This was the first book I've read by this author and I loved how quickly it picked up- it had me interested quickly. I love a fake dating romance and the dual POV really interested me because although it was a rather quick read I got the information I needed throughout. I loved the dynamic between Zora and Cyrus !!! I was rather confused about why Zora had to hide what she did for a living but in the end everything was resolved and I was happy with how it wrapped up- although I would've enjoyed some groveling!! Zora's siblings were fantastic and I would love to read books about them in the future!!!

First of all, YES POC and plus size representation. I’m so happy with this and it was my favourite part of the story.

Second, I’m giving this a 3.5 star just because it felt rushed. The relationship went from 0 to 70 just too quickly for me, unfortunately. There are so many fake dating books out there, that each book has to stand out just that much more! And I’m sad to say that this one didn’t quite hit that for me.

However I think many people would love this story.

I really enjoyed this book! It was spicy, the emotional arc was there, and I really thought that Cyrus had great maturity at the end. I would recommend it to fans of contemporary romances.

Thank you #netgallary for this ARC.
First time reader of Animal Simone and I'm a fan. One of my favorite type of books are fake romances. I loved that it has a plus size representation. It also has the perfect amount of spice romance AND smut. The main couple develope throughout the story and had me hooked.

What a spiders web we weave. All I kept thinking about was how Zora was going to get out of the web she accidentally created. I will say it made for a quick read. I did struggle with why Zora had to hide her job from the start, I just didn't get how that would have been a breach. Sometimes it's the small things that can trip up a story for me. I do like how it all got resolved in the end. The siblings were a hoot and I can imagine they will have a great books of their own if that is where this author is going with the series.

An interesting and unusual business venture brings Zora and Cyrus together. Their story has twists and turns before arriving at the hoped for HEA. Fans of Naima will not be disappointed as this romance is as strong and sassy as she can be relied upon to deliver.

This was a DNF for me. No matter how hard I tried I could not get into the book or connect with the characters. I hope others enjoy this one because I really wanted to! Thank you to NetGallery for allowing me to read this eARC.

I liked the concept of how these two main characters meet. Zora and her family own a business that breaks up with people. The story revolves around the after effects of a break up. I enjoyed the way the characters evolved. I did feel like the ending was a little rushed overall I found the story engaging, moved along at a good pace.

000 Y'all, I have to admit I do not read much of this genre of writing but wow, I loved it! Excellent storyline and it really had a great way of pulling you into the story! Highly entertaining.

Even though the story happens in a short period of time and you know they have the hots for each other really fast, there's a slow burn feeling... I loved the approach about Zora's role in her family dynamic and how it influenced her relationships. I also love the representation of a woman outside the standards society dictates... she's strong and has her own opinions... an absolute example for anyone reading to follow in their own lives. You also just can't help but think who the author was imagining when writing Cyrus, 'cause he sure sounds hot as all hell! I missed some kind of confrontation between Zora and her parents, but overall I really enjoyed this read. Also, I really want to read some more about Miriam, because she is just a blast of light throughout the book!

A gripping novel about a breakup professional who embarks on a fake relationship with a client’s ex—the one person she wasn’t supposed to fall for.
Oh wow. What a fantastic book! I was totally hooked… I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

my first time with naima simone but i'm ready for more!

heated tells us a story of zora nelson - she owns a company called BURNED with her siblings, their company focuses on breaking up with people for their clients. her story is a bit emotional - we get to learn how difficult her childhood was due to her challenging parents, she was a peacemaker in her family and now her goal is to break up people so they won't end up in a relationships like her parents did.

on the other hand we have cyrus hart who's also a successful person with a difficult backstory. his parents died when he was still a child and since then he was focusing on making a plan for his life ahead. he works as an attorney at a prestigious entertainment attorney office.

they met when zora had to break up with him by reading him a letter from his girlfriend - val. obviously this isn't the best way to met someone but this didn't stop both zora and cyrus to slowly fall in love.

i love fake relationship trope and that's what we get here. cyrus wants to become a partner in his company and when he hears that there will be a company retreat his first thought was "i need to have a girlfriend so i look more reliable" and of course he decided to get zora to be his fake girlfriend - 3 months being together and then they can forget about each other - but let me tell you, that wasn't the case.

we get lots of insights into their character development as well as spicy thoughts & scenes. i really liked the mix of an interesting plot with good spicy scenes. the characters also really made me like this book more but at the same time i feel like it was missing something.

overall i enjoyed this book, would definetly recommend to people who like erotic books with romance & fake relationship trope and fast pace because it had all of that! when you finish the book you might think "oh god is it done already? i want more!". well.. at least i did.

Just from the very beginning this wasn’t my favourite. I powered through it but wouldn’t read again or recommend it. Nothing stood out or really made Zora and Cyrus and their fake dating special. Overall just average.

This is the ifrst time reading something by this author and it won't be the last. I really enjoyed this one. Zora ans Cyrus were perfect!

Two main characters, Zora and Cyrus who meet through Zora's business. Zora is strong and honest. Cyrus is a man who wants attention as soon as he walks into a room. His character development is A+.

I enjoyed the dual POV and strong writing. Brilliant cover that captured me in the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

What an interesting premise! Zora and her siblings own a firm that specializes in helping people break up with their significant others. In doing one of the jobs, Zora meets Cyrus, whose girlfriend hired Zora and team to help her break up with him.

The premise felt quite original and overall, I really liked both the main characters and the supporting characters (well, especially Zora's siblings and Cyrus' best friend). However, the ongoing conflict of "should she tell him about her company Burned", felt a bit ridiculous and while the author made a good case as to why this was kept hidden, I admit that throughout the story, I just shook my head, knowing that the inevitable conflict was going to happen and why.

Generally, though, I enjoyed this story and hope that all the other great characters get their story too!

#NetGalley #Heated

Thanks to Montlake and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed one of NS prior titles, so I was excited to see this come up in NetGalley.

This book is about Zora and Cyrus. They meet when Zora is hired by Cyrus' girlfriend to break up with him. He misunderstands her role in the break-up, thinking she's a friend rather than a contracted worker. They begin a fake relationship to impress his conservative company and help him get a promotion... calamity ensues.

Honestly the Big Lie is a trope I don't read. The second hand anxiety of it is more stress than I want in my novels.

The friendships and banter are funny and sweet. Cyrus slowly falling for Zora and pointedly denying it is adorable. Zora's siblings are amazing and so delightfully cute together. I don't really care for the evil ex-girlfriend thing in general, but it kept the story moving.

I would recommend for those who can manage this trope. I would be interested in reading more if the Nelson siblings.

A slow burn five-star read. This is number one in the Burned, Inc series and I am wanting to read the rest, which surprised me as to be honest for the first third of this story I wasn’t sure I would finish it. I don’t know why it took me so long to get to grips with Zora and Cyrus but once I did, it was all I could think about. I loved the premise of the Burned business and would have loved to have used them a time or two. This is so much more than a romance between Zora and Cyrus, it’s the other characters that bring the heat as well.

Fake relationship and grumpy sunshine all rolled into one book and I love it! I got to read and ARC of this book and can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy! The relationship between Zora and Cyrus starts out rocky but develops quickly and so perfectly! With some secrets on both sides there are bound to be ups and downs and I love that you can’t predict when the secrets are going to come out. It leaves you interested and on your toes. Being released in July of 2022, put it on your calendars!

Review will be posted on Instagram @libraryofhallie and on Goodreads!

5/5 for Heated by Naima Simone

I LOVED IT.!

Not only was it well written (the main thing I love for), the plot was to DIE for. Zora is everything I wanted and more. She is strong yet vulnerable, beautiful and confident in who is she, and just generally a pretty amazing person. Cyrus was a SURPRISE. Most alpha-male types can be annoying af because they show no emotion. They are just plain rude to others and have no sense of thankfulness either. Cyrus is smart, hot and respectful, which gave everything it needed to give!

The plot was super well-developed and I enjoyed every second of it. It wasn't too fast-paced where I felt like horse racing to the finished line, but it also wasn't too slow where I would fall asleep (I'm too impatient for slow-burn romance lol).

spoilers!

What I liked:
1. Man can BAKE
2. Cyrus standing up for his woman
3. Levi is one psychopathic, yet hot man lol
4. The seggsy stuff
5. Exposing the misogyny

What I didn't like
1. Zora being a little self-centered.
2. Valentine Summers