Review: Burned by Amity Hope

Lanna is trying to run away from her past. When her best friend, Holly, invited her to visit the small, coastal town of Harmony Bay, Lanna decided to take her up on the offer. In fact, she loved Harmony Bay so much she decided to stay.

Jake is no stranger to secrets, lies, and manipulation. He’s been dealt more than his fair share of each. He’s sworn off women indefinitely. But there’s something about the girl rooming with his friend, Max. He just can’t shake the thoughts of her out of his head.

Will the two of them be able to work through the complications of their pasts? Or are they just setting themselves up to be burned again? 

Please note: This is a spin-off of Ditched. It can absolutely be read as a stand-alone.



4 Stars 

Review by Lisa Kane 

Lanna Hartman is living in Harmony Bay with her best friend Holly Hannigan and her boyfriend Max. (their story was told in Ditched) She loves it there and although she came out for a visit, she has no intentions of returning to Minnesota. She's working at a real estate office and she's confidant she'll be able to study for her realtor's license soon. When she left, her relationship with her mother was strained at best. Her mom likes men and marriage. It's staying married to her husbands that gives her problems. But Lanna has another reason for refusing to go back; one that involves her old boyfriend Kyle and her embarrassment and shame. 

I recalled what Kyle had done to me. What I'd made it so easy for him to do. I slammed the glass down on the counter with a growl of frustration. I had held it all in for so long. 

Lanna's sworn off getting involved with men right now. But she will admit to herself that she has a bit of a crush on Max's friend Jake Thompson. He's quiet, smart and knows what he wants. He's trying to keep his life drama free. Some truths came out recently that caused his family to turn their back on him and his fiancee to break off their engagement. He is struggling to finish his last year at college and just scored an impressive internship. One that can make or break his future career. 

He was over six feet of male perfection. He was completely uninterested in me and that was just perfect too. I'd sworn off guys indefinitely and he made it easy to keep that vow. 

When Lanna stays back from a visit home she has Max and Holly's house to herself. What she doesn't know is that Jake had plans to stay in that house for the next week. Staying in the same house will give these two lots of opportunities to get to know each other back. Seems Lanna's crush on Jake is shared by Jake's interest in her. 

This is for the most part a sweet story with just a touch of drama. Scheming ex;s have a way of popping up and making trouble. Lanna is a good person with great intentions, but she oversteps herself and is about to create a huge gap in her relationship with Jake. Both of them have are trying to keep their heads above water-will they sink or will they swim? 

"You need some time to cool off."
"What I need, he said coldly, "is for you to back the hell off."

Right about now I'm not liking Jake right now. I can see that Lanna might have overstepped herself, but Jake acted like a total ass. I just might have made him grovel a little but I guess that was for Lanna to decide. 

Burned is a sweet story that ties in nicely with the characters from the first book.