Bloomsbury Australia

Burning by Danielle Rollins

Pages: 343
Publish date: April 16 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury Australia
ISBN: 9781408869956
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks 

Burning:

I received a review copy of Burning by Danielle Rollins for review from Bloomsbury Australia in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

As soon as I read the synopsis for Burning, I knew that I needed to read it. It sounded like something that was going to take me on an adventure and leave me hanging, page after page and it did do that – just not in the way that I expected it.

Burning follows protagonist Angela Davis a few months before her release from her 3 year juvie sentence. She will finally be free from Brunesfield Correctional Facility and able to be with her young brother again – but then ten year old Jessica arrives and everything seems to turn on its head. Strange things start to happen when Jessica is around, new people arrive and it’s no longer safe…for anyone.

Overall, Angela was an easy protagonist to get along with. There were times where she annoyed me, but that was mainly with her not telling us why she was in Juvie for so long and when the truth came out…it was anticlimactic. I loved Angela’s drive to be there for her brother, which is what kept her going all those years.

I like the friendships that Angela builds over the three years and she is not some loner who keeps to herself. I liked that no one was even that close, but they were still there for each other.

One thing I didn’t like about Angela was how quickly she believed in things. She was told things and bam it was true, I also wasn’t a massive fan of how fast she was manipulated – however, because of the setting – I think it worked.

I loved the setting of Burning. It’s very rare that you see a book set in juvie in young adult and I cannot think of any off the top of my head. So in that aspect it was unique. I was intrigued with how the system works, how they were treated and just how long some of the characters had been there.

I quite liked the romance in Burning. It was sweet and didn’t overtake the story. There were just little hints of it here and there. I wasn’t 100% convinced by how it all worked, however, I liked the slow burn of the romance. Plus the guy was very adorable.  

Although I liked a few things in Burning, the pace of the book brought it down. Burning was really slow, and at times I was quite bored. I wanted to skip pages and get to the interesting parts that make my heart skip a beat.

Another thing about Burning that was confusing was the genre, I felt Danielle Rollins was trying to throw so much stuff in that it confused the story. It was a thriller, crime, horror (of sorts), supernatural and I could go on. I hadn’t read a Danielle Rollins book before Burning so I don’t know if she does that with her other books.   

The ending of Burning – it was intense. You had no idea what to believe, what was going to happen next. The last 100 pages or so, I kept reading and reading. Turning page after page. I need the second book as soon as I can get it.

Overall, I enjoyed Burning. Was is a bad book? No. Is it my favourite? No. Will I read the next book in this series? Yes. Burning reminds us that not everyone is who they seem on the outside, or even who you think them to be, sometimes you need to trust your instincts and run.  

Just a think before I finish – I really don’t like the Australian cover, the US cover just works so well with the book.

Have you read Burning? Did you enjoy it? Are you going to read it? Have you read anything else by Danielle Rollins? Let’s Chat!