Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Broken Flames by M.K. Ahearn

4 reviews

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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renreadsbooks's review

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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.  
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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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burkesbookshelf's review

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adventurous emotional 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? N/A

4.75

Couldn’t put the book down. Now I want to know what happens next. Super excited to read more of the author’s work. 
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