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Through the Flames: Burning Desires Book 1
Kindle Edition
Published September 15, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 20, 2026
Declan an Emma's love story takes the common themes of surviving an abusive relationship, trauma and fear and leaves you rooting for there happily ever after.
Well written, and highly engaging this book will have you sitting up to finish it in one sitting.
Spice level is 3/5.
I can't wait for the next book!
Well written, and highly engaging this book will have you sitting up to finish it in one sitting.
Spice level is 3/5.
I can't wait for the next book!
September 25, 2026
This book made me laugh, made me cry like in the first chapter. It was not pretty crying either. I loved how the creators worked together to fight their own demands and to come out the other side with love and a little scares. The author made me love Declan and hate him at the same time. I had the same feeling towards Ella as well. I can't wait to see what happens next with Sean and Nina
October 2, 2026
Through the Flames is an emotionally intense dark romance that explores trauma, loss, healing, and the complicated difference between protecting someone and controlling them. Victoria Ashburn takes a familiar romantic dynamic and gives it considerably more emotional weight by placing both characters in situations where love alone cannot erase the wounds of the past.
Ella Voss immediately stands out as a character whose journey is about reclaiming her independence. After surviving an abusive relationship, she is determined to rebuild her life on her own terms. Her resistance to being treated as someone who needs to be rescued makes her especially compelling, particularly when Declan’s protective instincts begin to resemble the very kind of control she has already experienced.
Declan Murphy is equally complex. His work as a firefighter naturally places him in the role of someone who saves others, but beneath that instinct is a history of devastating personal losses. The people he could not save have shaped the way he approaches love, protection, and responsibility. His desire to protect Ella gradually becomes something much darker, forcing him to confront whether his actions are genuinely about her safety or about his own inability to accept another loss.
What I found particularly effective is the tension between these two perspectives. Ella needs the freedom to save herself, while Declan has to learn that loving someone does not mean controlling every danger around them. That conflict gives the romance a deeper emotional dimension and makes their relationship about more than attraction.
The story also handles difficult themes such as domestic abuse, grief, trauma, obsession, and emotional dependency in a way that gives the characters room to struggle with their experiences. The slow-burn relationship keeps the emotional tension building while the central question where does protection end and possession begin? continues to shape the story.
Overall, Through the Flames is a compelling choice for readers who enjoy darker contemporary romance, complicated anti-heroes, emotionally wounded characters, and relationships that challenge conventional ideas about love. It is a story about two people carrying very different kinds of scars and discovering that healing sometimes requires confronting the things you are most afraid to lose.
Ella Voss immediately stands out as a character whose journey is about reclaiming her independence. After surviving an abusive relationship, she is determined to rebuild her life on her own terms. Her resistance to being treated as someone who needs to be rescued makes her especially compelling, particularly when Declan’s protective instincts begin to resemble the very kind of control she has already experienced.
Declan Murphy is equally complex. His work as a firefighter naturally places him in the role of someone who saves others, but beneath that instinct is a history of devastating personal losses. The people he could not save have shaped the way he approaches love, protection, and responsibility. His desire to protect Ella gradually becomes something much darker, forcing him to confront whether his actions are genuinely about her safety or about his own inability to accept another loss.
What I found particularly effective is the tension between these two perspectives. Ella needs the freedom to save herself, while Declan has to learn that loving someone does not mean controlling every danger around them. That conflict gives the romance a deeper emotional dimension and makes their relationship about more than attraction.
The story also handles difficult themes such as domestic abuse, grief, trauma, obsession, and emotional dependency in a way that gives the characters room to struggle with their experiences. The slow-burn relationship keeps the emotional tension building while the central question where does protection end and possession begin? continues to shape the story.
Overall, Through the Flames is a compelling choice for readers who enjoy darker contemporary romance, complicated anti-heroes, emotionally wounded characters, and relationships that challenge conventional ideas about love. It is a story about two people carrying very different kinds of scars and discovering that healing sometimes requires confronting the things you are most afraid to lose.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews