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nero_nash's review against another edition
- 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
The female MC does remind me of Yue... But I'm not complaining š
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 bookš
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
annmeyer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The book follows Koraine (FMC inspired by Katara), a nobleman's daughter with water-manipulation abilities. Almost immediately, she is sent away to the fire kingdom to be married off to a prince (Bellamy, MMC inspired by Zuko) to establish an alliance ā a political marriage of convenience of sorts. In many ways, I think the writing and plot fell flat for me, which was disappointing because I think this book and the others that follow it have a lot of potential, especially considering the MMC is supposedly in his early 20s. I was hoping for a bit more maturity and depth in terms of the political and familial themes.
Like ATLA, each of these kingdoms (as well as two others) exists based on the elements of air, water, earth, and fire, with various people able to control the elements for fighting, healing, and other purposes. I think that the context of ATLA's world-building does a lot of heavy lifting to carry the setting in this book, as without it in the back of your mind certain things wouldn't be as clear or exciting. Besides the world-building of ATLA, parts of the plot and crucial character development are also really heavily informed by the TV series, particularly Bellamy's relationship with his father. (Nothing in this book truly compares to Zuko's character development and confrontation of his father in the third season, though.)
The overall plot follows Koraine's experiences navigating a new, hostile kingdom and the people living there, particularly in the palace. The book is primarily romance with a little bit of fantasy, so it focuses mostly on her developing relationship with Bellamy (as well as her friendship with his sister, Nyla). The enemies-to-lovers trope was prominent, but I felt it was a bit rushed; things felt very fast-paced overall, but the two main characters would go days or weeks without seeing each other, then have some kind of event/interaction, and so on. The build-up and delay certainly had me turning pages fast, but because the interactions were somewhat limited, the romance felt a little forced by the time it got very intense. I wish more time had been spent flushing out their being enemies, outside of just choosing to avoid each other. The last 100 pages of the book felt really rushed in particular, as the plot started to develop very rapidly toward the book's ending.
I wish there had been more depth to some of the side characters (e.g. one that appeared late in the book was a little reminiscent of Uncle Iroh) as they felt a bit hollow at times, and it was difficult to become invested in any of them. I also wish that more had happened in the middle of the book overall, as the bulk of it was focused on the main character's emotional states and looming responsibilities. I've seen some people mention that this book struggles with showing instead of telling, and I'm inclined to agree. Additionally, the writing quality could have been a bit better at the sentence-structure level.
Overall, it was a quick, fun read. I don't know for sure that I'd read the second book, but this one did make me really want to go watch ATLA again.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, War, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment
britanyisreading's review
- 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
- dual POV
- enemies to lovers
- slow burn
- elemental magic
- āmy wifeā
- ātouch her and dieā
- dragons
- sea serpents
- griffins
- Zutara vibes
- marriage of convenience
- ATLA type kingdoms
Graphic: Sexual content and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, Torture, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and War
griffieclark's review
- 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
Inspired by Zutara (the fan made relationship of Prince Zuko and Katara from Avatar the last airbender). This story follows Korraine and Bellamy, a noblemanās 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 Korraineās 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 thatās 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 Korraineās 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.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent, War, Alcohol, Physical abuse, and Violence
renreadsbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
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.
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
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Regardless, enjoyed the read and ready to read the sequel.
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, and Domestic abuse
kirstenpod_'s review
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, War, Cursing, and Torture
Minor: Grief and Sexual assault