Burning Muses

I've burned muses. I've felt little remorse. I stored our tales. I sold them for this life—this luxury,this ease. Their sighs and liesled me to believe theyenjoyed the dance too. I've burned muses. I laughed at those tales.Then I met him.

This story was a journey, one with a slow and satisfying burn. J.R. Rogue expertly unveils the various hurdles that each of the characters must overcome in order to find themselves and in turn, find each other.

And the poetry - oh my heart! Strong, captivating and consuming. The poetry mixed in with the prose totally works and is beautiful.

"She was not merely madness and melancholy. She was so much more."

I'm looking forward to more stories from this incredibly talented author.
- Bestselling Author, Trudy Stiles

This a debut novel, and people can be harsh about that fact alone. I went into this book blind. In truth that is what I like. The synopsis doesn't give much away, and I enjoy that. I went into this tale with no sight and came out a blubbering mess. When I cry in a book, it's because something has deeply touched me. It's usually not romance. I'm not one to start crying about love, or the loss of love. I cry when it comes to self redemption, and I'd like to think that's what this book is about. Rogue's writing style is impeccable. She will always be first, a poet, and I like that some of that leaked into her novel. Her characters are rich and well developed. Her story has a plot that goes beyond the bounds of a standard romance, or new adult novel. She tips the scales on debut releases and words written from the deepest part of our souls. That's a hell of a feat to accomplish. Rogue proves that she writes with one intention; to tell the tale deep within her bones. I admire her for that.
I'd like to think Chace is one of my favorite male characters who I have read about in a long time. His traits make him more lovable and respected than most of male characters I read about nowadays. He is true and easy to relate to. I feel like Chace is a real person, and I think that's why I like him. Sera, however, would top my list of favorite characters. Top five for sure. She's familiar to me. She's flawed and admittedly so. She's also very real. Her traits embody those of someone I could relate to. I felt myself wondering about Sera long after I had finished the book.
Rogue gives the reader the tools to know what's coming, but still slips a nice little extra subplot at the end, that wraps everything up in a neat little package. Bottom line-it all makes sense. I had no questions. Nothing was hard to believe. And I cried. I felt like I took a journey with Sera, and that's what a good story is all about.
-Author, H.B. Stumbo