Afterburn by Sylvia Day | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

Making changes was my responsibility. Having a great guy was just a bonus. 

Everyone knows that Sylvia Day is the queen and one of the only romance authors I can stand. Afterburn has been on my radar for a long fucking time, I just hadn't gotten around to it until now--and now that I have, I'm kind of glad I waited so long. Afterburn has all the makings of a stellar Sylvia Day story--it's "I want to rip my clothes off" levels of sexy; the chemistry so off the charts... I'm pretty sure the chart itself was set on fire. Gia and Jax are basically fire in the form of a couple (or in this case a pairing) and longtime readers are going to appreciate the good old fashioned heat that follows.

Day really knows how to grip her readers with her chemistry and there's just this overall thrilling tone to everything she writes. It can't be replicated. I did love Afterburn for what it was and found myself lusting for Jax right along for Gia. Which is a short story--one of two--and that does show. So much of Afterburn felt rushed and like an unfinished thought. I wanted to know so much more about Gia and Jax as characters. I wanted to know about their pasts--together and apart. I wanted to know about the timeline that takes place after chapter one and before chapter two.


That was lackluster and a bit disappointing. You know?


Especially compared to how fleshed out other stories of hers are compared to this one. Now. This isn't a bad thing in the least. On the contrary, I enjoyed Afterburn a hell of a lot and wish it hadn't ended where it did. I will be checking out part two. It just doesn't hold up as well as Day's other works like the breathtaking Crossfire series. Because it's a short story it just isn't as developed as her other works and the pacing isn't always there. As a one off, it's certainly a good romp and will give you girls a thing or two to fantasize about.

I do feel like it has a problem with its footing at times but it's really, really fun and overall something that fans will appreciate between novels. It's a quick read that will have your temperature rising and has the seal of Sylvia Day front and center. If that's not enough of a reason to pick it up, I can't sway you.