Hauk Michaelson lives in Whispering Cove where he was unfortunate enough to have lost the last two women he loved. The first was the mother of his little girl, Sophie; she walked out on them and was later found dead on the beach, forcing Hauk to prove his innocence. Later he met a girlfriend who died in a rock-climbing accident. By now Hauk believes he should stay away from relationships. Little Sophie loves her father but wishes for a new mother. Their young lady friend Vic Hayes, who runs a salon, keeps busy hours and a lively life, a counterpart to Hauk's hours running his bar. Yet Vic ensures that Sophie is looked after and gives the girl feminine company. The two adults work together on preparations for the town's Fall Festival.

Foreseeably Hauk and Vic start to feel attraction and the sexual tension rises. Hauk is determined not to mess up their friendship, for both his and Sophie's sake, and he wants to keep Vic away from the town's gossipers. Despite his determination he finds himself making love with Vic, for she is equally determined when it comes to getting what she wants, even if she has to dress like a tramp and sing karaoke in the bar. Whether she can bring him to break his self-imposed solitude is another matter.

BURNED is shorter than it appears because at the end are three 'tasters' for other books: Brazen by Catherine Fox, Bold by Mackenzie McKade and Wicked by Nikki Duncan. Personally, I would have liked this book to take the space instead and show us the famous Fall Festival. I would also have liked less rehashing of the events of previous books in this series, which are of little interest to a newbie reading this as a standalone, but series fans might be quite okay with that. Nikki Duncan has given us an interesting situation in a well-detailed locale which is both friendly and claustrophobic.

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