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Tuesday, June 5, 2018

A Book Review of Burning Bright by Chris Cannon, Plus Guest Post





Burning Bright (Going Down in Flames #5) by Chris Cannon
Genre: Young Adult (Fantasy Romance)
Expected publication: June 4, 2018
Publisher: Entangled Teen

Bryn is back for her senior year at the Institute for Excellence, also known as shape-shifting dragon school. She isn’t sure which is scarier, the life-force sucking dragons stalking campus or the fact that she’s officially betrothed to Jaxon, a guy who will never love her. Not that she could ever love him, either… That’s just ridiculous.

Senior year should be fun. Her parents are alive, she’s finally fitting in, and she’s learning how to be a Medic. But what’s with Jaxon giving her strange looks? He runs hot and cold, and he doesn’t even have the excuse of being a hybrid fire-and-ice-breathing dragon like her. One minute they’re having a great time and the next, she wants to blast a fireball at his head. The marriage contract of doom looms over them--unless this match not made in heaven kindles a flame… 


Burning Bright is the fifth book in the Going Down in Flames series by Chris Cannon. Even though it's been over a year since I read the last book, the author does a wonderful job bringing you up to speed and reminding you of whats happened without repetition. This is a gift, my friends. Still, this is a series you must read in order. So much has happened to these characters. They've grown and come such a long way. Bryn is simply amazing. Her sarcasm and whit is spot on, especially when it's aimed at Jaxon. I just love her. Jaxon? That guy is something else too. And, it's funny because, well, you know if you've read my other reviews... I've been a Jaxon fan from the start, but I got to know him even more within this book. He has many sides to him, and he's not too different from Bryn in a lot of ways. I guess I sort of realized that before, but it really hit me in this book. I really can't say more about how fantastic this story was without spoilers. You need to experience it for yourself.

This is the final book in this series. Please say it isn't so! Although this book wrapped everything up nicely, I'm definitely not ready for it to end! I have to say, I loved everything about this book and this series as a whole. I could happily live in this world. As a dragon, of course. ;-)

The ARC of Burning Bright by Chris Cannon was kindly provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley for review. The opinions are my own.


“I think we are at the no-news-is-good-news stage,” Jaxon said.

“That works for me.” Bryn said. “I’m hoping my chaos magnet days are over. I’d love an uneventful holiday season.” “The Christmas Ball should be safer this year. Your grandfather has hired extra guards and installed more surveillance cameras around the estate.” “That’s comforting, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to relax and believe an event is safe.”

“I feel compelled to point out that the common denominator among all the recent chaos has been you.”

“And you get to spend the rest of your life with me,” Bryn shot back. “You lucky duck.”

“I can barely contain my joy.”

They drove back to the Institute for Excellence trading comments and laughing. It was nice. On the way to her room, he said, “Do you still have the present I asked you to keep for me?”

Way to put a damper on the day. “I do.” Where is he going with this?
“Can I have it back?” he asked.

“Of course.” She unlocked her door, letting him into the living room and then went to retrieve the bracelet from underneath her sweaters. Should she admit she’d looked at it? No.

Jaxon accepted the box from her and held it in his palm like he was testing its weight. “I finally figured out what I should do with it.” He slid it into his coat pocket and then said, “I almost forgot.” He pulled a small white cardboard box from his pocket and handed it to her.

“What’s this?” She opened the box and looked inside to find brownies dotted with green Christmas tree-shaped sprinkles.

“I stopped in a bakery to order something for my mother, and I saw those.”

That was oddly thoughtful of him.

“I know normal girls wouldn’t want to eat brownies after baking cookies all day, but I figured that didn’t apply to you.”

“It’s not like I can argue that statement, so thank you.”

“Good night, Bryn.”

“Good night.” She locked the door behind him before taking a bite of brownie. It was chocolatey fudgey heaven. A small voice in her head whispered that he must actually care about her. The smarter part of her brain said to shut up and enjoy the brownie. No reason to read anything even remotely romantic into the nice gesture.

Bryn stopped mid chew. Wait. What? Did she just think of romance and Jaxon in the same sentence? Sure, he was funny, and smart, and handsome when he wasn’t being an asshat, but that didn’t mean there would ever be any real feelings between them. Right? 

My Take on Dragons.
I created a dragon mythology which was cut from the first book in the series. I don’t think I ever thought to insert it into the rest of the series. So here’s my take on dragons. Dragons were the Earths first children. She created them from the five elements: earth, water, air, fire and quintessence. Man came along after dragons. Jealous, of their mother’s new creations, some dragons sought to bend man to their will, using their superior power to rule over humans. Upset by this sibling rivalry, Mother Earth bound dragons and humans together. Dragons are born in human form. They exist as humans until their sixteenth birthday when they come into their power. This gestation period bonds dragons to humans and allows them to co-exist.
Check out my review of the other books in this series!

author
Chris Cannon is the award-winning author of the Going Down In Flames series and the Boyfriend Chronicles. She lives in Southern Illinois with her husband and several furry beasts. She believes coffee is the Elixir of Life. Most evenings after work, you can find her sucking down caffeine and writing fire-breathing paranormal adventures or romantic comedies. 

To learn more about Chris Cannon and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on GoodreadsFacebookTumblrPinterest, and Twitter.


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