Title: Flames of Chaos

Author: Amelia Hutchins

Pub. Date: January 20, 2021

Pages: 563

Pub: Amazon Digital Services

Genre: Fantasy Paranormal Romance

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Aria and her sisters return to the Human Realm of Haven Falls to find one of their own that’s gone missing. They soon discover things have changed in the Human Realm and that nothing is what it seems, including Knox, the egotistical, self-centered, frustratingly gorgeous man who declared himself King during their absence.

Sparks fly when the two enter a fiery battle of wills as Aria learns she is more than just a witch in the Hecate bloodline; she is much, much more.

Will Aria embrace her savage side to find her sister and save her family, or will she burn to ashes from his heated kisses and burning hot embrace?

Knox has ulterior motives for being in Haven Falls and never expected the little witch to show up and brazenly challenge his rule.

It was supposed to be easy; get in and get out. Move pieces into place and set the stage for the war he’s been planning for over five hundred years. Aria is his sworn enemy but something within her calls to him and he hates himself for craving the fiery kisses that have reignited his cold, dead heart. One taste, and he thought he could get her out of his system. He was wrong.

Will Knox let go of the memories of the past, driving his need for revenge that will destroy the pretty little witch he craves, or will he push the boundaries to fight for and claim what is his by right? Either way, war is inevitable. And nothing will stop him from reaching for what is his.

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This will be a spoiler free review. I listened to the audiobook via Audible. This has been on my Kindle for a while, and I’ve been meaning to read it. Since ACOSF, I’ve been in the mood for Adult/NA spicy fantasy, and BookTok said this had spice.

That is an understatement.

If you thought ACOSF was a lot, you’re going to want to stay clear of this book.

It’s vulgar, graphic and brutal.

Here’s the warning at the front of the book –

 

I will say that this little author’s note/warning wasn’t in the audiobook, or if it was, I don’t remember hearing it. If I had, I probably would have been a little more prepared lol.

And if you’re iffy about graphic spice, then I strongly recommend reading a couple of reviews.

I lowkey had no idea what I was getting into. I ended up really enjoying the book, spice aside. I mean, I enjoyed that too, but the plot in the latter half of the book really picked up. It felt like the first half of the book’s focus was on the inexplicable attraction between Aria and Knox and the sex. Whereas the second half featured the plot more heavily. It became more about personal revenge and politics of ruling. In regard to the plot – it kind of reminded me of From Blood and Ash or the Throne of Glass series. It was high fantasy, high stakes, pain, betrayal, tension and just really enjoyable. And it leaves you going what the fuck just happened…where’s book two?

Like I said, I mainly decided to listen to this because I’ve been in a particular reading mood, because of ACOSF and BootTok – so my expectations were not overly high, but I was looking forward to it. So, I started it and omfg I nearly DNF’d. And not because of the graphic sex. The writing in the beginning wasn’t very good. I hate to say it, but it was basically laughable. The way Aria talked was obnoxious and she came across as an entitled brat. The language that the characters use was cringey and sounded like it came out of a bad porno.

It was hard to take any of them seriously. There are a lot of eye roll moments, but I ended up pushing past them and just focused on enjoying the story for what it was. As the book progressed I either became used to the writing, or as I learned more about the characters, the more I didn’t mind it. It made sense and worked.

I also want to emphasize that none of these characters are human. None of Them. Therefore, all their acts are seemingly rooted in very animalistic behavior. Don’t go into this book expecting some human love story. They’re creatures, and often resort to baser instincts, baser selves.

I flip flopped on my feeling while reading this book. They kept switching between “fuck I love this LOL” to “omfg this is cringe LOL” – but you just got to turn off your brain and go for a ride. I’m not going to recommend this book outright, but if you like high fantasy, and a lot of very rough, very animalistic spice, then maybe this will be up your alley. But definitely check out some other reviews as well if you’re not sure.

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***As a final little note – I realized something upon finishing this book. And maybe if you’ve read it and the other book I’m about to mention, then you might agree.

But Flames of Chaos is basically the NSFW version of Havenfall.

I’m not pointing fingers, but one was published before the other, and there are some pretty big similarities. Maybe it’s just a weird coincidence…a really weird one…or idk. But the more I thought about it upon finishing the more I just…

There are big obvious similarities, and then smaller contextual ones and it’s just kind of eyebrow raising. It just seems rather odd.