Bitter Burn by Sierra Simone is the third book in the Lyonesse trilogy, an MMF contemporary retelling of Tristan and Isolde. To say I was excited for this book is a grievous understatement. I preordered a signed physical copy, and also preordered the ebook in case the fancy copy didn’t come in time to read right on release day. I was so ready.
*this review contains spoilers for Salt Kiss and Honey Cut*
Mark Trevena built an empire, one of sex and secrets, with a singular focus. Revenge. But a traitorous wife and fiercely honorable bodyguard set all his carefully laid plans awry.
Now they’ve run from him, his two beautiful toys, and despite their betrayal, Mark would move heaven and earth to protect them from the threat that looms large on the horizon. In a twisted tale of sacrifice and sin, Mark Trevena must fight his hunger for Tristan and Isolde to do what needs to be done.
there was no sleeping, no eating, no thinking, until I knew they were both alive and that their traitorous little hearts still beat in their dear, duplicitous chests.
These characters are adept at causing each other pain. Despite the fact that Bitter Burn is the third book in the series, there are still new sides of these characters to be discovered. Mark, Tristan, and Isolde are so fascinating, so complex, and so dimensional.
This is a contemporary romance, but it has an otherworldly, mythical feel, which is connected to the source material, yes, but also comes from the tone and emotion.
The prose is beautiful. It’s gorgeously well-written, and if our society can get past its current puritanical bullshit about sex and queerness, this series will be a classic someday, mark my words.
The light inside the house trims her in shades of pearl and gold, and she could be a holy card right now, Our Lady of Perpetual Knives, a saint of masochism and lies.
Truly heart-pounding drama abounds in this plot-fueled story, and much of it is deeply emotional. Even the damn afterword moved me. It’s impossible to read this book and not come away from it deeply invested in these characters and the series of events surrounding them.
Bitter Burn has elements of a slow burn, but not in the usual sense. There are spice scenes from the outset, and the spice is plentiful, but there is also a lot of jealousy, waiting, and yearning.
Look, if super religious people are right about sin and all that, then I am certainly going to hell because, for me, this spice is holy. I don’t know how Sierra Simone does it, but it’s magic — the connection between the characters, the intense, gorgeously written dominance and submission, and dirty talk that reads like poetry. I can’t get enough. I could die.
At the end of Bitter Burn, there are several exciting twists, but a particularly fun one had me shooting up in bed in the middle of the night as I devoured the final chapters, squealing with joy, accidentally waking my very confused husband. This was, without question, one of my favorite books of the year. I will undoubtedly re-read this trilogy time and time again.
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