Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Broken Flames

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Broken Flames by M.K. Ahearn

11 reviews

lindsm94's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really loved this story. The world building was clear and easy to fall into. I really enjoyed getting both main characters points of view and slowly watching them put the pieces together and fall for each other. I also adore the friendship of Koraine and Nyla. I’m excited to see where the story goes next and especially what happens with Nyla.

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princess_sara_sparkles's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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britanyisreading's review

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adventurous tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The setup: Koraine is sent to the kingdom of Abelon as a bride for the prince, Bellamy. Their marriage will barter peace between their two kingdoms - fire and water. Abelon’s king is watching everything Koraine does and puts pressure on Bellamy to control his future wife. Their peoples have been enemies for years, but Bellamy and Koraine will have to find a way to get along as they are bound together. Unfortunately, the peace among the four elemental kingdoms is tenuous at best and war seems inevitable.

My thoughts: There is a lot to like about Broken Flames. The pacing is quick, and the premise is interesting. I love seeing the relationship develop between Koraine and the people she meets in Abelon. The slow burn between Koraine and Bellamy was a little hard to follow. I didn’t see even a friendship being built between them so it was a little difficult to buy into their relationship. The language used is quite modern which can kind of take you out of the story, but also I feel like I’m seeing more and more in new adult books. The political tension and behind the scenes scheming was also somewhat difficult to follow. I could tell who was not trustworthy, but it didn’t all add up even when things were revealed toward the end. I saw it all coming, but the motives were still so unclear. Something that I feel was lost in the quick pacing was a deeper understanding of the world and the characters’ motivations. Bellamy felt the most fleshed out to me, but Koraine was sort of unpredictable. I really disliked the story trajectory with Cyrus, and after reading I’m still kind of like… what was the point of that? I think I expected more from the story, but it did a good job of introducing us to the world, setting up the main characters, and ended on a surprising twist. I will definitely be picking up book two.

The vibes:

dual POV
enemies to lovers
slow burn
elemental magic
“my wife”
“touch her and die”
dragons
sea serpents
griffins
Zutara vibes
marriage of convenience
ATLA type kingdoms

*I received this as an ARC, and my review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.*

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smolone13's review

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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.

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reyap30's review

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adventurous emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Heavy spoilers in this review. I do not give warning before a spoiler pops up. This whole review is a spoiler.

A huge thank you to MK Ahearn and Azala Press for allowing me a chance to read the ARC for this book. I saw the TikToks and was completely sold on the association to Zutara. As a huge ATLA fan and a Zutara shipper, I will gladly read anything that resembles them. And I think it fulfilled that, but as a whole I was not impressed.

I really wanted to like this book. I want to preface this review by saying I read the initial version of the ARC when it was sent out. Then a few days later I read the edited ARC two more times.

I gave this a lot of thought because my initial reaction was that I disliked it. But by my third read, I could see that some of my criticisms were due to bias and the expectation that it needed to parallel Avatar The Last Airbender more closely than it did. By the third time I read it, I was able to appreciate it for what it was, for the things that make it stand on its own as a story. That is to say, I enjoyed parts of this book. However, my overall opinion of it is poor.

To put it plainly, my main gripe with the book is the writing quality and plot feels empty in terms of what actually happens.

When it comes to setting a scene, I tend to overlook whether there is proper grammar when it comes to indie books— things like spelling or punctuation errors. I know that for self-published authors it’s expensive to invest in editing. But I think this book would really benefit from developmental editing more. There are no instances where the writing is show and not tell. I felt like all the information was spoon-fed to me from the setting, to actions and also the internal thoughts of both POVs. Not to mention the short sentences and straightforward vocabulary, those internal thoughts felt very juvenile. All the characters felt a few years younger than they actually are. I would be more convinced this was on the younger side of a YA book if it weren’t for the swear words and sex scenes sprinkled in. Which made it very uncomfortable to read spicy scenes.

Example from very early on in the book that I still can’t stop thinking about:

"Settling on my horse, I nudged her forward to follow my father off of our property. She was a beautiful, all white, thoroughbred. I’d affectionately named her Milly, but no one else called her that. All of our horses had secret names I’d given them. I gave up trying to convince my father to name them. He’d called it a waste of time when I had told him about Milly years ago. With every new horse brought to our home, I’d quietly named them, keeping them a secret only I knew."

This scene, and very first scene where she has snuck away from home is an attempt to tell the reader that Korraine has a rebellious nature. However this isn’t followed up on because of the characterization, which is my other main issue with the story.

Korraine’s personality does not match up with her actions. She is at times opinionated, stubborn, has compassion and a bit of an adventurous spirit. Most of her internal commentary centers around duty and the loyalty towards her family. She resolves to survive her time in Abelon and possibly gain intelligence to send back home. (The fact that she— a nobeman’s daughter— barely knows the political situation within her own kingdom is also concerning). However, once she gets there what she actually does for the most part is wander around the palace and surrounding city aimlessly, get drunk, spend time with her sea dragon and shop with Nyla. Amidst all this, she comes to see that her fiancé isn’t all that bad and so the attraction grows between them. There’s a disconnect between her thoughts and her actions, and also other people’s perceptions of her. There’s a moment in the book where just before they are about to be intimate, Bellamy thinks about how powerful and strong she, when in fact he has only seen her manipulate water a few times on a small scale.

Emotionally, I would consider Korraine to be strong. She is noblewoman that is being used as a bartering tool. She’s in the enemy’s kingdom, living in the royal palace, surrounded by people that have had a hand in the suffering of people from her homeland. That is an intensely highly stressful situation and I have to give her credit for at least trying to adapt. I just wish the book had taken it one step further where she actively tries to sleuth around the castle, maybe connect with a spy in Abelon who’s working for Morwen. Literally anything because according to Bellamy, “You’re the future queen. You have the freedom to go anywhere in this palace and city with little exceptions.”

Another question: WHY?

Either the king of Abelon is confident Korraine isn’t a threat or the people of this kingdom are lax about national security. They don’t trust her or the people’s response to her enough to have the wedding happen right away, but they’ll give her free rein to do whatever she wants.

And she doesn’t even take advantage of that. In all, I know it’s harsh but I feel like she’s very much a doormat. If anything if we are to make parallels to characters in ATLA, she does not remind me of Katara. She’s more like Princess Yue, in personality and appearance (which by the way was weird, because I kept imaging Zuko/Yue in my head while reading).

But again, this book is a romance, not a political fantasy. I probably don’t have enough grounds to complain about it, but if these elements are going to be there, I would hope they make enough sense that there aren’t questions of how or why.

Bellamy as a character is only slightly a step up from Korraine. He’s moody, brash and hyper focused on supporting this orphanage in the city. He deeply cares about his kingdom, his sister and the approval of his father. I could see strong parallels to Zuko, as was the inspiration of his character. But I do want to point out that his trauma is very downplayed. There’s a scene where he’s being physically abused by his father that turns into an excuse for Korraine to nurse him to health. It felt like that scene was less about his development as a character and more of a way to forge intimacy between the two leads. As much as his backstory was intriguing, I felt like he was directionless until he learned the truth of his mother’s death.

As for the worldbuilding, I am a high fantasy reader so my expectations are unrealistically high in that aspect. This is mainly a romance but I was left wanting for more details on some things.
Examples:
“Long ago the goddesses had shaped our kingdoms and blessed us with the abilities to control the elements.”

Who are the goddesses? How did they give the abilities to humans? How did the first elemental users learn the arts? What is the history behind this?

“The goddesses want a balance of power, and this marriage gives us the best chance at that. Whether you follow through or not is up to you.”

So if the goddesses want a balance of power, and are known to interact with humans (i.e. giving them abilities) why have they done nothing about the war?

How are the dragons interacting with their humans? How are the sea dragons able to interact as well. There’s this quote in the beginning of the book about the sea dragons, but I don’t feel like this is fully explained. Is the bond really only sensing one another? And if so, why doesn’t Talay come when Korraine is being kidnapped by pirates? How does the bond work? Can it it be shut off at all? Does the bond only work because they are elemental users?

“Most of the warriors in our kingdom had their own sea serpent, raised and bred in a special cove controlled by the palace. The only reason I’d been gifted one was because the king gifted my father’s children each with their own as a sign of his gratitude following the war.”

This insinuates that non elemental users can also bond, so then how does that magic work?

Again, this might all be very nitpicky. Not everyone needs that kind of worldbuilding, but for me it wasn’t enough.

I do find the concept of warring nations intriguing and was excited to see how an arranged marriage would mitigate the conflict. Given that this is a fantasy world, I expect a certain amount worldbuilding that feels immersive. I wasn’t pulled in like I wanted to be.

When it comes to the plot, not much happens other than:

-Korraine exploring, going to parties/getting drunk and befriending a guardsman that tries to assault her
-Bellamy is either training or visiting his favorite orphanage
-Bellamy gets sent to a battle and gets punished for letting his men die/his scars cause the sexual tension to turn into a romantic moment -Bellamy finding out his father had his mother killed
-They run away to Morwen, leaving his sister behind
-Get married and then get captured

Which by the way was really weird, because Nyla and Bellamy have a really good relationship. A loving one, with trust and loyalty and genuine friendship. The fact that she doesn’t really hear him out when he’s trying to tell her that their father isn’t who they think he is was bizarre. She didn’t really give a good argument as to why she stayed behind. It’s even more bizarre that she’s hunting them down at the end of the book.

I do want to say this book has the elements of Zutara if that is why you’re reading this. Broody prince that’s secretly a dork at heart meets a headstrong girl that loves her family. Although I cannot agree that Korraine parallels Katara in any way, you could easily find things to relate back to that dynamic.

Would I recommend this book to anyone? Probably not. I think it’s a good start though. If this were polished a bit more, with what the author was intending to do with this story it could be something much greater.

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griffieclark's review

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I was very into the storyline of this book at first glance…but it could use another round or two of editing.

Inspired by Zutara (the fan made relationship of Prince Zuko and Katara from Avatar the last airbender). This story follows Korraine and Bellamy, a nobleman’s daughter of the water kingdom and the prince of the fire kingdom, as they are set in an arranged marriage. This is described as the story that Avatar fans always wanted.

My two main critics are wanting more world building and character descriptions. We hear of Korraine’s moon white hair (which later is referred to as blonde?), her curvy figure, and blue eyes. As for Bellamy, is was hard for me to build his appearance in my mind. Brown hair? Dark eyes? Some scars acrossed his arms, but that’s about it. I would have liked to be painted a picture of the water kingdom beyond it being surrounded by water at all times. As for the fire kingdom, a black stone castle with a fire gate, one pool in the garden, and some very confusing hallways is what is told.

This may be contradictory to my 2.5 stars but i think this book could be a little longer. Maybe drag out the friendship with Cyrus, have them get closer and have him gain Korraine’s trust so his betrayal hits harder. Have Korraine really find some love for this kingdom before it all comes crumbling down. The book just felt like a race and in the end, i wanted more to be expanded upon. Make me fall in love with these characters and feel for them.

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laurenbrennan's review

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

Firstly, I have to say thank you to this author and publishing team for allowing me to review an Advanced Reader Copy!

This is somewhat of a “different” almost 4-star review than I’d usually give, based on the fact that what I received was a copy that isn’t fully edited!

I loved the premise for the book, and I do think that the story points were well thought out. Frankly, the ending was (very pleasantly) unexpected for me, and was headed in a complete different direction than I’d have guessed, which I liked a lot. I’m a sucker for a good plot twist, and the ones in the book actually caught me by surprise! I didn’t find any of them predictable. I also think that for a shorter book, the characters were also surprisingly thoroughly developed. Also, as marketed, it is definitely a SLOW burn.

I’d say that the pacing was a double-edged sword for me. I enjoyed the fact that the whole story was a quick read and that the pacing was fast and exciting, but at the same time there were occasional moments where I might’ve wanted more details or backstory. Also, I think there was an aspect of the writing style that was somewhat of a diversion from my recent “usual.” This author seems like she’s not huge into fluff! She’s gonna stick to the meat and potatoes and provide necessary details and only necessary details. Again, this helped move the plot along, but was not what I was expecting, or similar in style to most of my recent reads.

I’ll definitely give this author another try; I preordered “Lost in Love’s Realm” to read next from her, and I am very excited to see how her writing style translates to short stories, because I think I’ll love it!

Edit April 2024: I’m readjusting some of my reviews (especially with my ARCs) to better reflect differentiation between my reads, and to reflect a more honest picture of my opinions! Changed from 4 stars to 2 stars…I think with this being my first read from a truly debut, self-published, indie author, I had no context of where my standards should be, or how to appropriately and kindly rate the title as a member of an ARC team.

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lenneth_books's review

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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.

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bail3ybee's review

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adventurous funny 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? N/A

4.0

I really liked this book. I loved the avatar vibes to it as someone who grew up with the show. I loved the slow burn of the relationships. Though I do wish is was more gradual, at some points it was a little whiplashy with the enemies to lovers. This book has some awesome quotes and found myself highlighting more than I normally would. I wish we got more background on the kingdoms and individuals so I hope to see more of that in the upcoming books. I also would love to see more of their creatures! Over all this was a fun and easy read and I look forward to reading the rest. I would recommend this book as a cozy romantasy

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kirstenpod_'s review

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adventurous fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

Lucky I was able to receive the ARC of this book. I do wish it was longer, as the “slow burn romance” trope was a bit rushed for me, with the book being hardly over 300 pages. Falling in love over the course of one summer feels a bit rushed if they truly are from rivalry kingdoms. But I get it, they both are so pretty they have to fall in love with each other… It is set up perfectly for the next book in the series, with Nyla coming to bring Bellamy back or else. Some beautiful quotes about the stark contrast between fire and ice. Wish it included more world building and included the use of their powers more, but I’m sure we will get plenty more of that in the next book(s) during the probable war between the kingdoms.

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