Slow Burn: A Steamy Vampire Paranormal Romance

Cynthia Eden

Mar 2022 · Phoenix Fury Book 2 · Hocus Pocus Publishing, Inc.

About this ebook

Sink your teeth into this steamy vampire romance.

The king of the vampires is in hell…and he will do anything to get his freedom.

Ryder Duncan has been a prisoner at the Genesis facility for far too long. Trapped, starved, tortured—he is ready to do anything necessary in order to escape. If Genesis wants a monster, he will show his captors just how deadly he can be…

Then an angel is tossed into his cage. A beautiful angel who burns hell-hot and wrecks his world.

With one taste of Sabine Acadia’s blood, Ryder is hooked. Her taste is like no other and the flood of power he gets from her is a supernatural rush. He knows what she is—even before he is forced to watch the flames consume her. Beautiful, magical, more than a myth…Sabine is a phoenix, and when she rises, he vows that she will be his.

Thrown together in an alliance born of blood and passion, they have to trust each other.

Escape is their goal. Freedom their dream. Ryder vows to make their captors pay—in blood—even as he plans to keep Sabine at his side. He’s roamed this earth for centuries, and he’s always searched for his perfect mate. He just never expected his desire for her to burn so hot.

But that’s the thing about fire…even a slow burn will eventually consume you. 

Author’s Note: The phoenix shifters are back and hotter than ever. SLOW BURN was originally released by Kensington Publishing back in 2014 (the original title was ONCE BITTEN, TWICE BURNED), and I am so thrilled to have the chance to bring this story back to readers. If you love fierce, possessive, and ever-so-dangerous heroes, then you do not want to miss the king of all vampires. Because Ryder will truly walk through fire in order to claim the woman who is destined to be his… 

Ratings and reviews

Holy Smoke!! We got bits and pieces of Ryder’s story in the first book. We saw a vampire obsessed. Sabine didn’t have any idea what she was until she was taken by the Genesis Group Ryder has one taste and can’t get enough. His mate. “Happiness. Hope. Peace.” A muscle jerked along his jaw. “And when I look at you, I see all of those things.” This is a wonderful reprint. And even though it was first written in 2014 you’d never tell. Paranormal suspense you don’t want to miss.

SLOW BURN is the second instlament in Cynthia Eden’s contemporary, adult PHOENIX FURY erotic, paranormal romance series. This is vampire Ryder Duncan, and phoenix Sabine Acadia’s story line. SLOW BURN can be read as a stand alone but for back story and cohesion, I recommend reading the series in order. NOTE: SLOW BURN is the re-release of the author’s 2014 ONE BITTEN, TWICE BURNED. Some of the event of SLOW BURN cross over with, and run parallel to book one HOT ENOUGH TO BURN. SOME BACKGROUND: Approximately ten years earlier the existence of the paranormal, the supernatural was revealed to the world. A group calling themselves Genesis is capturing, torturing and performing unsanctioned experiments on the supernatural in an effort to create the perfect soldier. These are their stories. Told from third person perspective SLOW BURN follows ancient vampire Ryder Duncan and phoenix Sabine Acadia’s escape from the group known as Genesis. Ryder Duncan is an ancient vampire, believed to be the first vampire, and as such his powers are beyond that of which anyone knows but Ryder’s blood has been used by Genesis in an effort to create the perfect soldier but the power within the blood is more than anyone can handle. Enter phoenix Sabine Acadia, a young woman who knows nothing about her powers or the existence of the supernatural but a woman who is about to find herself front and centre in the unsanctioned experiments at the Genesis complex, experiments that match Sabine and Ryder together in an effort to merge their powers. Upon their escape, Sabine is desperate to return home to her family but her returns brings chaos and death to the people she loves. What ensues is the building relationship between Sabine and Ryder, and the potential fall-out as betrayal and vengeance target our story line couple. Sabine Acadia is an innocent, naïve to the world of the supernatural but Sabine’s past is mired in secrets and lies, and our heroine is about to discover how truly deep goes the betrayal. Ryder Duncan is the king of all vampires, and as such, he is impervious to most of the ‘usual’ things used to kill a vampire including fire and our story line heroine but one taste of Sabine’s blood, and Ryder is unable to stay away, blood that calls to our hero’s heart. The relationship between Sabine and Ryder begins as an experiment that goes horribly wrong for our story line couple. Ryder is starved of blood for months at a time, and Sabine is ripe for our hero’s lust. Sabine believes that Ryder only wants her for her blood but her memories reveal a bite that is both deadly and arousing. The $ex scenes are intimate and erotic without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Cain Connor and Eve Bradley (Hot Enough to Burn #1), scientists Richard Wyatt and Cassandra Armstrong, phoenix Dante, vampires Julia and Grayson; Sabine’s father and her brother Rhett; Rhett’s cousin Vaughn and his father Keith Adams; and Ryder’s brother Malcolm. SLOW BURN is another story of betrayal and vengeance, power and control, desperation and manipulation, torture and abuse, acceptance and love. The fast paced premise is dramatic and passionate; the romance is seductive and fated; the characters are energetic and strong.

This took the storyline that began in Hot Enough to Burn, to a whole new level!! With each turn of the page I was pulled further and further into the danger surrounding Ryder and Sabine. I couldn’t stop reading! Sabine’s situation was unique which had the effect of pulling me into the story pretty quickly. Her transition throughout kept me engaged as I cheered her on. I kept waiting for all that was within her to reach its pinnacle and when it did…holy heck it was an emotional moment! Ryder captured my attention in the first book and getting his side of that particular scene was a real eye opener. Nothing as I expected and all the better for it. He was fiercely protective and once Sabine entered his cell she was all he could think of, all he wanted. The uncertainty with the changes happening within the paranormals kept this couple, as well as myself, on edge. This has so many surprises within its many layers and laced within it all were moments so intense, so HOT, I couldn’t put it down!!! Wrapping it all up was an incredible tease for what’s coming next. This can stand alone as it gives all info you might need from book 1. However, I highly recommend you read it for yourself.

About the author

Cynthia Eden is a New York Times, USA Today, Digital Book World, and IndieReader best-seller. Cynthia writes sexy tales of contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and paranormal romance. Since she began writing full-time in 2005, Cynthia has written over one hundred novels and novellas.