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breezy610's review against another edition
5.0
I really like these stories. I hope writes more with Jackson and Gianna.
kaitiecakes's review against another edition
3.0
When I was reading the first part of this book I was thinking this book is boring I don’t know if I can finish it. Then the second part happened and it woke me up and got me really interested in reading it. I loved Jaxs character, im not really sure why but I did.
kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
The complete story in this two-parter: afterburn | aftershock with the couple focus on Gia Rossi and Jax Rutledge.
My Take
I had read afterburn when it first came out and have re-read it here to remind myself. I still like that Gia is working so hard to keep Jax in the only-sleep-with column. And, lol, I like that Jax is so desperate for her that he's honest.
He's so honest that you begin to see through his self-hatred. But he's also good at the non-answers. Gia is determined on what she wants too. She wants someone who will love her, support her. She won't accept his behavior.
I can't help it. I love Gia. She won't accept bullshit nor will she suffer fools or bitches.
It's an interesting and exciting read, and while I love the HEA ending, it also pushes it back into that particular trope. I know, I'm being a weaselly hypocrite, except that Day was doing so very well in creating a strong yet honest woman. I guess I shouldn't complain since the ending does have its own slight twist.
The Story
The love of Gia's life comes back into her life like a storm, blowing Gia off course, even as he screws her over in every way you can imagine.
The Characters
Gianna "Gia" Rossi is doing what she loves best: helping people achieve greater than they desired in the cooking world. Denise — she's pregnant and has her own beauty parlor — is married to Gia's brother, Angelo. Vincent and Nico are her other brothers; they and their parents, Giovanni and Mona Rossi, are very involved in the restaurants.
The wealthy Jackson "Jax" Rutledge is his family's troubleshooter, fixing their problems. Parker is his demanding father, although surprisingly, he appears to be a faithful husband. Regina is his second wife. Allison Rutledge is Jax's bitch of a cousin-in-law, a real deal-breaker who's married to Ted, and he's making a mayoral bid.
Lei Yeung is Gianna's boss at Savor, Inc. where chefs are turned into name brands. Chad Williams, Inez, and David Lee are the chefs with whom Lei and Gia made the deal with Mondego.
Ian Pembry is Lei's ex-boyfriend, the guy who screwed her over — and we do learn what happened.
Deanna Johnson is a news reporter with whom Vincent had once slept. Lynn is Gia's friend from her Vegas days, the one who consoled her throughout their first break-up. Gretchen is the Rutledge family stylist.
The Cover
The cover is a spattered black and white background with glittering golden platform heels with a peep-toe and orange soles.
The title is both the afterburn they both feel as well as the aftershock they reel through in the second half.
My Take
I had read afterburn when it first came out and have re-read it here to remind myself. I still like that Gia is working so hard to keep Jax in the only-sleep-with column. And, lol, I like that Jax is so desperate for her that he's honest.
He's so honest that you begin to see through his self-hatred. But he's also good at the non-answers. Gia is determined on what she wants too. She wants someone who will love her, support her. She won't accept his behavior.
"Well, now you can have your life and me---when I'm in the mood."
I can't help it. I love Gia. She won't accept bullshit nor will she suffer fools or bitches.
It's an interesting and exciting read, and while I love the HEA ending, it also pushes it back into that particular trope. I know, I'm being a weaselly hypocrite, except that Day was doing so very well in creating a strong yet honest woman. I guess I shouldn't complain since the ending does have its own slight twist.
The Story
The love of Gia's life comes back into her life like a storm, blowing Gia off course, even as he screws her over in every way you can imagine.
The Characters
Gianna "Gia" Rossi is doing what she loves best: helping people achieve greater than they desired in the cooking world. Denise — she's pregnant and has her own beauty parlor — is married to Gia's brother, Angelo. Vincent and Nico are her other brothers; they and their parents, Giovanni and Mona Rossi, are very involved in the restaurants.
The wealthy Jackson "Jax" Rutledge is his family's troubleshooter, fixing their problems. Parker is his demanding father, although surprisingly, he appears to be a faithful husband. Regina is his second wife. Allison Rutledge is Jax's bitch of a cousin-in-law, a real deal-breaker who's married to Ted, and he's making a mayoral bid.
Lei Yeung is Gianna's boss at Savor, Inc. where chefs are turned into name brands. Chad Williams, Inez, and David Lee are the chefs with whom Lei and Gia made the deal with Mondego.
Ian Pembry is Lei's ex-boyfriend, the guy who screwed her over — and we do learn what happened.
Deanna Johnson is a news reporter with whom Vincent had once slept. Lynn is Gia's friend from her Vegas days, the one who consoled her throughout their first break-up. Gretchen is the Rutledge family stylist.
The Cover
The cover is a spattered black and white background with glittering golden platform heels with a peep-toe and orange soles.
The title is both the afterburn they both feel as well as the aftershock they reel through in the second half.
kristinreadsalot's review against another edition
1.0
I really wanted to love this book; it had all of the elements I look for in a genre: strong female lead, urban corporate setting, and a confident, powerful love interest. Even with all of those things, the writing just felt flat to me. I did not find myself rooting for the romance or the characters and they were not as multi-faceted as I was hoping they would be. There was so much the author could have done with Gia and her backstory with her family, but instead all we got was lead who acted more like a doormat than a heroine. Jax seemed to have no personality at all other than anger and horniness. There was nothing that made me find him endearing or even likable. Ultimately, there was nothing gripping about the plot or the characters to make me want to continue reading the series.
rellimreads's review against another edition
2.0
Audible Escape. When I went to write this review I noticed that Afterburn & Aftershock are on my “read” shelf from over 3 years ago. At that time I didn’t write detailed reviews and I barely recognize this story ~ so I can’t say what I thought then or why I finished it.
First ~ this is NOT two books for one credit. These are two novellas (short ones at that) that together barely count as a complete book.
Second ~ Amy McFaddon. I don’t know what is going on here. I own 20 books with her as the narrator and have listened to more via Overdrive. She’s always been great. I *think* the issue is that Gia is described as having an Brooklyn accent that comes and goes. So that’s what McFadden does. Unfortunately, it’s incredibly distracting and as a listener I just become stuck trying to figure out what’s going on with that horrible accent.
Third ~ Gia, Gia, Gia. You admit that Jax dated you for 5 weeks then disappeared for no reason and with no contact for two years. Now he comes along and wants to start back up, says he can’t/won’t give you more than sex, *might* explain what happened before but not until you have sex at least a few more times, etc. Why are you putting up with this?
Fourth ~ Jax. You say you missed her, nothing you’ve done proves it. You say she’s perfect, yet you’re vague and won’t even try to commit. Vague. I guess it’s supposed to be mysterious and intriguing, but it’s infuriating and borders on emotional abuse/manipulation.
Obviously this is all from Gia’s POV, but nothing has happened in the first 35% of this book to make me root for this couple.
I would have demanded a refund if I spent a credit on this and even “free” on Audible Escape, I can’t force myself to finish it.
First ~ this is NOT two books for one credit. These are two novellas (short ones at that) that together barely count as a complete book.
Second ~ Amy McFaddon. I don’t know what is going on here. I own 20 books with her as the narrator and have listened to more via Overdrive. She’s always been great. I *think* the issue is that Gia is described as having an Brooklyn accent that comes and goes. So that’s what McFadden does. Unfortunately, it’s incredibly distracting and as a listener I just become stuck trying to figure out what’s going on with that horrible accent.
Third ~ Gia, Gia, Gia. You admit that Jax dated you for 5 weeks then disappeared for no reason and with no contact for two years. Now he comes along and wants to start back up, says he can’t/won’t give you more than sex, *might* explain what happened before but not until you have sex at least a few more times, etc. Why are you putting up with this?
Fourth ~ Jax. You say you missed her, nothing you’ve done proves it. You say she’s perfect, yet you’re vague and won’t even try to commit. Vague. I guess it’s supposed to be mysterious and intriguing, but it’s infuriating and borders on emotional abuse/manipulation.
Obviously this is all from Gia’s POV, but nothing has happened in the first 35% of this book to make me root for this couple.
I would have demanded a refund if I spent a credit on this and even “free” on Audible Escape, I can’t force myself to finish it.
kckburns's review against another edition
4.0
Quick read. Really enjoyed it like I do most of Sylvia's books. I would recommend it
lmmountford's review against another edition
4.0
Have you ever read Miss Day's Bared to you? If so, you'll love these short stories. If not, it's a great introduction to Miss Day's work.
This story is kind of a shorter, more light-hearted version of her Crossfire Series, just with less sex and Over Top Drama and shorter than any one of those books.Great for a light-hearted Summer read.
This story is kind of a shorter, more light-hearted version of her Crossfire Series, just with less sex and Over Top Drama and shorter than any one of those books.Great for a light-hearted Summer read.
ameserole's review against another edition
3.0
I think they were new York accents... and it kind of reminded me of my family.. which also ended up annoying me at the same time? I don't know.. I blame work, again.
Afterburn & Aftershock was an interesting audio to listen to yesterday. The main character kind of reminded me of one of my aunts.. once she started talking in her "normal" accent. In it, you will meet Gianna and Jackson. They used to date.. or sleep with each other.. or something like that. Then they actually started to sleep with one another. It was definitely a second chance at love, if you ask me.
Now they had some "drama" in this book that I guess could be called interesting (in a way) but it was predictable and kind of boring to listen to. I just feel like it was mostly drawn out and I kind of just wanted them to admit that they loved each other, get married, and have lots of babies.
Eventually that happened and they also started to grow on me. The ending was cute enough that it left me satisfied but I'm mostly happy that it's over. On to the next book..
Afterburn & Aftershock was an interesting audio to listen to yesterday. The main character kind of reminded me of one of my aunts.. once she started talking in her "normal" accent. In it, you will meet Gianna and Jackson. They used to date.. or sleep with each other.. or something like that. Then they actually started to sleep with one another. It was definitely a second chance at love, if you ask me.
Now they had some "drama" in this book that I guess could be called interesting (in a way) but it was predictable and kind of boring to listen to. I just feel like it was mostly drawn out and I kind of just wanted them to admit that they loved each other, get married, and have lots of babies.
Eventually that happened and they also started to grow on me. The ending was cute enough that it left me satisfied but I'm mostly happy that it's over. On to the next book..
laura_devouring_books_crumpets's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly the Book is Moreish.... Sylvia days writing is exceptional as allways....
Why 3 stars?
I could not stand the characters.....
Gia - she seems to always be looking for confrontation... and has no Patience.... Jax is her ex she was with for 5 weeks... I have had longer relationship with a bottle of gin than that..... They get back together and she wants they whole shebang all his secrets... and as his not willing to divulge she asks a journalist.... i mean WTF
Jax - He has dozens of secrets and acts in Bizarre ways, i couldn't understand him.... He goes from Full on stalking to distancing himself for weeks on end for something he could have done with her... it was all a bit confusing....
Still the Author set the stage - the familiy's and side characters perfectly i loved the rowdy Italian Family and then the stuck up Political one - Oil and water but they worked!!!!
Why 3 stars?
I could not stand the characters.....
Gia - she seems to always be looking for confrontation... and has no Patience.... Jax is her ex she was with for 5 weeks... I have had longer relationship with a bottle of gin than that..... They get back together and she wants they whole shebang all his secrets... and as his not willing to divulge she asks a journalist.... i mean WTF
Jax - He has dozens of secrets and acts in Bizarre ways, i couldn't understand him.... He goes from Full on stalking to distancing himself for weeks on end for something he could have done with her... it was all a bit confusing....
Still the Author set the stage - the familiy's and side characters perfectly i loved the rowdy Italian Family and then the stuck up Political one - Oil and water but they worked!!!!
wallflowerreader_l's review against another edition
2.0
Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. I couldn't connect to the characters at all. I found their arguments repetitive,the same things kept happening again and again.
This wasn't what I thought the story would be like so I'm a bit disappointed.
This wasn't what I thought the story would be like so I'm a bit disappointed.