Cover Image: Ravaged

Ravaged

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Steamy and seductive!

Miriam and Jordan have moved on from their ONS - or have they? Their lives are complicated - hers, as she works for the family "we'll do the break-up for you" company while also pursuing her own ambitions; his, as his NBA career is on the line due to an injury and his lawyer/agent is Cyrus, who is involved with Miriam's sister, Zora. Their determination to remain "just friends" quickly dissolves as the slow-burning attraction between them continues to grow.

I loved the writing here, how the author let us see both characters' vulnerabilities and insecurities, while keeping the passion high and building their friendship from the foundation up. I adored the way everything worked out in the end, especially for Miriam's dreams. This had a very satisfying HEA. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Was this review helpful?

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
SPICE: 🔥🔥🔥.5

The angst. The pining. Miriam and Jordan can definitely generate feelings in a reader's heart..and well, down there.

After a brief fling, these two decided that they were better off friends. You know the saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder?" In their case, the absence of intimate touch has led to a serious amount of longing and emotional connection. The platonic area in which they have firmly tried to put each other has bloomed into a great, flirty friendship with some delicious unresolved tension simmering underneath.

The angst is definitely real between these two. Naima Simone turns the tension knob all the way up when Jordan encourages Miriam to date one of his teammates, leaving us readers at the edge of our seats as we sit through the slow burn.

Boy, was the wait worth it. The spice was definitely hot, hot, hot.

This book is the second in the Burned, Inc. series, but it can be read as a standalone.

** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Naima Simone, Montlake, and NetGalley for providing an ARC. **

Was this review helpful?

I was happy to be Ravaged. After yesterday I felt ravaged so I need an escape which Simone provided.
Hot
Intense
Molten lava
Unrequited lust and love from both main characters
Jordan calling her sweetheart made me weak in my knees
His loving her from the first Made him endearing.
I’d go down the court with Jordan any day.
Ravaged is a ravishing read!

Was this review helpful?

I read an ARC in exchange for an honest review. As I was contemplating how to review this book, I came across Melissa T's review and it was everything I wanted to say. See her review linked below. Only thing I will add, I do believe although this is technically a stand alone, reading the first book in this series would have been beneficial, as there seemed to be a lot of overlap.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5083078142

To summarize my thoughts on this book, the first half felt very redundant, like the author was a little too desperate to convince the readers that Jordan and Miriam were in love but were resisting that. I did not connect with the roadblocks in the way of them being together. I also felt that there were several plot points that were missed opportunities in the sense that they were not elaborated on at all. There wasn't enough smut to skip those plot points, so overall I would rate this 2/5 stars for the plot and 2/5 spicy stars for the smut scenes. The positives - the narnia quotes were cute, and it was a quick read.

Was this review helpful?

Having read book one of the series, Heated I knew when I saw this book on @netgalley that I had to request it and when the confirmation email came through, I started it that night.

Miriam and Jordan, right from the start the tension was there. The sexual tension, that is… and it was roaring.

Miriam is a strong, independent woman but she knows her limits of how she portrays herself. How she needs to put up a facade for everyone; everyone, apart from Jordan. With Jordan, she can be herself.

It was a hot, sexy read with a lot of tension and build up from both Jordan and Miriam. They were both denying themselves each other for so long, debating on whether or not it would be sensible for them to get together. Trying to move on with their lives without each other.

It was a fab read, sexy, romantic, hot and I adored it. It was the perfect book to read whilst driving to Portugal and I was hooked!

Thanks to @netgalley and @naimasimoneauthor for allowing me a copy of this ARC. @naimasimoneauthor you know I’m a huge fan and love your work! I can’t wait to read more, keep them coming, please!

Was this review helpful?

Miriam is hilarious and I aspire to be more like her. She is witty and sarcastic and takes no sh*t! My personal favorite Miriam quote in this book is "And by “I hadn’t liked it,” I mean, it’d taken every bit of my flawed self-control and a rousing pep talk of “chicks before dicks” to keep me from flying over to them and punching ol’ girl in her tit." Loved the dynamic between Miriam and Jordan, constant tension 🔥🔥

Was this review helpful?

Fans of pining, this one is for you!!! From almost the minute they met, Jordan has been infatuated with Miriam and her unabashed, breath-of-fresh air personality. For her part, Miriam is drawn to Jordan too, but absolutely refuses to get involved with an athlete who has a reputation for getting around. Neither can seem to let the other go, so they maintain a close friendship, but those powerful feelings simmer just below the surface.

This was fun and enjoyably spicy. I grew to care about both Jordan and Miriam and cheered on their growth. Ostensibly Miriam co-owns a business with her siblings that handles breakup for rich and powerful men? It barely factored into this story and might have been more of a distraction to the plot instead of an addition. Miriam's side career was much more interesting. This does occasionally veer over the line from frank to crude, but there's also genuine heart and emotional intelligence, especially from Jordan. Anyone who enjoys vulnerable men and intense longing will have a great time with this one!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Was this review helpful?

Ravaged is a friends to lovers second chance romance involving Miriam (maths genius, business guru, graphic designer come novellist) and Jordan (sexy NBA star). Sounds like alot, right?

These two were friends, had a one night stand and then friend-zoned on another three months ago. They continue to wade through the attentions of others, an attempt at one matchmaking the other with their friend, and a host of other diversions from the real story-line, that being the romance. Individually these are great characters who are complex and alot. There was a significant amount of monologue driven chapters which got a little much - there was thinking, more thinking, then doing and it all made a bit of a messy feel for mind. Sometimes if felt like there was too much the author was wanting to say and include, particularly with the graphic novel, fantasy stuff with that replicating what was happening IRL.

We get that with romance there's miscommunication at times, that could really just be fixed if the couples sat down and talked about it. This book is no exception. They circled and circled each other, and the big twist was probably not that bad really.

I enjoyed this one but it felt like it needed to be a little more simple to really work well.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately I am going to DNF this book. I am not meshing with the writing, and don't want to give it a bad review because of that. I will not be rating it in other places. Thanks for the opportunity.

Was this review helpful?

A sports romance story with characters that have feelings for each other but refuse to admit them right away.
This story was good, with steamy scenes as expected from the author and some frustrating scenes when they got so stubborn and didn’t communicate with each other.

Many romance readers will enjoy it.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Was this review helpful?

This was my first Naima Simone novel, and I was excited to give her a shot. The premise was promising, but sadly, this novel fell short for me. In short, it’s a masterclass in what NOT to do as a writer if you have any trust in your readers.

Miriam and Jordan had a one-night stand a few months ago, then agreed to be just friends because God forbid they admit they like each other. Miriam has decided all athletes are “narcissistic manwhores,” Jordan excluded. No, he’s just a Viking god who makes her lady parts quiver every time they’re together. And he fantasizes about her too, constantly telling himself he needs to move on and stop wishing she shared his feelings. Of course, she does share his feelings, they just never talk about it because that would be too mature.

Jordan is truly a nice guy, a loyal and good friend. Although I dislike it when authors write a pro athlete and then give him an injury so that he’s sidelined. It seems like a cop-out to make it easier to write the character in first person. Miriam is a strong, intelligent woman, but for a card-carrying Mensa member, she sure can be clueless.

I didn’t connect with the writing style at all. I’ve never read so much telling in one book. The author seems to have zero trust in the reader because she SHOWS through dialogue, body language, or action, then proceeds to TELL too, as though we’re idiots. And the telling goes on and on. There is a ton of inner monologue, often pages of it between lines of dialogue so that I forget what they’re talking about. Why do we need to hear their every thought? I don’t need to constantly be told WHY a character is doing something; I can figure it out. If you’ve done your job as a writer, trust your reader to connect the dots. You don’t need to hammer the same point home again and again or rely so heavily on isolated sentences for emphasis. The writing was so distracting, it became impossible to connect to the characters or ever think of them as real people I could care about.

Writing issues aside, I can’t stand romance novels where the grown adults act like pining teenagers for 75% of the story—this angsty slog could have been much shorter if they’d had a conversation about their feelings in chapter one. On the bright side, the steamy bits were well done (although it took WAY too long to get there).

One last note: the cover is all wrong. As a pro basketball player, Jordan is supposedly “closer to seven feet than six” but that model doesn’t look nearly tall enough to fit the description.

Was this review helpful?

Ok so Ravaged is the perfect title for this book because it literally ravaged my emotions in, like, the best possible way. The best. I don't even know where to start with this review, other than drying my eyes.

Miriam. Is. Brilliant. Yes, she is a genius, but her brilliance is in who she is, who she has to be, and the parts of her that she has to hide. She hides at work and with her family, from the whole world, but the one person she can be most of herself with is Jordan... Which is terrifying for her in every single way. Friend zoned it is.

Jordan is pretty much my perfect cinnamon roll of a book boyfriend. He has his own past that has hurt him and he needs to accept and move through... Not to mention a burning desire for a certain best friend that he can never have. Better to be near her as her bestie than to not be in her life at all, right?

Growth is hard and painful and tears you up inside. But to get to the point of joy and happiness and love? All that angst will be worth it.

Was this review helpful?

Trying to break out of what I normally read. I used to be a huge romance fan, but got out reading them. This book was a good introduction back into the genre. Funny, snappy, electrified read. The characters were refreshing and I enjoyed the different situations they found themselves in. The writing was smooth and the chemistry was hot. This was my first read by the author and it will not be my last.

#NETGALLEY #RAVAGED

Was this review helpful?

Naima can do no wrong with words…..

The Burned Inc series continues with Jordan and Miriam, two best friends who are not supposed to be attracted to each other. This story gave me serious Brown Sugar vibes. Jordan being the athlete gives the impression that love is for the birds. Miriam coming from a family who owns a break up dating service has this perception that love is not for her and just having her best friend around is enough. There’s nothing sweeter that best friends turned lovers ! Rules are broken, and so are hearts and egos.

#ravaged #netgalley

Was this review helpful?

Another hot and steamy read from Naima, great series, and I am looking forward to future booked in the series.

Was this review helpful?

A solid sports romance from Naima Simone. Characters were well written and stayed true to form without using small quirks to create unrealistic drama.

The pacing was good and I devoured this book pretty quickly.

ARC generously provided by NetGalley and Montlake in exchange for fair and honest review.

Was this review helpful?

So this is the second book in a series, which I didn't know until after I started it. But the good news is that you don't have to read the first one to understand anything that is happening in this one. The only reason I point out that it is book number two is so you can go back and read book number one. Because I absolutely am! This was a seriously emotional and angsty ride. And one that I enjoyed every second of! The angst pretty much kicked in from the start and didn't let up for the entirety of the book.

Jordan and Miriam had chemistry for days and I loved the way they supported each other while also trying to pretend they weren't head over heels in love with each other. The journey to the two of them getting together wasn't a smooth one. They had a lot of obstacles to overcome and plenty of things about themselves and their lives that they needed to figure out first. Something I liked about this is that while Jordan and Miriam are the main characters and their love story is at the center of it all, it isn't the only thing happening. There are side plots going on throughout the book as well and they have me already hooked for the next book in the series to come. Naima Simone is introducing us to this whole world and the cast of characters that she has created and she has me invested. Making those side characters appear in this book, knowing they are going to get their own happily ever afters has me invested in the continuing story of this group of people.

I liked that this wasn't overly spicy, too. Don't get me wrong, I love a good spicy book. But sometimes it's nice to have the focus be on the characters getting together and not completely focused on after they are together. It's nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the journey of them finding their way to one another. There was a lot of depth to these characters and I loved exploring that depth and being able to understand what made them tick and how their pasts have affected and made them who they are today. We all have a past and sometimes it can get in the way of our present and future. So I understood some of the struggles the characters were facing when it came to that and I related to them battling with their pasts in different ways. Overall, this was a great read and I very much recommend it. I also recommend reading the first book in the series.

Was this review helpful?

This was a really amazing read. While I had to adjust a bit to the author's style of writing, I loved it. This one is a case of loving the hero just a teeny bit than the heroine but both of them were really great. I could have done without the love triangle but it was intricate to the story, I guess and it worked out well. I love how amazing the hero was. He was well written and fleshed out as a character. I want a story with Levi as the main hero though 😂
Read this one!

Was this review helpful?

Miriam and Jordan’s love story delivers all the feels and satisfies with a buffet of tropes: friends-to-lovers, professional athletes, brainy tenderhearted confident women, millionaires, story-within-a-story, big misunderstanding and more. Plus, a clever variation on matchmaking seemingly inspired by Cyrano de Bergerac adds another layer of emotional intrigue to this substantive tale about healing from past trauma. Ravaged unfolds at a nimble pace that balances contextual details with compelling intensity and incendiary sexual chemistry. It’s also funny, celebrates the importance of healthy connections with family and friends, and works as a stand-alone, although reading it immediately generates the compulsion to add the “Burned, Inc.” series to one’s TBR list. Fans of Nalini Singh’s rugby stories should especially enjoy this.

[Profanity is common throughout characters’ casual conversations and thoughts–no judgement, simply a note.]

Was this review helpful?

It took me a while to get into this book but once I did I enjoyed it, very well written and all the characters were believable, some I liked, some I didn't but the storyline was interesting.

Was this review helpful?