First of all, let it be said I hate the cover of this book. There was a previous cover released that was sans the hard male body on the front. It is a very attractive man. I'm just not sure why he's there. While this is still a paranormal series with a strong sexual current, this is not a romance novel. Nor does it Burned is the follow up to 2012's Iced, an installment Moning fans have been waiting for eagerly for a while as the release date continued to get pushed around. Iced followed Fever series fan-favorite Dani, and indeed the series was set up to belong to Dani. Yet, Burned returns the narrative focus to Mac. Whether you agree with this choice or not, the why of this will become clear upon reading. 
 I had trouble with Dani as a narrator in Iced for the same reason many did. I was somewhat uncomfortable by the sexual interest shown in a 14-year-old girl. I was actually excited for Burned to shift back to Mac. And yet, Mac's magic didn't feel all the way there with me either. Her story was over. I wanted her to have peace, or at least be able to pretend even as she played a larger role in Dani's story. And some of her spark seemed gone. She's in a rut, which makes sense. But also makes her somewhat dull as a narrator right now. Also I wanted to benefit from her and Barrons being together, and there was tension between them in this novel that seemed completely unnecessary. However, I will give Moning that I never worried about them as a couple. I did love getting even deeper into the Chester's and the nine in this novel. 
 Also, thanks to three year wait, I forgot Mac is 23. I am now 24. I do not like this. I felt slightly unsteady when I realized I am now older than Mac. It was like when the last Harry Potter book came out and I was suddenly the same age as Harry, except less exciting. If for nothing else than because my love life is not 1/2 as exciting as Mac's, before or after she came to Dublin, among many other things. 
 Moning's books have always been pure pleasure reading for me. I've read them since high school, and I've always devoured them. I still devoured this go around. But I also found myself thinking a little more analytically. A lot of time my inner dialogue was going "oh, so that's how she handled that problem." From a structure standpoint, Moning wrote herself out of a lot of corners in this novel, and set up the next puzzle pieces. But a lot of things didn't feel all that urgent in the book, even as Dublin, and the world, seems to be in more danger than ever. The main "plot" of the novel revolved around rescuing Christian. I must admit, I'm getting a little worn out on that front. Especially because it sees like everything we fought for in the Fever series is now moot. 
 I won't kid myself. I'm going keep coming back time and again from this series. But I worry that I'm going to feel for these installments the same way I felt about the last three Mortal Instruments novels. I enjoyed spending more time with the characters but from a narrative standpoint, they were weak.