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miciahsreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Reads like a fanfic, bc it is a fanfic. Reads fast, not particularly well written, pretty shallow characters and plot line. I still enjoyed myself though, read through the whole thing in about 24 hours so it wasn’t bad, just also not good. Needed a good editor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
aelitareads's review
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.0
“If I am the burning sun, ruled by flames, then you are my moon, ruling over the tides and completing the missing half of me.”
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Level: 🌶🌶
MK Ahearn dedicated this book to all the Zutara shippers who thought Zuko and Katara were the OTP and she nailed it. In this enemies to lovers romantasy a moody fire prince with a haunted past is arranged to marry the daughter of a water tribe general in an effort to unite their nations. Tie in a tyrannical Fire Lord who wants to watch the world burn and you have yourself a war brewing.
As a diehard ATLA fan I had fun finding the similarities and differences between the two stories. While you can absolutely tell Ahearn drew influences from ATLA, I think she did a great job making this book her own and I look forward to the release of Warring Tides in January 2025.
Forewarning- it does end on a huge cliff hanger so if you're someone that needs a completed story, maybe wait until December or January to read it. Broken Flames and the pre-order for Warring Tides is available on amazon.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Level: 🌶🌶
MK Ahearn dedicated this book to all the Zutara shippers who thought Zuko and Katara were the OTP and she nailed it. In this enemies to lovers romantasy a moody fire prince with a haunted past is arranged to marry the daughter of a water tribe general in an effort to unite their nations. Tie in a tyrannical Fire Lord who wants to watch the world burn and you have yourself a war brewing.
As a diehard ATLA fan I had fun finding the similarities and differences between the two stories. While you can absolutely tell Ahearn drew influences from ATLA, I think she did a great job making this book her own and I look forward to the release of Warring Tides in January 2025.
Forewarning- it does end on a huge cliff hanger so if you're someone that needs a completed story, maybe wait until December or January to read it. Broken Flames and the pre-order for Warring Tides is available on amazon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Trafficking
Cliff Hanger Endingnero_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
annmeyer's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- 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
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. I discovered it on TikTok, where it was advertised as being inspired by Zuko and Katara in Avatar: The Last Airbender. (The book's dedication reads: “For everyone who thought Zuko and Katara should’ve ended up together.”) I've been in a bit of a reading rut lately, but this was a really quick, easy-to-digest read to get back into the swing of things.
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 — 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.
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 — 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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, War, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment
princess_sara_sparkles's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, and War
britanyisreading's review
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.*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, Torture, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and 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
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