Ace & Ember : Slow Burn, Sharp Edges, and Obsession

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It’s always interesting when a book makes you question what you thought you liked. Because I went into Ace & Ember expecting one thing.

And walked away, realizing I had been holding onto the wrong part of the story the entire time.

(Yeah…this is the kind of book that shifts under you. If you want to feel that for yourself, get it here.)

Not in an obvious way.

Nothing dramatic. Nothing immediate.

It was slower than that.

Coming off the back of Rook and Rebel, I didn’t think Ace & Ember was going to connect with me the way I needed it to. I had already fallen for the characters, Aiden and Evie, but something about that first book didn’t fully land for me—and I assumed this would feel the same.

(It didn’t.)

This started to feel different than what I thought this series was capable of.

The shift was subtle at first. The kind that happens quietly, somewhere between one chapter and the next, until suddenly you’re sinking into it.

Engulfed in it.

Lingering a little longer in certain moments.

This is where it starts pulling you under…and if you let it? You won’t come back the same. Grab it here.

Starting to realize that what’s pulling you forward isn’t what you thought it would be. And once that clicked?

Everything hit differently.

Title: Ace & Ember (The Mavericks, 2)

Author: Kate Crew

Publisher: Avon

Format: eARC

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance

Release Date: July 14, 2026

Pages: 432

Star Rating: 4 stars

Spice Rating: 2 chili peppers

A Forbidden Love Story Set in a Motorcycle Romance World

For me, that shift came down to one thing: Aiden (I already knew I loved Evie).

The moment Ace & Ember began, this story doesn’t hesitate about where it’s placing your attention. It’s right there in the tension between him and Evie.

Not something that builds from nothing.

Something that’s already there…just waiting for the moment it stops being shoved to the side and ignored like it’s invisible.

Evie Emberson doesn’t know how to exist quietly in her own life. She pushes. She provokes. She goes looking for answers even when she knows they might ruin her. Smart, relentless, and just unhinged enough to make every decision feel like it could spiral.

Aiden is the complete opposite.

He is controlled. Intentional. A rule follower. The kind of man who knows exactly where the line is and spends most of this story trying not to cross it.

Especially when it comes to Evie.

Because she isn’t just someone he shouldn’t want.

She’s off limits in a way that actually matters. And that is what gives Ace & Ember its weight. The forbidden love story of it all. Where the tension isn’t built on distance or dislike. It’s built on proximity. (And not falling for your best friend’s little sister. )

On knowing exactly what the other person means to you… and choosing not to touch it anyway.

If forbidden tension is your weakness…yeah, you already know you should grab it now.

The Tension That Defines This Slow Burn

The book is completely locked in for me when it comes to Evie and Aiden.

Because I didn’t just like them.

I felt them. Craved them, wishing I were in Evie’s place. The tension between Evie and Aiden is constant. It’s controlled, stretched thin, sitting right under every interaction.

Every look lingers. Every moment feels like it’s holding something back.

That kind of pull? You don’t ignore it. Read it for yourself.

And I need to say this clearly:

Ace & Ember is not an enemies-to-lovers story.

If you’re coming into this expecting the enemies-to-lovers trope, that’s not what this is.

Aiden would have chosen Evie long before anything shifted between them.

What you’re getting instead is restraint.

Denial.

The kind of slow burn that makes you sit in the tension longer than you want to.

And it works.

It feels like your chest is tight the entire time you’re watching them circle each other, knowing exactly where this is going and still having to wait for them to catch up to what is right in front of their faces.

This is the kind of dynamic that defines the best morally grey romance. Not because they’re bad people, but because every choice they make feels like it could cost them something.

If you’re here for slow burn, restraint, and tension that stretches you think…this is yours. Get it here.

Chaos, Control, and Morally Grey Romance Energy

Evie is THAT girl and pure chaos.

Not in a soft way. Not in a charming way. In a way that feels unpredictable. A little dangerous. The kind of character who doesn’t just feel things, she reacts to them (purely off emotions).

This is a girl who tried to set her ex on fire. And the only reason she didn’t is because the lighter didn’t catch. And honestly, that tells you everything you need to know about her. I was endeared to Evie in Rook and Rebel, book one in the Mavericks series, but this solidified her spot in my heart.

Aiden grounds her in a way that doesn’t feel controlling.

He doesn’t try to fix her.

He…meets her where she is and holds steady.

And together?

They make sense in a way that feels inevitable.

She keeps him on edge.

He keeps her from completely detonating. And there’s something about that balance that made their connection feel alive the entire time I was reading.

When Romance Takes a Backseat to Plot

But here’s where things started to split for me. Because as much as I was invested in them… this story isn’t just about them.

There’s a mystery running underneath everything. Someone watching, someone hunting, something unfolding in the background that slowly starts to take up more space.

And for a large part of the book, that mystery takes center stage.

To the point where the romance begins to feel like it’s sitting behind the plot instead of driving it.

It almost feels like two separate threads:

One is a slow, emotionally heavy forbidden love romance in the background.

The other is a fast-moving mystery unraveling, taking over the show.

And instead of blending, they compete.

Which means the relationship—despite how strong it is—sometimes feels like it’s being pushed further back than it should be.

Why Ace & Ember Feels Structurally Unbalanced

I think this is where the story’s structure becomes really noticeable. Because this isn’t a pacing issue in the traditional sense.

It’s a focus issue.

Ace & Ember is trying to carry two full narrative weights at the same time:

• a slow burn, emotionally driven forbidden love romance
• a plot-heavy mystery with external stakes

And instead of one supporting the other, they run parallel.

The romance doesn’t fully drive the plot.

The plot doesn’t fully intensify the romance.

So you end up with this split reading experience where you’re constantly shifting between:

“I’m here for them.”

and

“Okay, now we’re back to the mystery.”

And because the mystery takes up so much narrative space, the emotional payoff between Evie and Aiden feels delayed—not because it’s underdeveloped, but because it’s competing for attention.

Which is why the romance can feel like a subplot…

even though it’s the emotional book’s core.

If you’re already hooked on Aiden and Evie…don’t wait for the rest of this review. Start it now.

Pacing, Spice, and Expectations

This is a true slow-burning romance book. And I mean that in the most literal sense. You are well past the halfway mark before anything really shifts between them sexually.

There are moments. There’s tension. There’s definitely built up.

But if you’re going into this expecting something that leans heavily into the “extra spicy” label early on…

That’s not what this is.

And I do think that matters.

Because when it does get there, it works.

I just wanted it to meet me a little sooner.

Not Enemies to Lovers and the Problem with Miscommunication

We need to spend a moment talking about the miscommunication trope used. Because this is where I started to get frustrated. Evie can manipulate.

Push.

Blackmail.

Stab people without hesitation.

She can literally consider setting someone on fire.

But when it comes to actually saying how she feels?

She spirals.

Avoids. Deflects.

And I was sitting there like…

GIRL!!!

Be so fucking for real.

Because you can do all of that, but you can’t just talk?

It didn’t ruin the story for me, but it did create distance in moments where I wanted to feel more grounded in what was happening between them.

What Changed in This Mavericks Series Installment

I think the distance from Rook & Rebel is what made something else click for me. Because I kept coming back to the same thought while I was reading:

This isn’t what wasn’t working for me before, which is when I started thinking about Rook & Rebel differently.

Because I liked the first book.

But I didn’t care about Rook the way I needed to.

He was fine.

But Aiden?

Aiden changed everything.

He makes me want to say my man, my man, my man.

There’s something about him that sharpens the entire emotional experience of the story. The tension feels stronger. The connection feels heavier. The pull between him and Evie feels immediate because of their years-long history, yet it feels new and developed in a way I didn’t feel before.

And I realized pretty quickly…

It was never the story that wasn’t working for me. It was who I was being asked to care about.

And with that clarity, I can’t help but be excited for book three (here’s hoping it’s Harper and Hero.)

Strong Build Rushed Payoff

There’s also something to be said about how the mystery resolves. Because for how much time is spent building it—layering in questions, tension, and that sense of someone always being just out of reach—the payoff comes quickly.

Almost too quickly.

I figured out the reveal early, and while I understand the intention behind holding it back, I actually think it would have hit harder if we had been given just a little more time to sit in it.

To watch Evie process it. To see her question it.

To let the realization of it all breathe instead of rushing to the resolution and her handling it off-page.

Especially because so much of the book is her searching for answers, the weight of finding the solution was too much for that little exploration.

The ending just needed a little more space to match the solid feel of everything leading up to it.

Final Thoughts on Ace & Ember

At the end of the day, this wasn’t about the mystery for me. It wasn’t about the twists.

It was about Aiden and Evie.

Because even when the story pulled away, I kept wanting to come back.

Waiting for the next moment between them.

The next crack in that restraint that Aiden was trying so hard to hold onto.

And that feeling?

That’s what made this work for me.

Not because it was perfectly balanced. But because it gave me something to feel. And once I felt it… I couldn’t let go.

If your chest tightened even a little reading this…don’t ignore that. Go get it. Sit in it. Let it ruin you a little. Start here.

This is where I tell you to Shop Indie

If this review made your chest tighten even a little… please consider getting Ace & Ember from an independent bookstore.

Order it from your local shop.
Request it at your library.
Or use Bookshop.org, where you can choose a bookstore to support at no extra cost to you.
But if accessibility is an issue, and Amazon is the choice you need to make that’s okay too.

Stories like this deserve to live in places that care about stories.

And indie bookstores? They’re the ones hand selling dark romance to the reader who says I need a story to fall in love with.

If you decide to pick this one up, I hope it finds you at the right moment. And if you do read it, come back and tell me what it did to you.

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