Burning Daylight

De: Emily McIntire

Narrado por: Andi Arndt, Aaron Shedlock

From #1 New York Times Bestselling author Emily McIntire comes a contemporary Romeo & Juliet retelling and the first interconnected standalone in an all new series Defying the Stars.

Juliette Calloway lives in a world of luxury, legacies, and lies. The daughter of Rosebrook Falls’ most powerful family, her life is a carefully crafted performance, and she’s tired of being polished to perfection. Roman Montgomery doesn’t exist. Not officially, anyway. He’s a shadow, a hidden weapon, the secret heir to an empire soaked in danger and a generations-old feud. When their paths cross, sparks fly. No names. No pasts. Just reckless smiles and a chemistry neither of them can shake. Roman is charming. Mysterious. Infuriatingly flirty. And Juliette? She’s simply. . . his.

When Roman is called back to claim his place as heir to the Montgomery empire, the truth crashes down: Their families are sworn enemies, and Roman’s very existence is a threat. Their love isn’t just forbidden, it’s impossible. Now every kiss feels like a betrayal. Every stolen moment a risk. And in a town built on secrets and blood, their passion might just be the most dangerous thing of all.

*Burning Daylight is a Contemporary Romance. It features mature themes and content that may be triggering for some. Reader Discretion is Advised. For a full list of content warnings, check the author's website.*

©2025 Emily McIntire

"Retelling" but also Original...Top Read for Me!

I have been a huge fan of Emily's writing for a while now, but THIS ONE?! OMG THIS ONE!! This quickly became my favorite from her, and is one of my top reads/listens this year! It was just SO FRIKKIN GOOD!

I was reading this one as an ARC, but I hadn't finished by release day (life), so I purchased the audio to finish and BLESS IT! The narrators were fantastic as our two main characters. Throw in that it is duet style (favorite!), and I was hooked! Andi Arndt & Aaron Shedlock were perfect as Trouble & Princess/Little Rose (nicknames only for this review), and they portrayed their emotions so well! I truly felt like I was feeling everything that the characters were.

This one begins a series of interconnected standalones, and what a fantastic series launch! It is a reimagined/retelling of Romeo & Juliette, & I absolutely fell in love from the characters first meeting! The instant chemistry, the BANTER, the teasing, ugh just it was great!

How they cross paths again? YES PLEASE.

How they realize their paths are connected, how their families are intertwined, the forbidden feelings, the sneaking around, the possessiveness, THE CHALLENGES! THE TWISTS?!?!!?

Y'all, I could go on and on, because I absolutely devoured every little piece of this one! I truly don't think I could convey all the things, because now I am just rambling. I finished two days ago and these characters are still all I am thinking about.

TLDR: Loved it. Read it. Listen to it. You won't be disappointed!

Freaking beautiful!

Our narrators were amazing. I was so immersed in the story that I couldn’t wait to get back to it if I was forced to do other things.

This was my first Romeo and Juliet retelling and I’m hooked. This was so well done and I can’t wait to see where the series goes next.

Modern Day Romeo & Juliet Retelling

A loose retelling of Romeo and Juliet this story brings on a modern day setting with all the original vibes only with an HEA.

Emily McIntire knows how to write a retelling. We’ve seen it with her Never After Series. She has a way of incorporating modern day stories with influences of our favorite classical stories.

Her books are always full of heart and spice!

I loved Roman and Juliette. Their relationship riddled with angst, betrayal, and love. I loved the gossip girl type vibe with the Rosebook Rag.

This book features tropes of:
🖤 star-crossed lovers
💗 small Town, Big Secrets
🖤 rivals
💗 angst
🖤 betrayal
💗dual POV

I listened to this on audio and it was brilliant. Duet Narration, Andi Arndt and Aaron Shedlock bring this story and these characters to life.

“ℋℯ 𝒹𝓇ℯ𝓌 𝓂ℯ 𝓁𝒾𝓀ℯ 𝒶 𝓈𝓉ℴ𝓇𝓎 𝓌ℴ𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝓉ℯ𝓁𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔.” - Juliet 🤍

I was really excited to dive into this modern retelling of the classic Romeo + Juliet story. Especially knowing it was being written by Emily McIntire; so I came into it with some big expectations.

I felt the story was engaging but it did lose me at times as a reader. At times where the pace was slow I would have liked more understanding of the bloodlines, the long running conflict and how they came together in the first place. I found myself questioning, “what wait, how did we get here?” As the story went on it felt a bit rushed.

The spicy scenes…….🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵

I loved Juliet and Roman’s banter. 💕

Wonderful

I loved every second especially more so that it was an actual duet ! Made it 10000% better