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Burning Alive (Sentinel Wars #1)

by Shannon K. Butcher (Goodreads Author)

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 2,697 ratings · 271 reviews

First in an all-new paranormal romance series

Caution : readers may feel the heat coming off the pages.

They are the Sentinels...

Three races descended from ancient guardians of mankind, each possessing unique abilities in their battle to protect humanity against their eternal foes-the Synestryn. Now, one warrior must fight his own desire if he is to discover the power that...more

Mass Market Paperback, 358 pages

Published May 5th 2009 by Onyx (first published March 5th 2009)

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Nov 14, 2010 Kat Kennedy rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-that-deserve-painful-death, just-plain-bad, kat-s-book-reviews, too-painful-to-finish

Nope. I can't do it. Sorry.

I maybe got thirty pages in before I decided that Drake was a big sack of shit and that Helen is possibly the most annoying female protagonist that I have ever, ever read.

"Oh, I have a vision of being burnt alive... this couldn't possibly be metaphorical! I think I'm going to run awaaaaaaaaay! La de da la!"

dumb

Or then you have the stereotype caveman complex that is Drake.

"You have plaits. Me Pull. You come now. Drake beat chest. Manly Drake. Ahhhahhhhhhahhhhhh!"

caveman

What, so yo...more

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Nov 08, 2009 Kathrynn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, romance-paranormal, series-sentinel_wars_butcher, 2009, reviewed, theme-heroine_tstl, theme-pg_13

Burning Alive left me with a burning need to read something else. It took me a l-o-n-g time to finish and in hindsight, should have put it down and moved on. But, kept thinking (hoping) it would get better. Almost did a time or two, but overall I found the book a huge disappointment.

First of all, felt Burning Alive needed more "umph" and found the heroine, Helen Day (the name just didn't fit, either), very annoying. She needed to stop being such a wuss. There was WAY too much focus on her visio...more

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Sep 22, 2009 Shawna rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: PNR fans; Larissa Ione Demonica fans; J.R. Ward BDB fans

Shelves: shannon-k-butcher, pnr-angeldemon-fae-magic-witch-misc, 2009-reads, hero-abused-scarred-tortured-angst, im-a-cover-hottie-ho, pnr-vampires, hero-mix-of-alpha-beta, hero-im-gaga-over, series-sentinel-wars, tattoos-piercings-body-art, captive-kidnapped-hostage-slave, hh-warrior, 4-stars, i-read-no-longer-own-sold-swapped, paranormal-romance

4 stars – Paranormal Romance

This is the first book in a unique, promising new PNR series about sword wielding, tree of life tattoo bearing immortal Sentinel warriors fighting a demon race called Synestryn to protect humanity and guard the gateway to an ancestral world called Athanasia.

Theronai Sentinel warrior Drake has been fighting in the brutal war with the Synestryn for centuries, and now it seems that they are waging a losing battle and the demons are gaining the advantage. With the loss o...more 4 stars – Paranormal Romance

This is the first book in a unique, promising new PNR series about sword wielding, tree of life tattoo bearing immortal Sentinel warriors fighting a demon race called Synestryn to protect humanity and guard the gateway to an ancestral world called Athanasia.

Theronai Sentinel warrior Drake has been fighting in the brutal war with the Synestryn for centuries, and now it seems that they are waging a losing battle and the demons are gaining the advantage. With the loss of all females of the Theronai race, the warriors are unable to find life mates to bond with and are slowing dying off as a result of eventually succumbing to the violence and intensity of their power. The Sentinels are starting to lose hope, but then Drake encounters human woman Helen and feels an immediate, potent connection that could alter the delicate future for their race, forever.

All her life, Helen’s had a vision of her own death, burning alive, as a mysterious, dark, mesmerizing stranger watches with a smile on his face. So when she meets the enigmatic man from her dreams, warrior Drake, she fears that her doomed fate is at hand, but Drake refuses to believe that her vision of the future will come to pass and vows to protect her at all costs. Will the profound, passionate bond between Drake and Helen save them both? Can Helen bring much needed hope to the Theronai and restore the fragile balance to the Sentinel wars?

I’ve read and enjoyed Shannon K. Butcher’s romantic suspense Delta Force trilogy, and Burning Alive is a good debut read in a paranormal romance series that holds a lot of promise. There’s a nice balance of world building, explosive, fast-paced action, violent, gritty, demon ass-kicking, intense, steamy, passionate romance, and even some humorous quips by Helen that provide some comic relief. Drake is a strong, courageous, fierce, loyal, sexy, and tender warrior and makes a totally swoon-worthy hero. There are several warriors introduced in this that I can quite easily envision as heroes in upcoming books in the series. I’ll definitely read the next book, Finding the Lost, that’s slated for release in Nov’09! 4 stars!
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Mar 05, 2010 Lolly's rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one, not even my worst enemy

Recommended to Lolly's by: thankfully, no one, otherwise they'd now be my worst enemy

Shelves: part-of-a-series

Argh! Why, why, why did I torture myself by reading, all the way to the end, this piece of dreck? This horrible, annoying, brain-damage-in-printed-form book? I wish someone could tell me because I sure as hell don't know.
I should forewarn you: I've written an essay here. I didn't mean to and I usually try to keep myself under control. However, though I've read my fair share of horrible books, never have I read one that combined so many points of stupidity into one story. I admit, I only have mys...more Argh! Why, why, why did I torture myself by reading, all the way to the end, this piece of dreck? This horrible, annoying, brain-damage-in-printed-form book? I wish someone could tell me because I sure as hell don't know.
I should forewarn you: I've written an essay here. I didn't mean to and I usually try to keep myself under control. However, though I've read my fair share of horrible books, never have I read one that combined so many points of stupidity into one story. I admit, I only have myself to blame. I read the back cover and front page excerpt and ran into descriptions which made my hackles rise, concerning explosive passion, small moans of passion, and jolts of lust-induced heat, among others. So I knew what I was in for, but I kept on going anyway, mainly because I was intrigued by the basic premise of the book: Three races of warriors, who have been fighting the good fight for millenia, protecting our world and theirs against things which slaver and rage and kill in the night. Sounds good, right? Yeah, that's what I thought and look at what that got me.
As anyone who has read through my reviews can attest, I'm not a fan of romance, in any genre; I'll suffer through it to get to the good bits, the stuff in between the heavy breathing and throbbing loins, which was the plan for this book. I had no idea that a) this book would come off like a stalker's/rapist's fantasy, nor that b) the female lead would be so damn infuriating, I would feel absolutely no connection to her or her story. Let me explain. First we have these warriors, nearly immortal, they're so long-lived, and skilled with the sword and deadly in their mission to kill monsters. However, these warriors are incomplete without a female partner (ain't it the truth) to aid them in battle. By some form of magical symbiosis, the two mates work off of each other, the man storing the energy, the woman pulling it out of him to power her magic. Fine and dandy, sounds fabulous. Sadly, most of the female warriors were massacred sometime in the past and the men are now slowly dying off as a result. Okay, we can work with that. The creepy and disturbing part comes when the warriors introduced in this book, Drake, Thomas, and Zach stumble across not one, but two half-blood warrior women in a diner, our "heroine," Helen Day, and a secondary character, Lexi the waitress. The phrase "Caveman attitude" is too tame to describe the men's reactions. "Jealously possessive and needy to the point of rape" would do better. The two men most reactive to Helen and Lexi, Drake and Zach, touch, press up against, trap, hold onto, and in various other ways, physically caress these women. Helen and Lexi meanwhile are shying away, cringing, fighting back, and doing everything in their power to make them stop and go away, which just makes the men smile and continue to assault them. Yeah, that's romantic, I want to meet a guy like that. That sort of possessive theme continues throughout the book, as concerns the interaction between Drake and Helen. His attitude is a continual litany of "She's mine, she completes me, I need her no matter what anyone says, and if any of my brothers-in-arms tries to take her away or touches her or even looks at her, I'll kill him. Oh, and if Helen runs away, I'll search the ends of the Earth to bring her back to me." Sorry, but that kind of psychotic, stalker attitude does not turn me on.
Then we have Ms. Helen Day. What an irritating, whiny, whimpy, unrealistic character. From the very beginning, we're told she's terrified of Drake because he's the man who's going to watch her die, according to this vision she's had all her life. She stubbornly holds onto this belief throughout the book, despite evidence which shows her vision might be incorrect, and what I want to know is, why? Has she had other visions that have come true? Apparently not. So why is she so stupidly fatalistic in her conviction that her vision will come true? I haven't a clue. Now we come to the "relationship" between Helen and Drake. He has a permanent hard on for her, wants to touch her "soft skin and soft hair and soft body" (seriously, the dude has some sort of fetish for touching soft things), yet from my point of view, she's not desirable. For one thing, she's a tease: "Ooh, yes, let me lick my lips and let you kiss me, and I'll just run my hands through your hair and over your manly-man muscles and--oh my! What do we have here? Ooh, it's so big! Okay, then, I want to stop now because I don't think it's a good idea to have sex with you. Good luck with that raging hard-on." Men tend to have a more descriptive, and accurate in Helen's case, phrase for that kind of woman, by adding a certain anatomical euphemism to the front of 'tease'. No man wants a woman like that, especially when it's compounded by the second undesirable thing about Helen: her "lower than a snake's belly" self-image, which seems to be ubiquitous in the Romance genre anymore. Despite the fact that she, and most other romance novel heroines, react to Drake's attraction in the same manner I would should a gorgeous man happen to look twice at me--"Which of the hotties standing behind me are you eyeballing with lust, because I know it can't be me"--I am so bloody tired of encountering that type of attitude I could scream. Where are the confident women, the ones who know they're attractive and are fun to be around, and revel in their ability to catch a man's eye? What makes it even worse is the women who are so doubtful of their sex appeal are always built like the proverbial brick shithouse. Give me a break! Be doubtful you could inspire lust in a hunka-hunka burnin' love if you've got thunder thighs, a pot belly, and swaths of cellulite. Don't whine about how fat and unattractive you are if you're built like a Playboy centerfold! Yeah, 'cause no man wants to hit that.
So not only did I have to contend with unrealistic, unlikeable characters (the only one I warmed up to was Miss Mabel), I had to slog through a messy plot. Every so often, Butcher paused the action to tell the story of another character, such as the above-mentioned Lexi, whether it was relevent or not. I get that she was trying to set up storylines for future books, but her attempts were clumsy, with no finesse at all. Some authors can weave multiple storylines into their novels with ease, while others shouldn't attempt it, especially when those attempts leave the reader bouncing around, wondering why they should care about this character's crazy mother or that one's life of deception, when there's no discernible reason. All I know is the more I read, the worse the book got until, just pages from the end, I was literally whimpering and screaming in frustration, so much so I scared my cat. Never again. I am glad to return the book to the library and avoid any future books as if they carried the plague...and smallpox...and anthrax.(less)

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Jan 28, 2010 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of paranormal romance with warriors

Recommended to Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress by: I love her husband's books

Shelves: owned-copy, paranormal-romance, part-of-a-series, warrior, fated-to-be-mated, alpha-hero, possessive-and-or-jealous-hero, demon, alternate-dimension-or-world, hero-in-pursuit, monster-hunters, brotherhood, vampire

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Burning Alive was a book that pulled me in from the beginning. For that, I definitely give it points. I liked the storyline about Sentinels and their war against the Senestryn, a race of demons. The origins of the Sentinels are fascinating to me. There is an element of the futuristic, teamed with the ancient in their conception and their millenias-long war with the Senestryn. It had me thinking of Flash Gordon--and the various races that Flash encounters when he goes to Space in Dr. Zarkoff's ro...more Burning Alive was a book that pulled me in from the beginning. For that, I definitely give it points. I liked the storyline about Sentinels and their war against the Senestryn, a race of demons. The origins of the Sentinels are fascinating to me. There is an element of the futuristic, teamed with the ancient in their conception and their millenias-long war with the Senestryn. It had me thinking of Flash Gordon--and the various races that Flash encounters when he goes to Space in Dr. Zarkoff's rocket--for some reason. Don't ask! Humorous aside: I kept thinking about Sinestro, who is an arch-nemesis of Green Lantern from the DC Comics Universe. Anyone else make that connection? I do have to say that Ms. Butcher charted a course along familiar ground, but somehow made this story interesting and distinct from the other series, in my opinion. As I read, I could definitely see how she was influenced by other writers that I enjoy, but I don't feel that she was trying to copy them. As my sister likes to say, "There is nothing new under the sun." But what I appreciate is seeing an author take a familiar concept and give it a new approach or new life. I feel that Ms. Butcher did that.

I really liked the aspect of the warriors pining for their mate, and how they have the tattoo of a tree on their chest that grows as they age, and eventually starts to die, unless they find a mate. The leaves on the tree die and fall off, and the closer they get to the tree being completely denuded of leaves, the closer they are to their souls dying. I thought that was pretty interesting. I liked the fact that the warrior is full of energy and his mate taps that energy and uses it to fight the Senestryn in tandem with him. Very cool. I love a strong, powerful warrior who longs for a true love. Sigh! I felt so bad for all the warriors who will die, never finding their mate, since most of the Sentinel women were killed. I hope that more women will be found. The hope will keep me reading this series.

The characters in this story drew me in, and I cared about them. Maybe too much. It broke my heart when a character I fell in love with died horribly. I almost threw my book across the room. I rarely do that. I felt intense pain, and disbelief. Part of me still wants to believe that it's not the truth. The circumstances of the death really cast a pall over this story. I had trouble caring about Drake and Helen's romance, knowing that this person was dead. But at the same time, I think it showed the cost of this war. The scene in which Drake shows Helen the Hall of the Fallen, in which the sword of the dead warrior is hung in remembrance, was very profound. I felt the awe and the anguish at seeing how very many swords hung there. It added to my grief that I felt at the beloved character's death.

As I said, I wanted to find someone to blame for this person's death. It is easy for me to blame Helen, because she flaked at a crucial moment, her lifelong fear such a burden that she couldn't come through and tap her power to defeat the demon in time. It was a dilemma for me. I could see that Helen was just human, full of frailties and flaws. How many times have I failed someone who counted on me? More than I wanted to. Fortunately, it hasn't cost anyone a life, but poor Helen has that on her conscience. Although she will go on to fight in the war at Drake's side, basking in his love, I think she'll always feel grief that she couldn't save this person. The grief I share. I think that the reasons behind this courage-crippling vision of burning to death were not explained as well as I like. I hope that this will be explored further in the next books.

Drake and Helen's romance was good. They had good chemistry, with some steamy love scenes. I liked that Helen was an average girl with a normal, perhaps too-curvy figure, but Drake thought she was the sexiest woman alive. I liked the powerful chemistry between them when they met. I did want things to work out for them, although I was still depressed about the death of that person I was in love with. I admit, I'm more intrigued to see what will happen with Zack and Lexie than I was drawn into Helen and Drake's romance. Why is the first in the series always the least compelling? To keep us reading! I'm wondering what's going to happen with Logan. Will he find a mate as well? More questions than I have time to list in this review.

The cast of secondary characters has caught my interest, and I look forward to reading more about them. I'd like to see where this war with the Senestryn will go. I think that Ms. Butcher will continue to add dimensions to this interesting series she had created. I just hope she doesn't get me to fall in love with anymore characters and then kill them off. I don't think my heart can stand it.

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.
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Mar 04, 2011 Stacia ~ Mistress of Mediocrity rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult

Burning Alive is an interesting book to recap because my reasons for liking it are not the norm. The characters didn't really grab me, and I can't say that the story was one of the best I'd read recently (although it was still fun). Even so, the book had me on the hook right off the bat by throwing me right into the action, and the character origins were different from your average pnr. In a genre of similar stories, I feel myself getting excited anytime something comes along that makes me say,...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Fabiane Abreu rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: did-not-finish, series-abandoned

I truly think this book deserves a shelf all of its own, called "DAFUQ DID I JUST READ".

I mean, what's with that absurd story? The guy is absolutely atrocious, and the girl goes from "so frightened I could actually die" to "omg I wanna rip his pants off" in what seems like miliseconds (it take a few hours, actually. But you get my point.)

The guy knows he frightens her to death, BUT HE STILL DOES ALL KINDS OF AWFUL THINGS TO HER. With no explanations. He manhandles her, abducts her, then decides...more

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Oct 16, 2009 Natasha rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first in the Sentinel Wars by Shannon K Butcher. It's a Urban Fantasy and I really enjoyed it! Helan Day is the protagonist in the story and I find I like her. She's not your typically strong and sexy type, but she' a strong willed a a good person.
PLOT from amazon: Her entire life Helen Day has haunted by dreams of burning alive while a man watches her and smiles. So when she meets Drake, the man of her dreams, in a diner, she knows she doesn't have long to live. Drake is a Theronai...more This is the first in the Sentinel Wars by Shannon K Butcher. It's a Urban Fantasy and I really enjoyed it! Helan Day is the protagonist in the story and I find I like her. She's not your typically strong and sexy type, but she' a strong willed a a good person.
PLOT from amazon: Her entire life Helen Day has haunted by dreams of burning alive while a man watches her and smiles. So when she meets Drake, the man of her dreams, in a diner, she knows she doesn't have long to live. Drake is a Theronai warrior, sworn to protect humans. He's been protecting humanity from demons called the Synestryn for centuries.
I really liked the scene where Helen and Drake meet. It's intense but interesting. The characters are fun and easy to relate to, even if they aren't from our type of world. The book has a good amount of action and romance and has some sizzling scenes. The book is really well paced and I can honestly say I'm stoked for the next book. .. The only thing I didn't love is his hair on the books cover.. haha! Everything else was a great find. I really enjoyed this book.

Synopsis:

There are worse ways to die...

They are the Sentinels. Three races descended from ancient guardians of mankind, each possessing unique abilities in their battle to protect humanity against their eternal foes--the Synestryn. Now, one warrior must fight his own desire if he is to discover the power that lies within his one true love...

For too long, Helen Day has been haunted by visions of her own death, surrounded by flames as a dark-haired man watches her burn. So when she sees the man of her nightmares staring at her across a diner, she attempts to flee--and ends up in the man's arms. There, she awakens a force more powerful and enticing than she could ever imagine.

The instant the Theronai warrior Drake touches Helen, the anguish he has borne for years fades away. He is determined to know why this beautiful, fearful woman has such power over him. The answer lies in his very blood--and in Helen's as well. For together, they may become more than lovers--they may become a weapon of light that could tip the balance of the war--and save Drake's people...

It's a great paranormal book, I loved it and recommend others to pick it up!

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Jul 29, 2012 Jaimie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

I had this book checked out from the library for over a month before I actually read it. My husband saw it on an ad on Facebook and put it on hold for me. I wish I had read it sooner! I love this book and it's not often that I love the first book in a series, even BDB which is my favorite series I was not in love with the first book.

Loved it the second time too!

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Aug 04, 2009 Sandy rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It drew me in from page one and I knew I would love Shannon K. Butcher! However, it doesn't deserve a higher rating from me because of a few things:

1) It lacked the emotional intensity and it didn't make me feel much of anything whatsoever.

2) It's far too similar to Jacob by Jacquelyn Frank (AN AWESOME BOOK THAT IS EXTREMELY RECOMMENDED FOR ALL YOU PARANORMAL ROMANCE FANS) minus the depth. Especially the paranormal phenomena. That was lame.

3) There were parts I didn't like such as Thomas' death....more It drew me in from page one and I knew I would love Shannon K. Butcher! However, it doesn't deserve a higher rating from me because of a few things:

1) It lacked the emotional intensity and it didn't make me feel much of anything whatsoever.

2) It's far too similar to Jacob by Jacquelyn Frank (AN AWESOME BOOK THAT IS EXTREMELY RECOMMENDED FOR ALL YOU PARANORMAL ROMANCE FANS) minus the depth. Especially the paranormal phenomena. That was lame.

3) There were parts I didn't like such as Thomas' death. Even though Helen was suffering from a phobia, I still couldn't help but feel disappointed that she couldn't do anything to help save him. I was looking forward to reading a story about him! Butcher spent more time investing in the death scene than she did with Helen's vision coming true - which was very weak. When it reached his death scene, everything kind of felt like a bitter turning point in the story that made the rest seem bleak and passion-less... at least to me.

4) Another thing I didn't like was Logan and his blood oaths from Paul, Helen, and Drake. WTF was that all about? Why was it never explained? Why not just call him a vampire instead of Sanguinar? Why is he such a contradictory character? First, he's the ally then he betrays Drake by having Helen blindly swear to a blood oath, then he's all predatory and then he's got good intentions. So is he a good guy or a bad guy? What happened to Lexi and Zach? Why wasn't that explained? Is Lexi a female Theronai as well? If she was to be Zach's mate, why wasn't he in deep physical pain when they broke contact?

5) Why weren't details mentioned? Locations, times, ages, growing up .... usually stories have at least some minor background story to the characters (i.e. Growing up in foster homes, exes, experiences, etc.). Those three days could have spanned a little longer like a week. It feels too busy; three days and all of a sudden Helen and Drake realize they're going to be together forever? How long does each leaf on their tree last? (Btw, I thought the leaf on the tree thing to signify their soul span was odd.) What the heck was going on with the epilogue? How is that significant? Unless I just don't understand.

Overall, I enjoyed it as much as I could and I read it in a day and a half so I guess that says something. It's an easy read that won't take you that long but to me, a great book has to be something you can't put down even if you tried. I put this down so many times and didn't regret not going back to pick it up where I left off. Good dialogue and character development though. I did think the love scenes were better than most of what I've read; they were romantic and heated but not to the point where there is dirty language or any acts that are engaged to make the reader cringe or embarrassed. The story is realistic but slightly unnatural as well. I'd SUGGEST it but wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless you want to out of curiosity. 3/5 stars(less)

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Nov 14, 2012 Beckyloohoo Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ aka Mrs. Acheron Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reading-romance-challenge

I give this book a solid 3½ stars

I read this book as part of a group read for Gotta Have Paranormal Romance With A Kick. And I am so glad that I did because I really liked this book. I loved almost all of the characters. At first I found the men a little too pushy and macho, but as the book progressed I changed my opinion of them. They are heros willing to sacrifice their lives for the human race, even though humans have no idea they exist. Yummy alpha male action there. But the heroine, Helen,...more

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Jul 24, 2010 Anja rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5 stars.

I loved the world building and I really enjoy the author’s writing. That alone nearly had me giving 4 stars. The romance was just a 3.

There are 8 different points of view, 6 of which are introduced within the first 16% of the book. I wasn’t bothered because I think it helped to provide details that otherwise would have been info dumping coming from the same character. However, I do think it made the beginning choppy and a little hard to get into. Not only was I trying to figure out wha...more

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Mar 12, 2011 Laura the Highland Hussy rated it 4 of 5 stars

All right, I must say, right off the bat, that this book dragged me in from the first sentence, "The man who was going to stand by and watch while Helen burned to death liked his coffee black."

Helen has had visions her whole life, well, one vision, that is. The vision of herself being engulfed in flames, while this amazingly handsome man stood by with a slight smile on his face and watched. and this first sentence refers to the first time Helen sees Drake in her favorite diner. She's hiding behi...more All right, I must say, right off the bat, that this book dragged me in from the first sentence, "The man who was going to stand by and watch while Helen burned to death liked his coffee black."

Helen has had visions her whole life, well, one vision, that is. The vision of herself being engulfed in flames, while this amazingly handsome man stood by with a slight smile on his face and watched. and this first sentence refers to the first time Helen sees Drake in her favorite diner. She's hiding behind a menu hoping he doesn't notice her, and he's staring at the girl who's hiding behind a menu acting scared to death of him.

Drake has to find out why the random girl in a Kansas diner is afraid of him, so he, being the bid bad alpha male that he is, strides right over to her and tries to figure it out. Too bad that he gets caught up in her hazel eyes, and her lilac scent, and husky voice. When he touches Helen, the pain that every Theronai lives with from birth til death fades away. He vows to never let her go. Literally, since releasing her causes immense pain. Each of the Theronai males is born with a seed "tattoo" that grows as they do, and ages as they do, until around 500 yrs old or so, if unmated, the leaves fall off indicating the death of his soul. After the last leaf falls, he might still live on, but he has no moral compass. Bad news.

Meanwhile, Helen gets dragged into the Sentinel world in the sense that she is Theronai too! which should be impossible since their females were slaughtered centuries ago. Hmm...there might be more to that in the next book. Also, her friend Lexi might be the mate to Zach, one of Drake's warrior buds. I hope they get their story.
The only thing preventing this book from being a 5 star book is that Helen went from being brave to cowardly and then hid behind her cowardice excuse. She was brave standing up to the warriors, the vampire who searched her mind, even, but when it came down to it, she'd claim she was a coward, and then act like one. Lame.

***small spoilers***

Also, the death of Thomas was heartbreaking because Helen had the power to stop it, but didn't know how, okay, forgivable in my eyes, but Shannon Butcher should have given him a better death. he was eaten/ingested by a type of demon that he had been fighting for 500 years..a bit anticlimactic and kinda stupid. He would've been better prepared. But I liked the ending, and I like the allusions to the next books, but the epilogue was a little annoying since we'd never seen or heard about those characters, so although it was slightly intriguing, it was also out of the blue as far as being informative or sucking me in.

http://www.demonloversbooksandmore.co...
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Nov 18, 2012 OpenBookSociety.com rated it 1 of 5 stars

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

Helen has been haunted all her life by a terrible vision. In it, she sees herself burning alive in a huge fire and she looks over and sees a dark haired man watching her die with a satisfied smile on his face. So you can imagine her fear when she sees the man from her vision sitting at a table across from her when she takes Miss Mabel for their usual dinner date.

Helen tries to leave the diner, but the man, Drake, stops her. Then, before they know it monsters a...more

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Oct 08, 2012 P.A. Lupton rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read Burning Alive as part of a group read with my fellow Gotta Have Paranormal Romance With a Kick members. I enjoyed this book, especially for a first in a series with a fantasy that needed a lot of world building. It was an interesting, unique concept and for that alone I’ll keep reading the series. I did however have some issues with the book.

One of the major problems I had—it was confusing in parts. Sometimes in the book the author would just introduce a new character and I would feel lik...more I read Burning Alive as part of a group read with my fellow Gotta Have Paranormal Romance With a Kick members. I enjoyed this book, especially for a first in a series with a fantasy that needed a lot of world building. It was an interesting, unique concept and for that alone I’ll keep reading the series. I did however have some issues with the book.

One of the major problems I had—it was confusing in parts. Sometimes in the book the author would just introduce a new character and I would feel like I was missing something. Paul, for example, all of a sudden pops up in the story and he has a bond with the heroine Helen. I actually stopped reading wondering who Paul was (the way he was introduced made me feel like I should have known) I actually searched the book to see if Paul had been mentioned before. Then I spent a long time wondering if I was missing a chunk of the story. The introduction was so abrupt it was confusing. One minute Helen is unconscious in a cave and then this is the next sentence : “Was this some kind of trick? Paul searched for signs of a trap, but his excitement was distracting. The lure of his own lady was a potent one. “Even if we found another female Theronai, it wouldn’t guarantee she would be able to join with me.” “No, but if Helen was compatible with you and your power, then it stands to reason that another woman of her bloodline might be as well.””

This is how we are introduced to Paul and the fact that he apparently has a bond with Helen. As far as I knew he’d never met Helen, and we don’t really see anything regarding this character after. I found it unclear and made me wonder what the point of it was.

Another thing I found confusing is when the author would mention things as if it were memory, but the event hadn’t happened yet. It happened a few times but here is an example of one incident. Drake says, “Her soft, quiet voice sank into him, heating him further. He loved her voice. Especially when she was crying out his name in release.” I think it’s important to mention at this point Helen and Drake hadn’t actually had sex yet. I went back in the book to search and see if I somehow missed it, but I didn’t. There were a few inconsistencies like that in the story and unfortunately it pulled me out the story. I was thinking about them all the way through and it ruined the book for me. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the concept a lot. I just wish it had been clearer in parts. Still, I will continue with book two. Hopefully the inconsistencies will be ironed out in in the second installment.

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Katya PA there are actually a couple other items we can add to your list. And until I re-read this I didn't even know Paul made an appearance in this book.....more
Oct 08, 2012 08:31pm

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) Interesting points PA... I didn't get too confused although there was a lot of world building to decipher.

I cheat a bit though. I knew this series is...more
Oct 08, 2012 11:24pm

P.A. Lupton I agree with the romance aspect too Katya, it felt off to me. Like he only liked her because she was a Theronai woman and one of the only ones. It's a...more
Oct 09, 2012 06:18am

Oct 02, 2012 Nika **~OhMyShelves~** rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Nika **~OhMyShelves~** by: My Kick Girls!!!!!!!

Shelves: my-favorite-books, paranormal-romance, vampires, demons, favorite-series

I went on a journey reading this book with my fellow Kick Group members in our series read.

The book centers around a group of warriors called The Sentinels who are one of three races that have been trained since birth to protect humanity. In this book you meet Helen Day who has a vision of her death with a man watching as she burns; as she goes to lunch in a diner she finds herself looking at the face of the man that is in those haunted visions. Drake feels the pull of her force and is determ...more

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Feb 12, 2012 Dianne Socci-Tetro rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: galleys-arcs

urning Alive: The Sentinel Wars by Shannon K Butcher

With Burning Alive: the Sentinel Wars, Shannon Butcher (wife of author Jim Butcher) makes her paranormal debut. And let me tell you she had me by the throat with the very first sentence: "The man who was going to stand by and watch while Helen burned to death liked his coffee black." This is a wonderfully fast paced paranormal romance novel and a very fast read that will leave you wanting more. It is very different than the usual paranormal rom...more urning Alive: The Sentinel Wars by Shannon K Butcher

With Burning Alive: the Sentinel Wars, Shannon Butcher (wife of author Jim Butcher) makes her paranormal debut. And let me tell you she had me by the throat with the very first sentence: "The man who was going to stand by and watch while Helen burned to death liked his coffee black." This is a wonderfully fast paced paranormal romance novel and a very fast read that will leave you wanting more. It is very different than the usual paranormal romance, possibly because of Ms Butcher's experience with writing romantic suspense and mystery.

This book is filled with good guys, bad guys, steamy sensual scenes between Helen and Drake, there are things that would curl your hair and make you look under the bed before getting in and characters that you aren't sure just which side of the war they are fighting on.

With this first book we get to meet some of the factions that are on both sides of the War. We get to meet Drake the Theronai warrior and part of the Sentinels born to fight the Synestryn, we also meet Logan who is a Sanguinar, a healer and called the `leech' since he seems to be a vampire, who has the ability to help heal the warriors, and who seems to have his own agenda. Helen Day the human (or is she?) who believes that Drake will be standing by to watch while a vision of hers comes true and who finds herself fighting the Synestryn by Drakes side.

The characters are all flawed to some degree and that makes them seem more real to me. Ms Butcher also pulls no punches, this is no typical "romance" people die, even ones you like and they carry secrets. Many secrets. Enough so that you know that this will be a series worth reading.

I'm not going to get bogged down in explaining what is going on or even give any other details. The book synopsis and description do a wonderfu job of that. I'm just letting you know that I couldn't finish this book fast enough so I could get the word out that this is one you definitely need to read. It's fresh, it's fast paced, it has mystery,it's hot and it is a book that has something for everyone. (less)

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Feb 10, 2012 Kathy Davie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, romance

First in the Sentinel Wars paranormal-romance series revolving around beings who protect the world from demons. The couple focus is on Drake Asher and Helen Day.

My Take
Yeah, the Sentinels all think the demons did something to kill off their women. I suspect Gilda, the Gray Lady.

This is an excellent story and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series, Finding the Lost , but Butcher leaves us hanging with little information and lots of teases. I know, generally, this is a good thing si...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Starry marked it as to-read

Shelves: books-that-i-didn-t-but-will-finish

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 01, 2011 Madame X rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-urban-fantasy

I really wanted to like BURNING ALIVE. I'm a big Jim Butcher fan and I was all ready to love his wife's debut paranormal romance. Plus, I figured - Butcher has written a pretty amazing guide about how to structure a novel. She'd have to pick up a few of his tricks - like good structure and pacing - right?

No. No, no, and no.

BURNING ALIVE is bad. Painfully bad. I wish I could say something else but - everything about it seemed wrong. Helen's disbelief when she found out about superhuman protecto...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Kerra added it

Shelves: favourites

Wow, this book starts off a new series really well! The plot line and history is really interesting; I've never read anything like it before! A lot of new stuff was introduced, but it was interesting, so even though I was being lectured, it was really cool stuff.

A lot of characters were introduced, and I like them all so far (except Logan, of course!) Even though it makes me sad, I appreciate that Butcher isnt afraid to kill off her characters (haha no pun intended). It makes for an unpredictabl...more

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Apr 11, 2011 Natasja rated it 3 of 5 stars

Helen had visions about her own death since she can remember, burning alive as a dark gorgeous stranger watches smiling. She decide not to let this ruin her live and try to enjoy. When she finally meets this stranger Drake from her dreams, she fears that her death is nearby. But this warrior Drake refuses to believe that her vision will come true and vow to protect her against this vision.

Drake is a Theronai Sentinal warrior and has been fighting against the Synestryn demons as long as he can re...more

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Mar 12, 2011 Nyra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Me parecio muy buena historia, el argumento es bastante original lo cual es una sorpresa con respecto a este genero en donde suelen ser repetitivas las ideas. En este caso,los centinelas viven con un dolor permanente en su cuerpo y al encontrar una compañera de su raza este dolor se detiene, sin embargo al separarse este vuelve con mas fuerza haciendoles sufrir muchisimo más, su meta como tal es conquistarla y hacer que use su lucria(collar con de colores) con la promesa de ser suya, solo entonc...more

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Jun 07, 2010 Cindy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: keepers

Great read! I have a new 'must have' author.

I loved the opening with decrepit Miss Mabel whacking our hero with her walker because she thought he was hurting our heroine. The setup, secret warriors guarding the world from evil monsters, is not new but the author makes it her own.

The hero's people are born with a tattoo of a tree [lifetree:] which grows and matures as they do. As they move through life, their bodies suck up power and store it. This power is meant to be used by their mate to fue...more

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Aug 06, 2009 Kathleen Burket rated it 5 of 5 stars

I can't describe just how much I enjoyed the mythos that Shannon K. Butcher has created for this series. In so many paranormal novels, the master immortal cocoons and cares for his mate, shielding her from the uglier side of their world. Sometimes I felt sorry for these ladies, who would never understand what was happening as well as I did, and whose overly protective mates stifled any effort of theirs to participate in eliminating evil doers. Not so in "The Sentinal Wars."

The male sentinel dra...more I can't describe just how much I enjoyed the mythos that Shannon K. Butcher has created for this series. In so many paranormal novels, the master immortal cocoons and cares for his mate, shielding her from the uglier side of their world. Sometimes I felt sorry for these ladies, who would never understand what was happening as well as I did, and whose overly protective mates stifled any effort of theirs to participate in eliminating evil doers. Not so in "The Sentinal Wars."

The male sentinel draws and stores energy from the elements constantly. Each male sentinel has a living tattoo of a tree. When the sentinel's body gets to the point that it cannot store any more energy, the leaves start to fall. The sentinel dies a short while after the last leaf falls, in pain, and having lost their ability to distinguish right from wrong. If the sentinel has a mate, she can draw this energy from him and extend his life. She is also the master strategist in the battle, directing his action, and channeling his energy into magic to defeat their opponents. The couples enter combat side-by-side in perfect synchroneity.

That alone sold me on the book. Butcher could have not had a plot and I would have still called it a winner. Happily, she had a great plot, subplots, pacing, and characterization. Helen and Drake are a wonderful couple for whom you root from the very beginning. Helen, who believes that she is human, has the blood of ancients that will allow her to bond with Drake if she so chooses. The bad guys are nasty demons who would like to put the human race in cattle pens in order to feed from us so that they can break into the next dimension. The next dimension has an ancient powerful race whose domination would give the demons unlimited power. The sentinels are the guardians protecting humanity and the older race that created them. Many issues are resolve, many questions are raised, subplots are spun in a direction that would make great future books. One of the best first books of any series that I've read lately. Five bright and shining stars for Burning Alive.
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Jun 11, 2009 Katie(babs) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shannon K. Butcher has written what should be a pleasing paranormal, Instead this is a “been there, done that” mystical paranormal romance that has a close comparison to either J.R. Ward or Christine Feehan. Fans of those authors will probably enjoy this one. Shannon has created an immortal demon hunting hero who must protect an innocent young woman who is the key to this tortured hero’s salvation. Burning Alive is the first book in The Sentinel Wars, a new series about strong and hunky immortal...more Shannon K. Butcher has written what should be a pleasing paranormal, Instead this is a “been there, done that” mystical paranormal romance that has a close comparison to either J.R. Ward or Christine Feehan. Fans of those authors will probably enjoy this one. Shannon has created an immortal demon hunting hero who must protect an innocent young woman who is the key to this tortured hero’s salvation. Burning Alive is the first book in The Sentinel Wars, a new series about strong and hunky immortal men who must save humanity. At least these heroes have normal names like Drake, Thomas and Logan. I give Shannon a thumbs up for that.

Helen Day is a bit of a cliché character that keeps popping up in paranormal romance. She is the almost perfect heroine. She loves to volunteer and brings food to the sick and elderly. Helen is a loner and only feels comfortable around those she helps. She is friends with Miss Mabel, a spunky old woman. These two have a standing dinner date every Tuesday. This Tuesday will change Helen’s life because as she and Miss Mabel are having dinner at their favorite diner Helen sees a man sitting at the counter who will watch her burn to death. Helen has had a recurring nightmare of dying by fire while some strange man watches.

Drake is a Theronai warrior who has sworn to protect humans. As a Sentinel he must stop the Synestryn demons that have plagued the Earth for centuries. Drake notices Helen because she can’t stop staring at him. Helen should have really kept her eyes on the menu. He is very interested in her because suddenly the constant pain he feels lessens. The reason for his pain is because he has so much power building up inside of him and doesn’t have an outlet to release it. Drake and his other Sentinel friend, Zach are enjoying coffee waiting for a few of their brothers… erm sorry wrong series, other Sentinels to arrive. Drake is anxious because he feels the need to talk to Helen, or rather walk over to her and be all alpha and force her to tell him who she is. This gives Zack the perfect excuse to manhandle Lexi, the only waitress working in the whole place. (For some reason there are no other customers or diner workers around. Pretty convenient, wouldn’t you say?) Just as Drake feels the need to be with Helen, Zach feels the same with Lexi. But Lexi has one up on them. She knows what they are while poor Helen doesn’t.

Helen is about to faint and/or pee her pants when Drake invades her personal space. There is no way to escape him, especially when Drake touches her. He won’t let her go now because as long as he touches her, the excruciating pain he has lived with all his life disappears. Helen is his outlet. Again this sounds a bit familiar, much like Feehan’s heroes who see colors and feel emotions when they meet their mate. The same goes with Drake now and he will never let Helen go. And when those nasty demons invade the diner, Helen, Miss Mabel, Drake and his motley crew have no choice but to fight for their lives. Drake takes the two women to safety along with Thomas who is close to loosing his soul. Because Lexi is able to escape, she runs away to places unknown while Zach is hot on her tail because he needs her. I think we can assume that these two will have their own book in the future.

Drake keeps a strong hand on Helen and along with Thomas driving and Miss Mabel in the backseat they drive to safety. They go to Helen’s house but Drake fails to mention that the demons can track them because of his blood that has been spilled. The demons find them, destroy Helen’s house and off these super men take their booty and go to their super secret protected hideaway. Helen is somewhat of a wreck but Drake keeps her protected because he is quite the skilled fighter who can fight with one hand while he keeps his other hand on Helen at all times. At least Miss Mabel is still around to use her walker to defend herself.

Drake has to talk Helen into staying with him and accept her destiny, which leads to hot sex between the two. Helen is coming into her own powers that have been activated because of Drake. There is also something about a missing sword they must locate to defeat the demons that keep coming after them. Why would you need a powerful sword when you can use the Mabel walker?

Because the market is being saturated by so many immortal warrior men fighting against evil while finding true love, I have a strange sense of déjà vu while reading Burning Alive. I did enjoy what I read but not so much so that I would be invested in future books. I was interested more in the secondary story between Zach and Lexi than I was with Drake and Helen. Unfortunately Drake and Helen seem to be a rehash of every other paranormal series couple I have read in the past few years.

What a shame Shannon Butcher could not deliver something new and exciting to the paranormal world. Burning Alive may appeal to some fans who don’t mind having this feeling of, “been there, done that” when reading about a group of immortals who fight evil and still have time to find love and quench their lust for that one special lady.(less)

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Apr 13, 2009 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This review contains slight spoilers.

The first time Helen saw Drake, it was in a vision of her own fiery death. So imagine her fear when she finally sees the man sitting across from her in a diner. Helen's alarm is brought to the attention of the waitress serving her, a woman named Lexie, who is also Helen's friend. Lexie knows about Helen's vision, and from Helen's sudden fear and comments deduces that Drake is the man in the vision. Lexie decides to help Helen escape the diner by distracting D...more This review contains slight spoilers.

The first time Helen saw Drake, it was in a vision of her own fiery death. So imagine her fear when she finally sees the man sitting across from her in a diner. Helen's alarm is brought to the attention of the waitress serving her, a woman named Lexie, who is also Helen's friend. Lexie knows about Helen's vision, and from Helen's sudden fear and comments deduces that Drake is the man in the vision. Lexie decides to help Helen escape the diner by distracting Drake and the men sitting with him. The distraction goes awry, and Drake realizes he has an unavoidable attraction to Helen. They are both drawn to each other--and neither knows why. When Drake touches Helen, the pain he's been enduring all of his long life disappears. Helen soon pushes him away, and all that excruciating pain comes crashing back down upon him, crippling him temporarily until Drake's companions make Helen touch him again. Together, they discover the how's and why's of this phenomenon, and it inevitably leads them to becoming a weapon for the Sentinels, and a hope for mankind.

Helen, the heroine in this story, is constantly plagued by fire. Her mother died in a house fire, her own home has burned down a few times, and even the diner in the beginning burns down. The vision of her death fuels her fear for fire, and seeing Drake in the diner only made her panic even more, because she believed he was going to watch her die soon. What irritated me was the fact that, although she eventually believed Drake didn't want to harm her, she wouldn't talk about her vision with him, believing he'd still watch her die, even though he had risked his life to save her. I thought she was a little daft about that. I mean, you don't sleep with the guy when you think he's going to watch you bite the dust soon! That's just plain stupid. Helen's character is not as fleshed out as possible, and that detracts from being able to connect with her. I felt hardly any connection to her. She's a bit two-dimensional and on the boring side.

Drake, the hero, is a physically strong and handsome Sentinel. Although he is not human, he is very human-like in his thoughts, feelings, actions, and appearance, which makes it easy for the reader to connect with him. He is in continuous pain, both from his grief over the deaths of so many loved ones within his 600 year lifespan, and from the fact that a trait of his race is that they collect power from all around them and store it within their bodies, much like a battery, but they have no way of using it or releasing it. So all that power builds up, and it gets harder and harder for the Sentinels to store it. When Helen touches him, she absorbs his power, absolving him of pain. This comes as good news to Drake, because is he close to dying, and only bonding with Helen can save his life.

Drake and Helen are only together for a few days and they fall in love. I'm a little skeptical about stories where the hero and heroine fall in love quickly, but I've learned to take it at face value.

All in all, it's a decent book. I like the story and the ideas behind it, and I believe I'll like where Butcher's going with this series. There's lots of action (of all kinds *wink*), humor, and sex. Character development needs a little work though.(less)

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Apr 05, 2013 Aerandria rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It was horrible.

The main heroine, Helen Day, could do with a better name. Naive, clueless, whiny, and stupid. Which are the main qualities of most main heroines in this kind of book. She's so sure about her vision that she's going to die burning and a man watching her burn like its a nice show. A man who she actually agreed to be bonded with. At first sight, she hated him, but she wants to get near him, at the same time she wants to run away. Oh, the fatal attraction! She had sex too soon. Fell...more It was horrible.

The main heroine, Helen Day, could do with a better name. Naive, clueless, whiny, and stupid. Which are the main qualities of most main heroines in this kind of book. She's so sure about her vision that she's going to die burning and a man watching her burn like its a nice show. A man who she actually agreed to be bonded with. At first sight, she hated him, but she wants to get near him, at the same time she wants to run away. Oh, the fatal attraction! She had sex too soon. Fell in love within a span of 3 days. Drake was the common type main man. Hot, lustful, tormented, and in pain. He took advantage of Helen to ease his own pain. Not that I'll complain. If I have to deal with constant pain all my life, and have a painkiller in front of me, I would take it too. As far as I can say there's nothing special about these two main characters. Nothing that I have not seen before.

What happened at the cave was ridiculous. What happened to flamethrowers? Or even a basic lighter and a can of aerosol? Why aren't they prepared? I thought they handled the monsters for centuries. They should have more experience of what's in the mob's nest. Why are they depending on a girl who just got thrust in their world without any knowledge on how to use her newfound powers? And she obviously have a phobia of fire. You expect her to conjure a thing that she fears most?? So, they barged in a monster's nest to get his friend's sword, and ended up having one man down, and also lost the sword. Terrific.

I hated Hilda. Why is she bashing on the new girl who only knows about their existence for a day? Its not like she can learn to do everything what Hilda can do within a span of a few years when Hilda already lived up to what? A thousand years? That's so unreasonable. Threatening to kill the girl is much more unreasonable. When there's so many warriors in need of pain relieving. She's so old but she's whining like a dumb bitch.

Okay, I don't want to rant anymore. As much as I don't like this book, I am actually interested about what will happen to Zachary and Lexy. I could just hope it would be better than the first book. (less)

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Oct 07, 2012 Ivie Hill rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book- series has definite potential. I will scroll trough the rest of the series and hopefully it will pick up. The whole brotherhood of the damned thing where only a female could save their life is a well used theme but there are heaps of books out there that make it work.

My biggest grief with this particular book was the continuous whine from our main female lead about her insecurities. She was going on and on about how she thinks she's fat and omigosh how can he like me? Mood-killah. If...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Lisa - (Aussie Girl) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-urban-fantasy

Burning Alive is a pretty good first instalment of a paranormal romance which is heavy with the world building, characters and rules of engagement between the Sentinel Races and their evil nemesis the Synestryn. The Theronai are warriors who are protectors of the earth and must find their mate to disperse their awesome power before their lifemark withers and their soul dies. The Sanguinar, their allies and a race that needs blood to survive with mysterious powers and the evil Synestryn a demonic...more

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About Shannon K. Butcher

A lot of authors knew they wanted to write books from the time they were little. Their heads were full of fanciful stories that they yearned to commit to paper with a passion that only grew as they did. They spent hours reading fiction, voraciously absorbing every kind of story they could get their hands on.

Shannon was not one of them.

When she was little, she wanted to be a daddy. When she learned...more A lot of authors knew they wanted to write books from the time they were little. Their heads were full of fanciful stories that they yearned to commit to paper with a passion that only grew as they did. They spent hours reading fiction, voraciously absorbing every kind of story they could get their hands on.

Shannon was not one of them.

When she was little, she wanted to be a daddy. When she learned the anatomical improbability of that happening, she decided instead to become what her dad was: an Industrial Engineer. So that’s what she did. She never once changed majors or veered from her path. After she graduated, she went to work for a big telecom company earning a steady paycheck while her husband pursued his dream to become a published author.

For those of you who might not know, Shannon's husband is Jim Butcher, fantasy and sci-fi author extraordinaire. She learned to write in an effort to help him improve his own work and as soon as she discovered that writing was more a learned skill than a natural talent she knew she had to give it a try. She couldn’t resist the challenge of taking the pieces of a story apart and putting them back together again. It’s the kind of puzzle that made her want to be an engineer to begin with – to learn how things work and why. She thought she’d write the same kind of thing Jim did, but then she picked up her first romance in 1998 and was hooked. Somehow, stories about how two people come to love each other made everything else seem shallow in comparison. Maybe it was just her hormones talking, but whatever it was, it was loud, so she listened and she started writing romances. She wrote great heaping piles of suckfulness – like most new writers – but eventually her work sucked less and hopefully that trend will continue as she learns more. Heaven knows she have a great teacher. (Thanks, Jim.)

A family of geeks to the core, the Butchers live in Independence, Missouri, with their son and a dog who is only one four-foot stick away from being a dust mop.
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“I didn't mean to push your psycho button.” — 62 people liked it

“If you hurt her I'll make you pay. I may be old, but that doesn't mean I can't make you suffer."

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Burning Alive (Sentinel Wars #1)

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