I’m one of the lucky people that didn’t have to wait any time between finishing up The Beautiful Ashes and picking up book two in the Broken Destiny series, The Sweetest Burn. Following sheltered, optimistic twenty-year-old Ivy, who is the last descendant of David and is destined to gather three divine weapons that can vanquish demons, as she works alongside Adrian, the last descendant of Judas–who also happens to have been raised by demons, this installment picks up a few months after Ivy wielded the mystical slingshot to decimate an entire dark realm of demons and their minions while rescuing her sister.

Ivy and Adrian’s relationship seems doomed from the start, especially since he’s fated to betray her as a long line of his ancestors have betrayed hers over and over again. Adrian is determined to beat fate–as Ivy was so positive that they could do in book one–even though Ivy told him to stay away from her once she learned that he was actually a prince of a demon realm. She needed time to collect herself, and train both mentally and physically so she’d be strong enough to use the next weapon. But Ivy learns from the angel Zach, who’s been cryptically guiding and helping them on their journey, that she can’t find the staff of Moses without Adrian’s help, so they reluctantly begin to search the world for this mystical relic.

Of course their search won’t be easy when the entire demon world is searching for the last Davidian and their lost demon prince, if only to get their hands on a weapon that can control the atmosphere and so many other things. It’s a race against the clock as more demon realms take over parts of the earth, and innocent humans are trapped inside and forced into slavery.

Ivy has grown since the first book. She’s not so naive to the world after her exposure to demons and angels, and she feels guilty that it’s her fault that her adoptive parents were murdered and her sister was kidnapped by demons. But she knows that she can fight back, although she knows that she can’t fight her feelings for Adrian. He’s her biggest weakness. She thought they’d grown close in the first book, but all of his lies to protect her had the opposite effect and she doesn’t trust him at all. Although she’s just as guilty of telling a few lies or leaving out the truth just to protect the ones she loves, and that happens a lot in The Sweetest Burn.

Adrian is a very different man than he was at the start of the first book. He seems to care about more than just himself, and he’s not as cruel and callous. You get to see so much more than the superficial, and I really enjoyed digging deeper into his character. What he thought was once an unescapable destiny now looks like something that he can use to his advantage and to Ivy’s benefit as well. We learn so much more about Adrian and his childhood in this book, and I only hope that we get this kind of treatment for Ivy in the third and final book.

Ivy’s sister Jasmine and Adrian’s friend Costa are along for the road trip this time, and while I enjoyed Costa as much as I did in the first book, Jasmine was quite annoying. Sure, she was traumatized from her stint in the demon realm, but she was quite the bitch a lot of the time. I think my favorite character was Brutus, Adrian’s pet gargoyle that was set to guard Ivy while he was away. I didn’t know that I could love a gargoyle so much.

The second book definitely has more of an urban fantasy/paranormal romance feel to it than the first book, which was more geared in a new adultish way and fell a bit flat at times. Jeaniene Frost’s writing is much stronger in the UF/PR genre, and Adrian and Ivy’s relationship really shines once a more adult relationship comes to the forefront in this story.

I give The Sweetest Burn a 4.5 out of 5. Jeaniene Frost seems to have hit her stride with this series, and The Sweetest Burn has found its footing and identity. I really love how the pacing moves along quite nicely throughout–full of action and some hot scenes too, but also with just a few quiet spots within to give our racing hearts a break. Ivy is conflicted about Adrian throughout this book, but he doesn’t stop proving himself to her, and I loved that. At it’s heart, this series is about fate and destiny and whether or not you can fight those two things–and whether or not you really should when it comes to the greater good. I can’t wait for the last book, The Brightest Embers.

The Sweetest Burn is the second book in author Jeaniene Frost’s Broken Destiny series and after reading, and loving, the first book I was so excited to dive into this second installment. Well, let me just say, it was everything I had hoped for any more.
Let me start out by saying that yes, you really should read the first book in the series. I don’t think you’d understand a lot of what was going on with the search Ivy and Adrian are on and you certainly wouldn’t feel the depth of the connections all of these characters have made.
Speaking of the connections and the search…holy moly do things really heat up in this book! Ivy and Adrian are reunited, tumultuously at first, and head of on the search for the second on Ivy’s list of hallowed artifacts that will help her bring balance to the world and the good vs. evil fight. The search for the new item brings Ivy and Adrian even closer when they both realize after too many close calls and brushes with death that they are truly meant to be. I won’t ruin anything for you but let me say, they have a total swoon worthy moment that had me smiling through happy tears.
Now, of course, while all of the reuniting is going on, we are in the middle of the quest for Ivy’s next weapon. That search brings tons of danger and more than a few surprises along the way. Friendships are tested and some family bonds are broken while others are strengthened. There were more than a few “no way” moments during this book as secrets were reveled and I loved it. While I hate being to vague, I certainly don’t want to spoil this story for you so you have to trust me when I tell you that it was phenomenal.
This series is filled with characters I adore, especially Brutus, and a journey that has me glued to each page. I cannot wait to see what happens next with Ivy, Adrian, and the gang. I’ll be anxiously awaiting the next installment! Thank you, Ms. Frost, for another fabulous read!

The Sweetest Burn is the long awaited second book in the Broken Destiny series. From what I understand there has been three years between the first book, The Beautiful Ashes and this one. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait that long between books having only just recently read the first one (my review). You should definitely read this series in order. There is a lot of world building that goes on in the first book that isn't completely covered in the second. The second book picks up a short time after the events of the first book and takes off running. So, just be advised, this one isn't a stand alone and you might get some spoilers by reading this one first.

That being said, Ivy and Adrian must team up once again to find the second hallowed weapon. The embark on a road trip with Costa, Jasmine and Brutus (who I love) to track it down. I enjoyed this installment. I loved the chemistry between Ivy and Adrian even more than in the first book. It was definitely hotter this time around. I felt like I got to know their characters better and found myself really rooting for their doomed relationship. Aside from the romance playing a bigger part in this book, it's once again filled with a lot of demon fighting action. This book flew by because I was kept engaged all the way through. I couldn't put it down. As with the first book, the final scenes were among my favorites.

So far, this is a great series and one I highly recommend. The conclusion to the series, The Brightest Embers is slated to be released in November 2017. It's definitely on my TBR pile already.

The Sweetest Burn is the 2nd installment in Jeaniene Frost’s New Adult fantasy series-Broken Destiny. Book one-Beautiful Ashes– introduced us to a multi-dimensional world filled with demons and angels preparing for war and the one person who can save us. Destiny and the Bible claims that Ivy, the last Davidian, is the only hope humans have to beat back the demons who are readying to inherit the world. She meets and falls in love with a half demon prince who comes to help her train for what’s coming only to reveal at the end that he is the last Judian and like the original Judas, it is his destiny to betray her. At the end of book one, Ivy commands Adrian to leave her and he does, leaving us to wonder what now?

The Sweetest Burn opens with Ivy angry that Adrian left her and stayed away with no communication or begging to be with her. He does come back though, declaring his love for her and determined to prove he will defy their destiny and not betray her. Ivy is on the fence but willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Zach, their middle man to heaven, alerts them to the second hallowed artifact and sets them on their course. They need to find the second artifact before the demons do as it is the one item that can stop the walls between the demon and human realms from collapsing.

Frost’s voice definitely seems louder and more settled in this installment. I found the pacing smoother and the characterization stronger though the story still dragged in places. We seem to still dealing with the same issues from book one though we do get more explanations this time around. Ivy and Adrian make peace and decide to deal with their attraction and everything else later as they begin their journey to find the second hallowed relic-the staff of Moses. This leads them on a worldwide adventure that offers readers more insight into the reasons behind the war and those that are a part of it. The story remains relatively laid back until the last quarter when the action, suspense, and intrigue explodes.

Ivy and Adrian continue to evolve, developing individually and as a couple. Ivy remains her tough, courageous, and snarky self though she whines more and makes some questionable decisions in here. What bothered me about Ivy in here is she instantly realizes the things she is doing are wrong and then a few chapters later does it again. I did appreciate that she continues to question everything. But… why she hasn’t sat down and brushed up on her bible studies? Frost really opens up Adrian more in here and I feel readers definitely get to know him better. I like his commitment to Ivy and their relationship though he still isn’t being 100% honest with Ivy. The use of a dual POV certainly helps. Book one felt more like Ivy’s book while this one is definitely a joint venture.

Chemistry wise, the passion and attraction between Ivy and Adrian is more intense and focused this go around though the soulmate/destiny issue remains iffy for me. On one hand, it allows Frost to gloss over the development of the romance-sort of a cheater in my opinion-but on the other hand, it does give us a weighted romantic conflict that works well in here. As it is right now, the physical attraction is still the strongest feature of this romance. Also, the story still has a distinct YA sound and feel to it; even with the racy scenes. Its disconcerting at times.

Frost continues to expand her character base, adding personality and essentially ‘humanizing’ those considered not human. We finally learn what is the motivation Zach’s and Demetrius’s actions and it’s definitely going to make things more interesting in the end. I am enjoying the religious direction Frost takes here and in the overall premise though, as this series is heavily character driven, we only learn what the protagonists tell us which leaves you in the dark at times. Free will remains an important feature that the book uses to answer or avoid answering certain questions and situations.

Once again, there is a small cliffhanger at the end but nothing too major. While I did find this installment more stable and developed then book one, I still wasn’t as engaged as I would have liked to have been. All in all this is a quick read that basically delivers what it promises without much fanfare or expectations on my part.

Grade: C

The Sweetest Burn was a long time coming. It took me awhile to bring the happenings of Beautiful Ashes into play since it was 3 years ago this series debuted but I feel that THE SWEETEST BURN can stand on its own.

The Sweetest Burn leaves off a few months after The Beautiful Ashes ended. Ivy, her sister and a gargoyle disguised as a seagull are all living in Florida near the beach. Ivy is wondering what the heck has happened to Adrian, since he’s just disappeared from her life. Ivy is fuming mad about Adrian’s disappearance only to find herself suddenly reunited with Adrian, with a little help from Zach.

Zach has a mission for Ivy, Adrian and the gang, find the next holy item of power before the demons.

I really enjoyed most of the storytelling, although a large portion of the book seemed to have Adrian’s and Ivy’s discussing their predisposed destiny which inevitably made the epilogue predictable and not a surprise.

Frost writes snarky, fun characters adds a pretty steady action extreme plot then twists an interesting blending of religious beliefs to formulate a colorful and vivid clash between good and evil and all the gray areas in between.

My rating: 4 stars
Written by: Jeaniene Frost
Series: A Broken Destiny Novel
Sequence in Series: Book 2
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: HQN Books
Publication Date: June 27, 2017
ISBN-10: 0373789416
ISBN-13: 978-0373789412
Genre: Paranormal Romance

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