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Heir of Flames: Book 1 of the Cartel Elements Series
Adrian
Kiara has been my only desire since the moment I laid eyes on her. Radiantly beautiful and effortlessly kind, she resembled a goddess of the sun One smile, one conversation, one dance - one kiss was all it took for me to make my Kiara was going to be mine. And now, with the perfect opportunity falling in my lap, I was going to claim her.
Kiara
Opening my own restaurant was always my dream. When it finally came true, I had no idea it would bring a living nightmare to my doorstep.The establishment I’d nourished and re-branded was deep in debt to one of the most dangerous families in the city, and the debt collector was no one other than the unhinged heir. This situation wouldn’t be so bad if Adrian accepted payments. But, he doesn’t want money - he wants me.
Kiara has been my only desire since the moment I laid eyes on her. Radiantly beautiful and effortlessly kind, she resembled a goddess of the sun One smile, one conversation, one dance - one kiss was all it took for me to make my Kiara was going to be mine. And now, with the perfect opportunity falling in my lap, I was going to claim her.
Kiara
Opening my own restaurant was always my dream. When it finally came true, I had no idea it would bring a living nightmare to my doorstep.The establishment I’d nourished and re-branded was deep in debt to one of the most dangerous families in the city, and the debt collector was no one other than the unhinged heir. This situation wouldn’t be so bad if Adrian accepted payments. But, he doesn’t want money - he wants me.
512 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 18, 2023
396 people are currently reading
1153 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
February 9, 2024
4⭐️
I don’t have nothing bad to say about this other than maybe it being a little long, but it didn’t necessarily bother me. I live for black girls getting loved up on while just being their amazing selves in every aspect, and me being a dark romance fan, this one did what it needed to do. Can’t wait for more girlies to catch wind of this cause I know many who would enjoy it.
Read if you enjoy:
💕hot, tattooed, burn the world down for you Afro-Latin MMC
💕sweet Southern Belle restaurant owner black FMC
💕Forced proximity pay off your debt type vibes
💕MMC who is crazy 25/8 but is really ooey-goeey
💕Love choking you while also loving to feed you and watch you eat🤣
💕mafia/crime organization vibes
💕curvy rep
💕not a domme but is dominant
💕an “I crave you” type spice which I rate a 3/5🌶️
I don’t have nothing bad to say about this other than maybe it being a little long, but it didn’t necessarily bother me. I live for black girls getting loved up on while just being their amazing selves in every aspect, and me being a dark romance fan, this one did what it needed to do. Can’t wait for more girlies to catch wind of this cause I know many who would enjoy it.
Read if you enjoy:
💕hot, tattooed, burn the world down for you Afro-Latin MMC
💕sweet Southern Belle restaurant owner black FMC
💕Forced proximity pay off your debt type vibes
💕MMC who is crazy 25/8 but is really ooey-goeey
💕Love choking you while also loving to feed you and watch you eat🤣
💕mafia/crime organization vibes
💕curvy rep
💕not a domme but is dominant
💕an “I crave you” type spice which I rate a 3/5🌶️
Read
September 4, 2023I'm going to be blunt. This book read like a Wattpad story and not the good kind. It had potential but ultimately it didn't work for me and I ended up Dnfing. The main reasons being I thought the FMC, Kiara was dumb as hell. I can't stand when authors make the female characters book smart but dumb as shit when it comes to common sense. Several times I wanted to shake her like girl...cmon now.
The second reason this book didn't work for me is because of Riley, Kiara's best friend. I hated her. She was annoying as hell. I absolutely loathe the OTT protective friend or family member. Riley was too much. While she was a good friend to Kiara she did too much. She acted like Kiara couldn't make her own decisions. Because she didn't like Adrian, she constantly tried to project her feelings onto Kiara. She annoyed me because she was obnoxious as hell. Kiara is to blame for this somewhat because she knows her friend is overprotective and she stayed calling her like she was incapable of making her own decisions without the input of others. Literally everytime Riley popped up I was annoyed. The author wrote her as unbearable. She was not written well in my opinion.
3. To be honest I don't feel like anybody was well written. Kiara was dumb, naive and insecure, her friends were annoying as hell and Adrian the MMC while unhinged as hell, I felt like his possesiveness of Kiara was more like a toddler who didn't want to share his favorite toy and when it's taken from him he throws a temper tantrum.
4. The writing was juvenile and while the characters were adults I felt like I was reading about teenagers a lot.
5. Adrian is Afro-Latino. He speaks Spanish and a lot of Spanish is in the book. The problem is the author didn't put a glossary in the book to help those of us who don't speak or read Spanish understand what he's saying. It got old having to pause and go look up a word or sentence real quick.
This book is for somebody but not me. I appreciate the author writing a dark black romance but this book is not written well to me and mainly because of the first two issues I named I had to dnf.
The second reason this book didn't work for me is because of Riley, Kiara's best friend. I hated her. She was annoying as hell. I absolutely loathe the OTT protective friend or family member. Riley was too much. While she was a good friend to Kiara she did too much. She acted like Kiara couldn't make her own decisions. Because she didn't like Adrian, she constantly tried to project her feelings onto Kiara. She annoyed me because she was obnoxious as hell. Kiara is to blame for this somewhat because she knows her friend is overprotective and she stayed calling her like she was incapable of making her own decisions without the input of others. Literally everytime Riley popped up I was annoyed. The author wrote her as unbearable. She was not written well in my opinion.
3. To be honest I don't feel like anybody was well written. Kiara was dumb, naive and insecure, her friends were annoying as hell and Adrian the MMC while unhinged as hell, I felt like his possesiveness of Kiara was more like a toddler who didn't want to share his favorite toy and when it's taken from him he throws a temper tantrum.
4. The writing was juvenile and while the characters were adults I felt like I was reading about teenagers a lot.
5. Adrian is Afro-Latino. He speaks Spanish and a lot of Spanish is in the book. The problem is the author didn't put a glossary in the book to help those of us who don't speak or read Spanish understand what he's saying. It got old having to pause and go look up a word or sentence real quick.
This book is for somebody but not me. I appreciate the author writing a dark black romance but this book is not written well to me and mainly because of the first two issues I named I had to dnf.
September 19, 2023
⭐️3.5/5
I’ve been following the author’s journey for this book for a few months and I was really excited to read it. Been itching for a dark mafia romance with black leads.
I think the plot was really good. You can’t go wrong with “pay off your debt” type of arrangement and along the way you fall in love. I would say this was kinda insta lust? More so on Adrian’s part; who’s by the way, bat shit crazy… which I love, hehe. I just love unhinged book boyfriends that don’t play when it comes to their girl.
If you know that sound on TikTok with Joe from YOU that’s like “There not a line in this world I wouldn’t cross for you,” Adrian Ruiz definitely fits that sounds. He does NOT play when it comes to Kiara.
Speaking of… I feel okay about her. I believe she’s very naive. Also, I didn’t like how she knew the type of person Adrian was, cuddle with him at night, yet still complained about it. It was irritating at times. But she eventually accepted him for who is he, finally.
I did enjoy their relationship. Adrian needed a light to his darkness and he found that in Kiara. Though, at times he was abrupt and mean to her, he apologized for it. Shouldn’t have in the first place though.
The spice? It was good. Aggressive and effective as I would say. And the love between was nice seeing unfold.
To the things I didn’t really enjoy…
I feel like the book was overly descriptive. At times, it was needed, but many times it wasn’t. But it didn’t feel robotic either. The descriptions of the characters were repetitive as well. The author made it clear she wanted us visual the characters well, but at some point it wasn’t needed as much. I also didn’t like how she referred to p*ssy as a flower, lol. It’s okay to use p*ssy multiple times while writing spice scenes.
The book was 50 chapters with no epilogue. I understood at first as I was reading why the book needed to be that long, but when it ended… it didn’t need to be that long. There was a major plot hole at the end of the book that the couple didn’t talk about and that’s not something I wanna see in book 2. I just want Dante and Alexandria. That’s it! There was a lot of domestic chapters, which I loved, but it wasn’t balancing with the actual plot of the story. There were times I forgot about the plot.
Lastly, the book cover and title has the story appearing as a fantasy book if I’m being honest, especially it’s called Cartel Elements series. And the mafia aspect of the book felt really juvenile. I think it was Dante who said this? I’m not sure, but it’s basically a beef about who d*ck is bigger.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and would still recommend. I don’t think I would reread, but I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of the series. I’m hoping book two is Dante and Lexie.
I’ve been following the author’s journey for this book for a few months and I was really excited to read it. Been itching for a dark mafia romance with black leads.
I think the plot was really good. You can’t go wrong with “pay off your debt” type of arrangement and along the way you fall in love. I would say this was kinda insta lust? More so on Adrian’s part; who’s by the way, bat shit crazy… which I love, hehe. I just love unhinged book boyfriends that don’t play when it comes to their girl.
If you know that sound on TikTok with Joe from YOU that’s like “There not a line in this world I wouldn’t cross for you,” Adrian Ruiz definitely fits that sounds. He does NOT play when it comes to Kiara.
Speaking of… I feel okay about her. I believe she’s very naive. Also, I didn’t like how she knew the type of person Adrian was, cuddle with him at night, yet still complained about it. It was irritating at times. But she eventually accepted him for who is he, finally.
I did enjoy their relationship. Adrian needed a light to his darkness and he found that in Kiara. Though, at times he was abrupt and mean to her, he apologized for it. Shouldn’t have in the first place though.
The spice? It was good. Aggressive and effective as I would say. And the love between was nice seeing unfold.
To the things I didn’t really enjoy…
I feel like the book was overly descriptive. At times, it was needed, but many times it wasn’t. But it didn’t feel robotic either. The descriptions of the characters were repetitive as well. The author made it clear she wanted us visual the characters well, but at some point it wasn’t needed as much. I also didn’t like how she referred to p*ssy as a flower, lol. It’s okay to use p*ssy multiple times while writing spice scenes.
The book was 50 chapters with no epilogue. I understood at first as I was reading why the book needed to be that long, but when it ended… it didn’t need to be that long. There was a major plot hole at the end of the book that the couple didn’t talk about and that’s not something I wanna see in book 2. I just want Dante and Alexandria. That’s it! There was a lot of domestic chapters, which I loved, but it wasn’t balancing with the actual plot of the story. There were times I forgot about the plot.
Lastly, the book cover and title has the story appearing as a fantasy book if I’m being honest, especially it’s called Cartel Elements series. And the mafia aspect of the book felt really juvenile. I think it was Dante who said this? I’m not sure, but it’s basically a beef about who d*ck is bigger.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and would still recommend. I don’t think I would reread, but I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of the series. I’m hoping book two is Dante and Lexie.
April 22, 2024
This was so good.
Adrian was so down bad for Kiara, I loved every second of this. He also had a way with words that had me giggling and kicking my feet like I’m Kiara. Definitely recommend if you love to see black women getting treated like the queen they are.
Adrian was so down bad for Kiara, I loved every second of this. He also had a way with words that had me giggling and kicking my feet like I’m Kiara. Definitely recommend if you love to see black women getting treated like the queen they are.
January 2, 2024
Mans was trash and stupid. this dude was like omg she thinks I’m a monster like she thinks I’ll grape her when earlier in the book he was like be with me pay me half a million or die. I’ll give u two days to decide and now that she’s with him he’s shocked also he just weird
September 12, 2023
Kiara and Adrian meet one night in a club and almost make a night of it. Adrian falls immediately and can't figure out how to see her again until he finds out that she's the new owner of a restaurant that owes his family a debt. And now she basically belongs to him. Because he doesn't want money. He wants her.
The opening scene drew me in. To have them meet by accident, and then on purpose was a good piece of writing. Adrian was unhinged, okay? Out of his mind. We love a dominant, possessive man--in fiction, of course. Lol. Can you imagine someone obsessively stalking you just to cuddle at night? Because for about 40% of the book, that was all he did, lol. He was so much of everything and he did THE MOST. He was obsessed with Kiara, couldn't live without her. She was his light. I liked that he was a man surrounded by so much darkness and his obsession was just light. Her light. That was all he wanted. That made it romantic. And he was on 10 with anybody who tried to mess with her. I loved the touch her and die vibes. Kiara was strong. She was built for his life. She was soft, and a piece of sunshine, but she was accomplished and smart and she never backed down. She learned how to soothe him, and that was her greatest feat. She didn't waste time trying to defeat him--she was intelligent enough to know that was a fool's game. She took the time to learn him. That gave her an advantage and she knew how to use it. I love that he dated her. That he worried over her being afraid of him. That softened the character a bit, in a good way. And the way he was putting it on her? Kiara loved the savage in him then, lol. She couldn't wait to sleep with him after that first time. They were hotter than hot. Their complicated, tumultuous love was the best part. I loved that the theme of the book was sunflowers. And he called her his sun and she always wore yellow (FYI--I can't wait to see Lexi and Dante's red and black theme, lol) His sister was funny and her friends were the protective kind everyone needs. Her ex needed to disappear though.
The crime family aspect of this got a bit muddled for me. And there was some repetitive language and what felt like plot inconsistencies but they were small. This book flowed so well because I didn't realize it was 500 pages until after I read it. Adrian's father is so... cruel. I almost thought this whole thing was some elaborate Javier/ Dante scheme to get rid of their fathers. I want to know what the hesitation is with just destroying that family because they need to go. Hmm.. Maybe the next book will tell me. FYI I love that even though we know there's more coming, the current story wrapped up in a good way. Great read.
The opening scene drew me in. To have them meet by accident, and then on purpose was a good piece of writing. Adrian was unhinged, okay? Out of his mind. We love a dominant, possessive man--in fiction, of course. Lol. Can you imagine someone obsessively stalking you just to cuddle at night? Because for about 40% of the book, that was all he did, lol. He was so much of everything and he did THE MOST. He was obsessed with Kiara, couldn't live without her. She was his light. I liked that he was a man surrounded by so much darkness and his obsession was just light. Her light. That was all he wanted. That made it romantic. And he was on 10 with anybody who tried to mess with her. I loved the touch her and die vibes. Kiara was strong. She was built for his life. She was soft, and a piece of sunshine, but she was accomplished and smart and she never backed down. She learned how to soothe him, and that was her greatest feat. She didn't waste time trying to defeat him--she was intelligent enough to know that was a fool's game. She took the time to learn him. That gave her an advantage and she knew how to use it. I love that he dated her. That he worried over her being afraid of him. That softened the character a bit, in a good way. And the way he was putting it on her? Kiara loved the savage in him then, lol. She couldn't wait to sleep with him after that first time. They were hotter than hot. Their complicated, tumultuous love was the best part. I loved that the theme of the book was sunflowers. And he called her his sun and she always wore yellow (FYI--I can't wait to see Lexi and Dante's red and black theme, lol) His sister was funny and her friends were the protective kind everyone needs. Her ex needed to disappear though.
The crime family aspect of this got a bit muddled for me. And there was some repetitive language and what felt like plot inconsistencies but they were small. This book flowed so well because I didn't realize it was 500 pages until after I read it. Adrian's father is so... cruel. I almost thought this whole thing was some elaborate Javier/ Dante scheme to get rid of their fathers. I want to know what the hesitation is with just destroying that family because they need to go. Hmm.. Maybe the next book will tell me. FYI I love that even though we know there's more coming, the current story wrapped up in a good way. Great read.
October 18, 2023
Heir of Flames by Asia Monet❤️🔥
⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars
Where do I start with this book? I saw this being recommended a few times on booktok and I finally decided to check it out on kindle unlimited.
Going into this read I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was interested in reading because it was a Black, curvy main character and an Afro Latino love interest.
We follow Kiara, the owner of a soul food restaurant in Baltimore. She gets caught up with this guy named Adrian, a crime lord, and she owes him a lump sum of money. The entire store is about her trying to pay him back and him not wanting money, but instead wanting her love and affection to pay her debt.
I am not a fan/big reader of the dark romance genre. For a multitude of reasons one being, I just don’t like that possessive nature that a lot of the love interest have for the main character. Two, the story’s are usually predictable and not that interesting after a while.
But in the beginning of this read, I actually enjoyed it! It was pretty fast paced and to the point, but then by the 250 page mark it began to drag out and slow down.
This was a long winded read. It was over 500 pages of repetitive scenarios, they’d fight, make up, fight, make up, and on and on. It was a lot of different subplots that were hard to follow/weren’t fully fleshed our (for ex: her two friends Riley and Deandre were mentioned a lot at the beginning of the book, but they never were fully brought at towards the end of the book)
I do have to say I did enjoy some aspects of the book, learning about Adrian’s upbringing and how it shaped him into the person he’s become. I also liked the reading about Kiara being a restaurant owner.
But overall, it wasn’t my cup of tea. If you like books with an obsessive lover and “touch her, you die” kind of male love interest, then this is for you!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars
Where do I start with this book? I saw this being recommended a few times on booktok and I finally decided to check it out on kindle unlimited.
Going into this read I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was interested in reading because it was a Black, curvy main character and an Afro Latino love interest.
We follow Kiara, the owner of a soul food restaurant in Baltimore. She gets caught up with this guy named Adrian, a crime lord, and she owes him a lump sum of money. The entire store is about her trying to pay him back and him not wanting money, but instead wanting her love and affection to pay her debt.
I am not a fan/big reader of the dark romance genre. For a multitude of reasons one being, I just don’t like that possessive nature that a lot of the love interest have for the main character. Two, the story’s are usually predictable and not that interesting after a while.
But in the beginning of this read, I actually enjoyed it! It was pretty fast paced and to the point, but then by the 250 page mark it began to drag out and slow down.
This was a long winded read. It was over 500 pages of repetitive scenarios, they’d fight, make up, fight, make up, and on and on. It was a lot of different subplots that were hard to follow/weren’t fully fleshed our (for ex: her two friends Riley and Deandre were mentioned a lot at the beginning of the book, but they never were fully brought at towards the end of the book)
I do have to say I did enjoy some aspects of the book, learning about Adrian’s upbringing and how it shaped him into the person he’s become. I also liked the reading about Kiara being a restaurant owner.
But overall, it wasn’t my cup of tea. If you like books with an obsessive lover and “touch her, you die” kind of male love interest, then this is for you!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2024
2.5 🌟
Having a proficient editor is a very important thing because I didn't dislike the book, but some verbiage irritated the hell out of me. Also, I felt that sometimes it was very wordy when it didn't need to be because some of the words didn't really match up with what the author was trying to convey. I also felt that this book didn't need to be as long as it was because I've been reading it for about 3 days, and I don't feel the plot had enough umph or interest to be going for the 512 pages goodreads said that it contains. They kept calling Adrian psycho, was that ever dealt with. What's up with Dante because that character seems to be an up and down rollercoaster. The father and the way he reacts to failure and just so many unresolved things. Maybe she wants you to read the next books to figure these things out.
Having a proficient editor is a very important thing because I didn't dislike the book, but some verbiage irritated the hell out of me. Also, I felt that sometimes it was very wordy when it didn't need to be because some of the words didn't really match up with what the author was trying to convey. I also felt that this book didn't need to be as long as it was because I've been reading it for about 3 days, and I don't feel the plot had enough umph or interest to be going for the 512 pages goodreads said that it contains. They kept calling Adrian psycho, was that ever dealt with. What's up with Dante because that character seems to be an up and down rollercoaster. The father and the way he reacts to failure and just so many unresolved things. Maybe she wants you to read the next books to figure these things out.
September 15, 2023
I love indie authors or author who really aren't shined upon. I'm gonna shine all the lights on Asia Monét. She is a talent that I have come across and I will continue to read. This book was great. The spice was there as was the representation.
I will definitely be recommending this book to others and it will shine on my bookshelf!
I will definitely be recommending this book to others and it will shine on my bookshelf!
September 23, 2023
This book had no reason being this long. It was pretty good but not one that I would reread. Adrian wasn’t the kind of obsessive psycho that I usually like. He was giving mid. But there were some good parts. The plot was pretty mainstream but didn’t seem to have any over arching main plot which I wasn’t a fan of but whateva do what you gotta do
xoxo
🦅
xoxo
🦅
January 7, 2024
I went into this book blind. I kept seeing this book recommended on TikTok and decided to add it to my list. Adrian the heir to a cartel family and Kiara was the unsuspecting “victim” who had landed on Adrian’s radar in a random meeting. For the most part I enjoyed this book because I enjoy reading about unhinged men who are obsessive, psycho, lay good 🍆, love you down and spoil you like you’ve never been spoiled before.
The dynamics of the Ruiz’s family was really interesting and learning how Adrian became him explained a lot of his adult behaviors. I would’ve loved to get more family content but was satisfied with what was given.
Kiara’s character was challenging to like after awhile mainly because her consistent battle with her arrangement with Adrian. Like after a certain point it was like, okay girl you in this especially after you was getting 🍆’d down lol.
I also thought it was weird to maintain a friendship with a man who employed the crew who tried to SA you in the alley. I was surprised that wasn’t mentioned especially when the tattoo resemblances was mentioned.
This started as a fast paced and then slid into medium- slow. I thought with the amount of pages more would be included especially after finishing the book. It was so many things left to speculation.
Two thing are for sure that this book definitely made me want to know more about Javier and Dante and Dante and Lexie. Like the unknown between these three really peaked my interest early on and every time they came in a scene I wanted to know why they behaved the way they did with each other.
For this book I am giving it a 3.2 ⭐️’s and I will definitely be checking out the next book in this series.
The dynamics of the Ruiz’s family was really interesting and learning how Adrian became him explained a lot of his adult behaviors. I would’ve loved to get more family content but was satisfied with what was given.
Kiara’s character was challenging to like after awhile mainly because her consistent battle with her arrangement with Adrian. Like after a certain point it was like, okay girl you in this especially after you was getting 🍆’d down lol.
I also thought it was weird to maintain a friendship with a man who employed the crew who tried to SA you in the alley. I was surprised that wasn’t mentioned especially when the tattoo resemblances was mentioned.
This started as a fast paced and then slid into medium- slow. I thought with the amount of pages more would be included especially after finishing the book. It was so many things left to speculation.
Two thing are for sure that this book definitely made me want to know more about Javier and Dante and Dante and Lexie. Like the unknown between these three really peaked my interest early on and every time they came in a scene I wanted to know why they behaved the way they did with each other.
For this book I am giving it a 3.2 ⭐️’s and I will definitely be checking out the next book in this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2024
3.5 ⭐ 3🌶️
August 16, 2024
loved
I loved this book! I so can’t wait for the rest of this series! He was not playing around! He was definitely touched in the head lol
I loved this book! I so can’t wait for the rest of this series! He was not playing around! He was definitely touched in the head lol
September 5, 2024
Yesss!
Yes yes yes, I wouldn’t change a single thing. Adrian and Kiera’s chemistry jumps off of the page and melts my heart. Adrian may be my new book bf 🤫
Yes yes yes, I wouldn’t change a single thing. Adrian and Kiera’s chemistry jumps off of the page and melts my heart. Adrian may be my new book bf 🤫
October 24, 2024
3.75✨️✨️✨️
October 31, 2023
Adrian was bat shit crazy😭 But I still love him😝
May 20, 2025
This book was my first dark romance so be kind with me 😭
I think I really wasn’t prepared for what I was going to read. For the first half of the book, I was just really shook by Adrian’s behavior, ike I didn’t really understand his obsession. And a lot of the time, it was more sexual than anything, which made the agreement even weirder. I was honestly just in distress reading this book because on one hand, I was like “girl, you need to stand up for yourself” and on the other hand, I was like “girl, just do what he says so you won’t die.”
I wish it had been more of a slow burn, because the way everything happened so fast made the Stockholm syndrome very apparent. I don’t know why, but I thought there would have been more chaos throughout the book because of the cartel, most of the action just came at the end.
I really enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Kiara’s best friend, she was very real!!! I also liked Lexie. I want to read her book and see how her relationship with Dante will evolve.
I wish it had been more of a slow burn, because the way everything happened so fast made the Stockholm syndrome very apparent. I don’t know why, but I thought there would have been more chaos throughout the book because of the cartel, most of the action just came at the end.
I really enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Kiara’s best friend, she was very real!!! I also liked Lexie. I want to read her book and see how her relationship with Dante will evolve.
August 29, 2023
Amazing book
I have nothing negative to say. I loved this book probably one of my favorites of the year. Adrian is a good mmc and he's so sweet.
I have nothing negative to say. I loved this book probably one of my favorites of the year. Adrian is a good mmc and he's so sweet.
December 17, 2025
FIRST DNF OF MY READING CAREER, WE’RE DOING BIG THINGS PPL!! 🎉🎉🎉
If you like mafia stories that revolve around hunching and a lack of boundaries and consent, then sure! Just know that God sees all. #Bless🙏🏾
If you like mafia stories that revolve around hunching and a lack of boundaries and consent, then sure! Just know that God sees all. #Bless🙏🏾
September 4, 2023
I could honestly start kicking my feet and giggling just thinking about Adrian 🤤🔥🤣 I had a great time reading this and can’t wait for book 2!
There were just a couple of things I didn’t like I’ll knock them out first:
•I think it’s too long. Now, that may just be me because I’m usually a fantasy romance girl and those can be over 600 pages long which is expected for world building and such. So, when I read non fantasy I don’t expect anything to be over about 350 pages lol. I do think the story could have been fully complete in less time
•The FMC seemed a bit naive to me and I wish she’d have more inner confidence especially regarding her body but I liked her overall so it’s fine.
•It was a little repetitive to me at times, but I loved seeing the love story unfold so much that it didn’t really bother me
Now on to the things I loved 🫶🏾
•The cultural references made the book so relatable in the best way; from descriptions of soul food to the details about Black hair, chefs kiss
• ADRIAN RUIZ 🔥 that’s all
•The spice was done really well. It wasn’t lacking but it also wasn’t overbearing, the MMC valued consent, and was dominant without being intentionally cruel to the FMC
• Seeing a Black woman being loved out loud, spoiled, adored, etc. is always so great to see
•No 3rd act breakup 🤩
•Yes, of course the initial attraction was instant, but I think the progression of Adrian and Kiara’s emotion connection was beautiful and one of my favorite parts of the book
There were just a couple of things I didn’t like I’ll knock them out first:
•I think it’s too long. Now, that may just be me because I’m usually a fantasy romance girl and those can be over 600 pages long which is expected for world building and such. So, when I read non fantasy I don’t expect anything to be over about 350 pages lol. I do think the story could have been fully complete in less time
•The FMC seemed a bit naive to me and I wish she’d have more inner confidence especially regarding her body but I liked her overall so it’s fine.
•It was a little repetitive to me at times, but I loved seeing the love story unfold so much that it didn’t really bother me
Now on to the things I loved 🫶🏾
•The cultural references made the book so relatable in the best way; from descriptions of soul food to the details about Black hair, chefs kiss
• ADRIAN RUIZ 🔥 that’s all
•The spice was done really well. It wasn’t lacking but it also wasn’t overbearing, the MMC valued consent, and was dominant without being intentionally cruel to the FMC
• Seeing a Black woman being loved out loud, spoiled, adored, etc. is always so great to see
•No 3rd act breakup 🤩
•Yes, of course the initial attraction was instant, but I think the progression of Adrian and Kiara’s emotion connection was beautiful and one of my favorite parts of the book
April 6, 2024
I loved Kiara and Adrian! I do think the small details of Kiara were so repetitive and cheesy though. The girl could’ve worn another color other than yellow and the amount of times the author described “bronze and gold makeup” was a little annoying. I feel like some of Adrian’s lines were corny and the author tried a little too hard to make him a “bad boy”, but he wasn’t. Maybe I’m used to my dark dark romance though. The plot was predictable but I still enjoyed the book! I wish more random scenes were a little more cohesive with the storyline, but majority of the book had me wanting to read more!
August 24, 2023
Let me start by saying heir of flames, I thought he would have super powers or something like that you know anything to do with flames. The flames were in his eyes like girl what am I going to do with that. I wanted real flames but whatever.
September 8, 2023
An Okay Read for the most part🌼
The story isn’t anything that hasn’t been done before, however the thing that really annoyed me was the low self esteem of the FMC . She was short and overweight 😒 we get it! It just didn’t need to kept hammering it down our throats!
The story isn’t anything that hasn’t been done before, however the thing that really annoyed me was the low self esteem of the FMC . She was short and overweight 😒 we get it! It just didn’t need to kept hammering it down our throats!
January 12, 2024
You are the sunshine of my life…
If you like your romance stories dark and hysterically funny, then Heir of Flames by Asia Monet is the book for you. Kiara has just opened her new restaurant and is celebrating with friends when she encounters an extraordinarily handsome and charismatic man, Adrian Ruiz. For Adrian, meeting Kiara is like touching the embodiment of the sun: she is bright, beautiful, and almost hard to look at. Their meeting is cut short and Kiara, heeding the warnings of her friends, is resigned to not seeing him again. Imagine her surprise when he shows up at her restaurant and has a stake in her new property…a big stake! Adrian is excited to be in the company of “his sun” again and he is determined to move any obstacle needed to hold on to her…. if even for just a little while. Kiara is imbued with kindness and a gentle appeal that made her a very likable character; Adrian on the other hand is about as dark and demented a character ever written but he too has a sweet core that needs love! They made an awesome pair. The epilogue was a treat and I look forward to Dante and Lexie in the next installment (I hope we eventually get to delve into the mysterious Javier).
https://theretiredreader.com/read-for...
If you like your romance stories dark and hysterically funny, then Heir of Flames by Asia Monet is the book for you. Kiara has just opened her new restaurant and is celebrating with friends when she encounters an extraordinarily handsome and charismatic man, Adrian Ruiz. For Adrian, meeting Kiara is like touching the embodiment of the sun: she is bright, beautiful, and almost hard to look at. Their meeting is cut short and Kiara, heeding the warnings of her friends, is resigned to not seeing him again. Imagine her surprise when he shows up at her restaurant and has a stake in her new property…a big stake! Adrian is excited to be in the company of “his sun” again and he is determined to move any obstacle needed to hold on to her…. if even for just a little while. Kiara is imbued with kindness and a gentle appeal that made her a very likable character; Adrian on the other hand is about as dark and demented a character ever written but he too has a sweet core that needs love! They made an awesome pair. The epilogue was a treat and I look forward to Dante and Lexie in the next installment (I hope we eventually get to delve into the mysterious Javier).
https://theretiredreader.com/read-for...
April 4, 2024
Kiara & Adrian Until the wheels fall off even then!❤️🔥😘❤️🔥❤️
This love story was unique! I love Kiara she was such a sweetheart that got her heart broken in the past and moved forward accomplishing her dreams. She had scars that never fully healed up until Adrian “The Man” her man came along and made all those scars disappear and breath confidence, love, acceptance, growth, and many other things into her life. At first she despised Adrian and slowly but surely he got into her heart and breath new meaning that meant everything into her. Adrian handled business he cared hard for those he loved, but the moment he saw Kiara that love just tripled double! He was no one to play with and he will deal with anyone that came close to hurting Kiara. He might not have been a good person before but all actions he ever did was deserved and he definitely became a better person because of Kiara! They loved so hard in this book! Like she changed him for the better and he changed her with insecurities she had within herself! Loved this book! Y’all go check this book out!❤️❤️🌶️🥵❤️🔥❤️🔥😍😍
This love story was unique! I love Kiara she was such a sweetheart that got her heart broken in the past and moved forward accomplishing her dreams. She had scars that never fully healed up until Adrian “The Man” her man came along and made all those scars disappear and breath confidence, love, acceptance, growth, and many other things into her life. At first she despised Adrian and slowly but surely he got into her heart and breath new meaning that meant everything into her. Adrian handled business he cared hard for those he loved, but the moment he saw Kiara that love just tripled double! He was no one to play with and he will deal with anyone that came close to hurting Kiara. He might not have been a good person before but all actions he ever did was deserved and he definitely became a better person because of Kiara! They loved so hard in this book! Like she changed him for the better and he changed her with insecurities she had within herself! Loved this book! Y’all go check this book out!❤️❤️🌶️🥵❤️🔥❤️🔥😍😍
August 21, 2024
psychopaths need love too
Adrian was temperamental, unpredictable, unhinged, impulsive and dangerous while simultaneously being fine as hell. There were legit reasons for why he was this way. Growing up with a father like his, in a family business like his caused trauma like his. He was a monster among men who was feared by all.
Kiara was sunshine, sunflowers, kindness, nurturing, loving and caring. She was a beautiful person inside and out who had a gift for cooking, a big heart, sweet personality and a new successful restaurant. She was a treasure among men. Once Adrian saw her, he claimed her as his treasure like a modern day pirate willing to kill, pillage and burn down anything and anyone who tried to come between them.
This story had all of the great elements to keep you enraptured. You felt every emotion, all the angst, anger, disappointment, lust, love and sadness in addition to the mob rivalry and danger. It was awesome seeing how Adrian’s scheme progressed and he changed from emotionally repressed to feeling and expressing it. Kiara was his goddess - he worshipped her and she rewarded him with love.
Great read!
Adrian was temperamental, unpredictable, unhinged, impulsive and dangerous while simultaneously being fine as hell. There were legit reasons for why he was this way. Growing up with a father like his, in a family business like his caused trauma like his. He was a monster among men who was feared by all.
Kiara was sunshine, sunflowers, kindness, nurturing, loving and caring. She was a beautiful person inside and out who had a gift for cooking, a big heart, sweet personality and a new successful restaurant. She was a treasure among men. Once Adrian saw her, he claimed her as his treasure like a modern day pirate willing to kill, pillage and burn down anything and anyone who tried to come between them.
This story had all of the great elements to keep you enraptured. You felt every emotion, all the angst, anger, disappointment, lust, love and sadness in addition to the mob rivalry and danger. It was awesome seeing how Adrian’s scheme progressed and he changed from emotionally repressed to feeling and expressing it. Kiara was his goddess - he worshipped her and she rewarded him with love.
Great read!
November 23, 2023
I love when a black woman is being loved on and very loudly at that but Adrian is unhinged and he needs a prayer and fasting session but even at that he's still a very good man who's just going through Adrian and Kiara's love story was warm and weird in some cases because I wanted her to at least speak up for her self half the time and I also wanted her to deck Adrian because he was being to damn difficult. I like how @authorasiamonet explained everything especially how we were given descriptive explanations but the book felt way too long but aside from that it was a good read but I don't think I'll be rereading it.
Things to expect
* grumpy MMC and sunshine FMC
* hot afro-latina tattoo artist that will burn the world for his girl
* literally loves biting and leaving marks on his FMC
* sweet southern Belle who owns a restaurant
* mafia/organized crime
* curvy FMC
* More psychopathic characters
Things to expect
* grumpy MMC and sunshine FMC
* hot afro-latina tattoo artist that will burn the world for his girl
* literally loves biting and leaving marks on his FMC
* sweet southern Belle who owns a restaurant
* mafia/organized crime
* curvy FMC
* More psychopathic characters
September 30, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well! I wasn’t expecting this at all. This is a new to me author I came across on IG and whose work I plan to read more of.
While the story unfolded slowly, once it began to speed up- I was hooked. There’s so much, between the blatant abuse of Jav, Adrian, and Lexie. I was furious at their father and can’t wait until the score is settled with him. He deserves the worst.
With that history in mind, I felt a lot of sympathy for Adrian. But I definitely understood those readers who were annoyed by him.
One thing I really loved is how the author painted both sides of his personality. And how well she created interest in all the siblings. I knew 20-30% in that I wanted to read more about them and had downloaded the remainder of the series. Which rarely happens for me. I tend to take each book one at a time. But I’m pretty optimistic about enjoying this series.
Great read! It’s lengthy, but good.
Well! I wasn’t expecting this at all. This is a new to me author I came across on IG and whose work I plan to read more of.
While the story unfolded slowly, once it began to speed up- I was hooked. There’s so much, between the blatant abuse of Jav, Adrian, and Lexie. I was furious at their father and can’t wait until the score is settled with him. He deserves the worst.
With that history in mind, I felt a lot of sympathy for Adrian. But I definitely understood those readers who were annoyed by him.
One thing I really loved is how the author painted both sides of his personality. And how well she created interest in all the siblings. I knew 20-30% in that I wanted to read more about them and had downloaded the remainder of the series. Which rarely happens for me. I tend to take each book one at a time. But I’m pretty optimistic about enjoying this series.
Great read! It’s lengthy, but good.
January 23, 2026
Did not finish at 11% (Kindle Edition.)
DNFed due to male lead blackmailing the female lead into a sexual relationship. The previous owner of her restaurant owes money the ML’s family so ML takes advantage and basically wants her as a slave until he feels the debt’s been repaid. Which means it’s on his terms. Which, to me, is rape. How’re you a willing participant if it’s either sleep with this man or lose your business? He’s just as scummy as the other crime family that’s sniffing around her. He claims it’s not rape because she’ll “beg for it” but if it’s not rape, why not go to her outside of the money issue? Why not work with her instead of giving her an impossible, disgusting ultimatum? Instead he invaded her privacy (hacking her security feeds so he can observe her), intimidates her and make her feel uncomfortable (stands as close as possible, getting in her space) and kidnapping her.
DNFed due to male lead blackmailing the female lead into a sexual relationship. The previous owner of her restaurant owes money the ML’s family so ML takes advantage and basically wants her as a slave until he feels the debt’s been repaid. Which means it’s on his terms. Which, to me, is rape. How’re you a willing participant if it’s either sleep with this man or lose your business? He’s just as scummy as the other crime family that’s sniffing around her. He claims it’s not rape because she’ll “beg for it” but if it’s not rape, why not go to her outside of the money issue? Why not work with her instead of giving her an impossible, disgusting ultimatum? Instead he invaded her privacy (hacking her security feeds so he can observe her), intimidates her and make her feel uncomfortable (stands as close as possible, getting in her space) and kidnapping her.
September 12, 2023
A lot of this book did not make any sense!!
Why did Dante burn down Kiara’s restaurant?
Why was there even a debt repayment part of the plot?
What happens to the Ruiz’ father?
But even though it was nonsensical, the drama at the end was interesting in terms of how it will lead into the next book of the series. I also didn’t actually like Adrian until the end. I agree with a lot of the other reviews in that Kiara was written as a very naive character. Heir of Flames was a decent story, but I am much more intrigued by what will happen with the other Ruiz siblings!
Also I think the Spanish was supposed to add a sexy element but I feel like it was interspersed too randomly and sparsely to really do much??? It also would have sounded better if it was more colloquial
Why did Dante burn down Kiara’s restaurant?
Why was there even a debt repayment part of the plot?
What happens to the Ruiz’ father?
But even though it was nonsensical, the drama at the end was interesting in terms of how it will lead into the next book of the series. I also didn’t actually like Adrian until the end. I agree with a lot of the other reviews in that Kiara was written as a very naive character. Heir of Flames was a decent story, but I am much more intrigued by what will happen with the other Ruiz siblings!
Also I think the Spanish was supposed to add a sexy element but I feel like it was interspersed too randomly and sparsely to really do much??? It also would have sounded better if it was more colloquial
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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