ARC Review: Burn Down the Night by Molly O' Keefe

Book Title: Burn Down the Night

Author: Molly O' Keefe

Series: Everything I Left Unsaid #3 

Release Date: August 9th, 2016

Genres: Contemporary Romance

The only thing that matters to me is rescuing my sister from the drug-cooking cult that once enslaved us both. I’ve run cons my whole life, and I’ll use my body to get whatever I need. Max Daniels is the last connection I have to that world, the one person reckless enough to get involved. Besides, now that his brothers have turned on him, he needs me too.

The deal was supposed to be simple: a place to hide in exchange for rescuing my sister. Now he’s my prisoner. Totally at my mercy. But I’m the one captivated. Enthralled. Doing everything he asks of me until I’m not sure who’s in control.

We both crave the heat. The more it hurts, the better. But what if Max wants a different life now, to leave the game . . . to love me? I thought I knew better than to get burned. Now I’m in too deep to pull away. And the crazy thing is . . . I don’t want to.

I'd first really gotten my exposure to Molly O'Keefe's writing when I read the first two books in this series- Everything I Left Unsaid. I think she'd gone on the more steamy and grittier side of her typical writing style. With this installment, Burn Down the Night, she stayed true to that change. The first two books in the series focus on Dylan and Annie. 

This book is a spin-off story of Dylan's MC Prez brother, Max and the DEA agent in the trailer next door to Annie, Joan. I'll be honest and prove my age by saying I forgot quite a bit since I read the first two books. That being said, this book can totally be read as a standalone but we do get good backstory for Max/Joan and those secondary characters in here with those first two books. That out of the way...

Joan is on the hunt for her sister Jennifer, a victim of a cultish drug lord that has her holed up in an compound who-knows-where. When Max gets caught in the crossfire of her attempting to threaten her way into getting answers, they find themselves thrown together and on the run from everything- drug lords, disgruntled MC members, you name it. Joan has walls built up as high as can be. Nobody gets in. She's tough and refuses to become susceptible to love and loss. 

Max, while living the gritty life of an outlaw, isn't a hearts and flowers guy himself but over the course of days, weeks, where Joan nurses him back to health in a secluded retirement condo in Florida, the walls of protection begin to fall and both characters realize they're both built from the same cloth.

This is one of those slow burn type of plots, not the insta-love or connection we see all too frequently. Both characters are anti-heroes of sorts but something between the two of them gradually clicks and their sense of self-protection at all costs begins to fade and protecting the other guy comes further into focus. Joan is one tough broad, no shrinking violet and Max begins to see why she likes it rough and fast... all in the essence of self preservation.

I loved the connection Max has with his brother...both characters actually have a tight connection to siblings. Getting a look into Annie and Dylan's current life was also a bit of a nice surprise. I'd have loved seeing more time with their dad, Pops, however.

Another steamy, suspenseful, gritty romance from Molly O'Keefe! I look forward to the next installment that I hope the epilogue was hinting to!

A bit of a warning- there's a smidgen of FF in this book as the heroine is bisexual.

Advanced copy received by author in exchange for my honest review.

Molly O'Keefe has always known she wanted to be a writer (except when she wanted to be a florist or a chef and the brief period of time when she considered being a cowgirl). And once she got her hands on some romances, she knew exactly what she wanted to write.

She published her first Harlequin romance at age 25 and hasn't looked back. She loves exploring every character's road towards happily ever after.

Originally from a small town outside of Chicago, she went to university in St. Louis where she met and fell in love with the editor of her school newspaper. They followed each other around the world for several years and finally got married and settled down in Toronto, Ontario. They welcomed their son into their family in 2006, and their daughter in 2008. When she's not at the park or cleaning up the toy room, Molly is working hard on her next novel, trying to exercise, stalking Tina Fey on the internet and dreaming of the day she can finish a cup of coffee without interruption.