Review: Let It Burn – Emily Wood

Sometimes one person can make you question everything you thought you wanted.

Lydia James is a struggling scriptwriter with big dreams. She’s determined to conquer the movie world, and equally determined to stay out of the limelight while she does it. So what happens when she meets Ryan Sharpe, a British actor and Hollywood’s next big thing? He could hold the keys to her future, but with him, flying under the radar doesn’t seem to be an option.

Ryan has learned his lesson when it comes to women. In his experience, relationships mean heartache and pain. But when he meets Lydia, everything changes. She’s a breath of fresh air, and everything he didn’t even know he was looking for. There’s just one problem—she doesn’t want to be a part of his life. Will a weekend in Saint-Tropez give Ryan the opportunity he needs to win Lydia’s heart, or will their desires turn to ashes?

Series:
Release Date: August 18th 2014
Publisher: Beachwalk Press, Inc.
Source: Manic Readers
Reviewer: Michelle
Rating:

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

This story was a classic movie star and commoner fall in love.  It is the tale of two very vulnerable people that overcome their past and take a chance on love.  Lydia James is a struggling screenwriter trying to break into the big time.  While seeking refuge from the Hollywood craziness she stumbles upon Ryan Sharpe.  Ryan is a British actor and the next big thing in Hollywood.

Lydia’s character was very independent almost to the point of being nonsensical.  She reminded me of the stories about women that refuse to let men pay the bill or open the door.  She was so crippled by the wounds of her past that it literally tainted everything in her life.  I never crossed that line to feel empathy for her.  I thought her character was too extreme.  Ryan’s character was very sensitive.  He looked out for his former fiancé, and he did everything he could to try to gain Lydia’s trust.  He had some issues from his past that caused him to be afraid to trust.  I will say that I really like strong female and male leads in novels.  That might be why the characters didn’t resonate with me.  I never felt vested in their stories.  The author took every opportunity to remind the reader of the brokenness of these characters.  I felt like this was at the expense of their character development.

The storyline felt rushed.   It felt like I was waltzing around their issues for the majority of the novel with no progress toward a resolution.  There was no journey toward change.  It felt like the author was ready to end the book so she penned a dramatic event and suddenly the problems fell away, and they had their happily ever after.  I liked the book, but I think it could have been so much better with more character development.