Brothers of the Flame by Mary Martel Pages: 332
Series: Ariel Kimber #1
Genres: Young Adult
Source: Amazon
Also in this series: Love Potion
Also by this author: Love Potion
Goodreads
Ariel Kimber is a 17-year-old girl who, thanks to her mother, has had a life full of unpleasantness and abuse. And it’s about to get a whole lot worse. After her mother meets a man online, Ariel is forced to move to a different state, leaving all that she has ever known behind. Any teenager’s nightmare. But Ariel isn’t like most teenagers, she’s different, and she has literally nothing to leave behind. No friends, no nothing. They move next door to a house that remains empty all summer long until the day before the first day of school. A school where the other kids treat Ariel like garbage because of who her mother is and the fact that she’s different from them, save for a few – her neighbors. Tyson, his mysterious Uncle, Quinton, and twins, Abel and Addison. They quickly become her only friends, but Ariel soon finds out they are hiding things from her, keeping secrets from her. And she wants answers. Surprisingly, they give them to her. What do you do when you find out you’re not who you always thought you were and your whole world gets flipped upside down? Ariel Kimber stumbles into a world she didn’t know existed, a world of magic and nothing is as it seems. Thankfully, she has the guys to guide her, to hold her hand along the way and she is going to need a whole lot of hand holding. -This is a Reverse Harem series. - There is adult langue and some mature content so be warned of that.
I was introduced to Mary Martel and her Ariel Kimber series in a FB group I am a part of. I am always on the lookout for a good reverse harem story, so when this went on sale for 99 cents, I grabbed it!
Ariel Kimber has had a crappy life thanks to her abusive mother. When Ariel’s mom moves them in with her new, wealthy boyfriend, Ariel is forced into a new school. The students are horrible to her. Then she starts having strange interactions with her new neighbors.
I really liked Tyson, Addison, and Abel. These are the 3 guys she spends the most time with and that we, as the reader, get to know the best. These 3 are Ariel’s age and go to school with her. They also happen to have magical powers, and, as it turns out, so does Ariel. She is not really sure what the hell is going on and it was the most I have agreed with a character in a long time!! So often the heroine just sort of accepts the weirdness while I am like “WTF?!?!”. So, I was glad to see Ariel not embrace everything right away.
I am also not sure about her harem. Tyson, Addison, and Abel are okay for the most part. A bit…much at times, but overall okay. However, Quinton, Damien and Dash are straight up not okay. They are rude, bossy, and Quinton is so inappropriate with Ariel. We only get a small amount of interaction with Julian, but his actions at the end of the book were good and I started to warm up to him a bit.
Now, I will say this book kept me up so late I only got a few hours of sleep before I had to go to work! Between Ariel’s crazy mom, the weird relationship with Mr. Hale (mom’s boyfriend who is very kind to Ariel), the overwhelming behavior of the guys, and the magic….the story has a LOT going for it! I am hoping that as the story continues, I will be more accepting of some of the heroes. Thankfully, this is a slow burn harem since Ariel is still in high school. Her hesitance and the slow building of the romance makes me more willing to give the guys a chance.
The end felt VERY abrupt to me! I am glad book 2 is already out because I was sure my kindle was broken or something. There is no way it could just….end like that!?
- POV: 1st (Ariel)
- Tears: no
- Trope: high school, reverse harem, witches
- Triggers: View Spoiler »
- Series/Standalone: series
- Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
- HEA: View Spoiler »
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The Ghost Bird Series, the Veil Diaries series…then you will probably like Brothers of the Flame!
Brother of the Flame
You definitely got me curious about this story, Samantha! A reverse harem story, magic, and 17-year-olds? I think that could be a very interesting mix. I might scream at Ariel’s mom a bit, but I think I might enjoy this story.
Great review 🙂