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nero_nash's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Attention all Zutara fans 🗣️📣 this is the damn book for you!
The female MC does remind me of Yue... But I'm not complaining 😂
The prince has been served my heart on a gold platter. Seriously Bellamy, take it, it's yours.
Both Koraine and Bellamy are incredibly caring and strong willed characters. Their past and their growth in this book is truly something special. I'm quite proud of both of them and how far they have come.
All in all they both stole my heart and I'm DYING to have that second book😭
The female MC does remind me of Yue... But I'm not complaining 😂
The prince has been served my heart on a gold platter. Seriously Bellamy, take it, it's yours.
Both Koraine and Bellamy are incredibly caring and strong willed characters. Their past and their growth in this book is truly something special. I'm quite proud of both of them and how far they have come.
All in all they both stole my heart and I'm DYING to have that second book😭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Cursing, Child abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
Minor: Classism, Emotional abuse, Violence, and War
smolone13's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Ratings:
Goodreads: 3.5/5
Storygraph: 3/5
My Rating: 3.5/5
Synopsis:
Inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender. Two rival kingdoms on the brink of war come to a means of peace by forcing an arranged marriage on Koraine and Bellamy.
My Review:
This book was honestly more than I was expecting. I found M. K. Ahearn on TikTok and immediately signed up for the ARC as soon as I saw that it was inspired by Katara and Zuko. I loved Zuko and Katara and honestly thought they had a strong connection and should have been together. Now, I am not saying this book is perfect by any means and I honestly felt like the book could have been longer, but I know this is going to be a series so I am expecting more.
Koraine is a part of a water kingdom who lives with her two brothers, her mother who is distant, and her father who is a general to the king. The king and her father arrange for her to get married to the fire kingdom’s prince, Bellamy. She immediately feels a sense of hatred and betrayal by everyone. Not to mention, they all expect Koraine to be killed after entering the kingdom. (Isn’t that nice?) When she heads over to Bellamy’s kingdom, she is met with something completely different. Bellamy doesn’t truly want anything to do with her because he wants to protect her, but he also has to be close to her to show his father that he can handle “responsibility”. Koraine is simply there and does a number of things that probably should have got her in trouble. Bellamy is actually a sweet character, and although he seems to be harsh, he has a tough trauma, an abusive father, and wants Koraine to be safe. It isn’t long until he realizes she’s not safe in the kingdom. Meanwhile, Koraine realizes that Bellamy’s tough exterior is just that. A mask. Bellamy’s sister is a different case and a great supportive character. Nyla is a sweet character who adds a great support to both Bellamy and Koraine, especially Koraine. Nyla and Koraine grow as a pair and become close friends which I think sets Koraine and Bellamy’s relationship.
The book is set in a fantasy setting with four different kingdoms and the fire kingdom being the prime enemy to all of these kingdoms because of their ruthless ways. Most of the time it is set within the fire kingdom right in the castle where Koraine is being held. There isn’t much of a scenery change unless they are at a party, in the ocean, at the orphanage, or when they escape the fire kingdom to head to the water kingdom.
The main plot is quite literally Koraine and Bellamy joining forces. That is the whole plot.
I did enjoy this book but I felt like it could have been longer and show some more growth between Bellamy and Koraine’s relationship instead of jumping ship. I gave this book a rating of 3.5 because of that reason. I would love to continue this series and see if there are any changes as the series progresses.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse
Minor: War
renreadsbooks's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Thank you to the author for sending me this ARC! I was super excited to read this because I was a hardcore Zutara shipper in my fandom days and it sounded amazing.
So overall I think the concept is great and I enjoyed the two main MCs (because obvi they are inspired by Zuko & Katara). The slow burn was fantastic.
Unfortunately, I struggled a bit getting through this book. The beginning lacked some solid world building /explanations/ elaborations. It felt like there were times they would introduce a character and I spent the rest of the book wondering what they looked like/how old they were because there was a lack of description. A lot of antagonists (the Morwen princess, the Abelon king, Cyrus) felt so extremely one dimensional and predictable. and the smut feels like it smacks you out of no where. I love smut and i did see the warnings in the beginning but these MCs went 0-100 real quick and the dialogue from Bellamy threw me off in these scenes because I feel like he barely speaks/ thought like this so I was shook.
The biggest problem I think was the repetition in the characters thoughts. And I was not a fan of the repeated trauma Koraine had to go through and how this was the only opportunity for the MCs to bond. It felt very icky. Same with her having no solid/consistent support system. Her family: horrendous or absent, her HOME kingdom: terrible, the friends she makes: BACKSTABBY. so all she has to rely on is the love interest? gross. OH. and the tea loving Iroh inspired head cook. ugh.
The ending had me UPSET. I hope in the next book Koraine is handled with care and gets a happy ending.
So overall I think the concept is great and I enjoyed the two main MCs (because obvi they are inspired by Zuko & Katara). The slow burn was fantastic.
Unfortunately, I struggled a bit getting through this book. The beginning lacked some solid world building /explanations/ elaborations. It felt like there were times they would introduce a character and I spent the rest of the book wondering what they looked like/how old they were because there was a lack of description. A lot of antagonists (the Morwen princess, the Abelon king, Cyrus) felt so extremely one dimensional and predictable. and the smut feels like it smacks you out of no where. I love smut and i did see the warnings in the beginning but these MCs went 0-100 real quick and the dialogue from Bellamy threw me off in these scenes because I feel like he barely speaks/ thought like this so I was shook.
The biggest problem I think was the repetition in the characters thoughts. And I was not a fan of the repeated trauma Koraine had to go through and how this was the only opportunity for the MCs to bond. It felt very icky. Same with her having no solid/consistent support system. Her family: horrendous or absent, her HOME kingdom: terrible, the friends she makes: BACKSTABBY. so all she has to rely on is the love interest? gross. OH. and the tea loving Iroh inspired head cook. ugh.
The ending had me UPSET. I hope in the next book Koraine is handled with care and gets a happy ending.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Torture, War, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Classism, Death of parent, Violence, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, and Cursing
lenneth_books's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I was very lucky to come across this book and selected to be an arc reader. It was a very fun and easy read and I devoured it in two days. It's very Zutara coded with her own very unique story but had a lot of fun reading. There were parts of the book that I feel like jumped a little too quickly and I'm all for slow burn enemies to lovers but feel like they got there so fast and didn't have as much interaction as I would have liked to build more of their love up.
Regardless, enjoyed the read and ready to read the sequel.
Regardless, enjoyed the read and ready to read the sequel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, and Domestic abuse
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