep

🩶 Billionaire MMC

🖤 Mechanic MMC

🧡 Vandalism

🩶 Arranged marriage

🖤 Living a lie

🧡 Abs for days

🩶 Found family

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

My mind is absolutely reeling from this book! Holy smokes. It is everything I was hoping for, and all the things I didn’t know that I needed! Jillian Wray totally blew me away with this story! I love all of her books. She is amazing, period. With this foray into MM, I knew she was going to crush it, but damn. SHE CRUSHED IT. I didn’t want to put it down. I fell head over heels for Jake and Dylan. The story sucked me in from the strategic meeting-cute, to the “I FREAKING KNEW IT!” twist, to the epilogue that left me wanting more. If you don’t pick up any other book this month, hell this year, I need you to pick up this one

There are so many things I want to say about this story but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. Jacob Ellington was living the life his father wanted him to live. Working at his father’s company, on track to marry a beautiful woman who is not only put together, but will bring two powerful families together. Jake’s life is the stuff of fairytales, the ‘perfect life.’ He’s a friggin’ billionaire for goodness sake. But it’s all a lie. Well, working at Ellington Wealth Management, which Jake actually loves and is hella good at, is probably the only real thing. No one know’s that he volunteers for the local fire department several days a week, or that he’s gay. Actually one person knows, and he’s doing everything in his power to keep that information from ever getting out.

Jake runs to the local store to pick up some items for his girlfriend Cora. It’s here that Jake feels an inexorable pull that he’s never felt before. He may or may not be guilty of creating a situation that allows him to meet a certain someone who has caught his eye. From that point on Jake can’t stay away. He wants to live the life he’s always wanted but never thought he could have. His life is about to be burned to the ground, but from this can the life he wants truly be formed from the ashes?

I love everything about this story! It’s fast paced, and the chemistry between Jake and Dylan completely launches itself off the page. Throughout this story our MCs have a lot of soul searching to do, revelations to come to, and they must forge on with the strength and bravery they have in themselves and for each other. This story is sweet, passionate, spicy, loving, powerful, and infuriating (with the BS that is going on behind the scenes). Love is love, and I appreciate so much how Jillian is able to show that throughout this entire story; with the MCs and the supporting characters, well, most of them. Because YOU LOVE WHO YOU LOVE, EFF ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU IT’S WRONG! Ugh. 

Thank you Jillian for another amazing book. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you. Being part of your ARC/Street Team has been such a bright light in my life! I’m so excited for everyone to read this book and to see what’s next for you!

🔧“Just because my life is on a different side of town doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with this one.”

🔥“Unfortunately for me, he reaches back in and grabs a hat and slides it on backwards, putting his sunglasses on before dragging the towel down his wet body. RIP nut sack.”

🔧“I’ve been called to several fires in the three years I’ve been with the department. Only four of them were serious. But sitting on this boat in the sun with Dylan next to me, I can’t help but feel like I’m about to go up in flames. I’m hotter than I’ve ever been under layers of protective gear standing in the mouth of a raging fire. And all I can think is bring on the heat.”

🔥“Dylan,” he pants. “I’m gonna come.” “You’re damn right you are,”

🔧“Until now, there hasn’t been anyone I’d consider imploding my entire life for.”

🔥“Don’t say that. You’ve breathed life into me.”“My only fear is that I’ve done it using breath vital to my own existence.”

🔧“Fuuuuu*k,” he groans. “I’m going to bury myself so far in this a** I’m going to c*me in a different time zone.”

🔥“I guess burning your life down is one way of forcing you to rebuild it. And if you have to rebuild it, it might as well be exactly what you want.”

🔧“Goddamn, I taste good on your tongue,” he tells me, licking his own flavor from my mouth.

🔥“How about we forget about labels and roles and norms and expectations, and we just f*** like two guys in love?”

michelle_loves_books_x's review

5.0

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Jake & Dylan
MM romance
Opposites attract 
Forced Proximity 
Instant Attraction 

Ahhhh I love this!!!!

Jake sees Dylan and has an instant attraction to him! So much so, he purposely causes Dylan to crash into him 🤣

I love the suspense around them both being gay but thinking the other isn't! I was squealing when this was finally revealed!!! 

I loved every second of this book and I devoured it in one sitting! It was too good to put down!!!