Sunburnt by Joey Jameson

Lenox Winter is the son of rock royalty. Although born into the London elite, his laid-back style and relaxed vibe has always made him feel better suited for something or somewhere outside of the legacy his parents have built. Some place where the sun shines all year long and the people move to a different beat. Ibiza.

Far away from the busy streets and dreary skies of London rests the white isle. Home to hedonism, immaculate sandy beaches, and utter tranquility. While holidaying on the island with a group of his best friends, and desperate to leave behind the stresses of London as well as the harmful memories of his ex, he meets Lyric; a man who epitomises the bohemian vibe of his beloved Ibiza.

As romance quickly blossoms between the two, Lenox begins to feel that he may have finally found someone special to help him escape the suffocating clutches of his life in the UK. But when things take a drastic turn, both begin to realise that there are two sides to every person and that some things are better kept hidden.

Sunburnt is a story of romance, intrigue, and deep twisted secrets that takes the idea of a holiday romance to catastrophic new heights.

Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
NineStar Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆
This is a psychological thriller about a group of privileged trust fund kids who live glitzy lives in London and party hard in Ibiza. The main character, Lenox, is the stereotypical rock star’s son. His interests and relationships are pretty superficial, and he dabbles in pseudo-careers (photography and DJing) that will never pay the rent on his Notting Hill home.

The first three quarters of this story are told from Lenox’s perspective. This first part of the book tells the story of his London life, his relationships with his friends, and their party holiday in Ibiza. The second part of this story is a startling pop-psychology thriller. The book is completely missing a connection between the two parts of the story. For this type of thriller to work, an author needs to be able to build and manipulate the tension and suspense in a way that doesn’t happen here. We get a couple of hints that Lenox has had a bad break-up, a few clues that someone might be watching him – but nothing that builds to the quite shocking climax of the story.

I have to admit that I didn’t like the characters at all. Privileged white male trust fund kids are not sympathetic characters to start with. With little self-awareness and a casual sense of entitlement, I really struggled to care for him at all. Lyric seems just as causally entitled and the only thing worse than trust fund London brats might be trust fund faux hippies in Ibiza. There is some heat between Lyric and Lenox but I’m not sure Lenox is actually capable of real intimacy.

I feel like this story could have used some careful editing to make the psychological thriller element work. Copy editing errors also threw me off, but I read an ARC and I assume these errors will be fixed before publication. The psychology at the end of the story is sensationalised and I’m not sure the author had an accurate or realistic grasp of the psychiatric condition they were writing about.

Joey Jameson lives in Brighton, UK; a world of decadence, glamour and intrigue. He believes life is better when drizzled with naughtiness and drenched in layer upon layer of sparkling glitter. His work is best appreciated with a hard drink and the lights down low and will leave you wondering just what goes on in that twisted little mind of his.

He is the author of Candy from Strangers, Blackout, Twisted and Interview with the Porn Star.

Stay tuned for more scintillating work to come your way soon…

Connect with Joey

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Sunburnt by Joey Jameson to read and review.