Everybody Burns

Enhanced World, Book 6

By: Victoria Sue

Narrated by: Iggy Toma

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Eli was only seven years old when he had been given to monsters.

Sixteen years later he finally gets the chance for revenge, and with his enhanced abilities changing, nothing and no one is going to stop him, especially a new partner who seems to see right through the black holes in his soul.

Agent Daniel Connelly left Washington trying to keep his sanity, but the images of the innocent victims are still haunting him and knows the horror in Eli's eyes is exactly what he is trying to forget.

Everybody Burns is a story about two men falling in love. Except one doesn't think he is capable of it...and the other doesn't think he deserves it.

©2020 Victoria Sue (P)2020 Tantor

Book 6 in this paranormal series

I've read this author before but not this series. This is a paranormal series and this is book 6. I haven't read any of the others books. I listened to the audio book. This book was Daniel, a FBI Special Agent in a special unit and enhanced Eli. Great story and world created, but many of the previous characters mentioned so audio was confusing. Daniel has amazing patience and won Eli over. One narrator, and I can't wait to read the others from this series.

Great story!

Daniel and Eli’s relationship isn’t your typical romance but is stronger and more touching because of the differences. I’m not fond of the new narrator but it’s always tough changing in the middle of a series.

Trigger warning child abuse

This story was a story of a man finding a love, a live who proven he was wonderful.

Wonderful Story and Outstanding Narration

What a wonderful story in one of my favorite series! And the narration by Iggy Toma was outstanding.

Eli was abused, sexually and physically, from age 5 by his foster father in a foster system who failed him. One of the enhanced, he now wants nothing more than to kill that man and to go far away where he know no one so he can be left alone. He can no longer perform sexually but feels no one would want him anyway. Daniel is one of the "human" team members, newly transferred from DC, where he left his own set of nightmares and misery behind him.

Partnered together, the two begin a very slow burn dance of attraction and denial as they navigate their destiny and work to bring Eli's former foster parent to justice.

I won't say more about the story but I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed both the underlying criminal element and the not-so-subtle romantic attraction. Both characters were deserving of love and both finally found their way to what I hope is their HEA. Iggy Toma's voices were varied and distinct. Very easy to listen to. Highly recommended audio.

Career Change for Gregory

honestly, the man seems to have a knack for matchmaking, he's four for four in the span of a year, dude has a VERY promising career as a professional matchmaker lol.

but really, I just wanna take Eli and feed him and hug him and protect him. poor baby 😢

Finally got to Eli...

He's been part of every book but you didn't know him well. Author did a great job of teasing us with just enough information about this reclusive, quiet, intense team member.
Maybe too good. My only issue was that the Eli I've had snippets of didn't turn out to be as "big" as the teasing made him. Oh, he was interesting and disturbed and had huge issues. But in his own book, he came across like all the other members of the team, another tortured soul.

Heartbreaking but great

Eli's story was heartbreaking with everything he had to endure. Iggy did an amazing job as always.

I didn’t think this story could get any better.

When I read and reviewed Everybody Burns back in June of 2020, I absolutely loved it. When I started listening to the audiobook a couple of days ago (Feb. 2021) I didn’t see how I could like the story any more than I already did. Boy was I wrong.

Iggy Toma’s voice was a perfect fit for this book. I know some people might be disappointed that there was a change in narrator for this one but please don’t let that keep you from giving this book a chance. I’m also a huge fan of the other narrator so loving Iggy Toma’s performance is in no way a slam on NJR.

It’s kind of rare for the audio of a book I’ve already read to move me emotionally as much as when I read it. Iggy Toma managed to do that and in more than one place I had tears running down my face.

Below are my notes from when I reviewed the ebook.

Eli had an absolutely horrifying childhood. He was abused in the foster home where he was placed and then placed in hospitals that no child should ever have been placed in. All of this caused him difficulty with personal relationships as an adult.

Daniel left his job with the FBI in D.C. because he just couldn't stand working with child pornographers and traffickers any longer. The things he and his fellow agents had to do to catch the bad guys were pretty awful and he had to get away from it.

When Daniel and Eli are partnered up in the HERO (Human Enhanced Rescue Organization) unit things don't go so well. It's obvious to Daniel that Eli doesn't want anything to do with him. But then they get assigned a case that has to do with Eli's childhood and Eli ends up needing a place to stay. Daniel has room so he insists that Eli stay with him.

There are so many feelings that this story brought out in me. Anger and sorrow for what Eli went through, and is still going through. I was on pins and needles at several points waiting to see how a particular scene was going to play out.

Eli is such a special character in this series and Victoria Sue has written a wonderful story for him, with so much depth and feeling – and the HEA that Eli deserved.