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An automated source lookup or an editor’s sourced check was recorded on this date. A lookup may have found no match. This does not mean all Eerie ratings, tropes, content warnings or Kindle Unlimited availability were reverified. Field verification is shown separately.The Next Flame
Here are New York Times bestseller Penelope Douglas’s two bestselling novellas in the Fall Away Series, together in one volume for the first time. AFLAME All through high school, Jared Trent called the shots. He decided if Tatum Brandt would be happy or sad, fearful or free. He owned her heart, and he played with it like one of his cars. Never again. Two years ago, Jared left town, and Tate’s life is exactly where she wants it to be. Or that’s what she tells herself... Because two years ago, her heart also stopped beating, and no matter the success in school or the support of her friends, there’s only one time every week she can feel that same rush in her blood: Friday nights on the track. That’s hers, not his, and to hell with anyone that gets in her way again. Especially him. NEXT TO NEVER Under the close watch of the men in her family, Quinn Caruthers has found it nearly impossible to spread her wings—or even date—without her three older brothers, Jared, Madoc, and Jaxon, jumping in to hover. And when a family friend—several years older—from her childhood still holds her heart, she knows they’re going to be a problem. Lucas Morrow is a man, and knowing her brothers, he may as well be forbidden. But Lucas left town and shows no signs of returning. Quinn knows she shouldn’t wait for him anymore.... Until a package turns up on her doorstep with no return address and its contents reveal family secrets that threaten to turn her world upside down. She’s never asked about the path of her parents’ romantic history, but she soon learns their happy marriage had a very rocky and passionate start. As she starts to see things around her with new eyes, Quinn will have to make tough choices about whether she’ll keep waiting...or finally go after what she really wants.
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These are Eerie's editorial scores. Spice is scored out of 5; the other scores are out of 10. Higher intensity does not mean a better book. Romance Focus measures how central the relationship is to the story. Overall Recommendation is Eerie's recommendation for the book's intended readers.
Bibliographic Sources
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- Google Books · checked Nov 4, 2026
Book at a Glance
Trigger Warnings
These tags describe potentially sensitive material in the book and may not be a complete list. A missing warning does not confirm that the content is absent. HEA/HFN describes the romantic ending, not the absence of disturbing content. Check the author's current content notes before reading.
Eerie Take
Book summary
The Next Flame brings together two Fall Away novellas: Aflame and Next to Never.
In Aflame, Jared comes home two years after leaving Tate behind. She has medical school ahead of her and a place on the racetrack that she refuses to surrender. The attraction hasn’t gone anywhere, but wanting each other is easier than rebuilding trust.
Next to Never turns to the family’s past. An unexpected book introduces seventeen-year-old Quinn to the complicated history of her parents, Kat and Jase. Their years of secrecy, betrayal, addiction, and reconciliation leave Quinn questioning how much of her own future she wants her protective family to decide.
Main characters and ages
- Tatum “Tate” Brandt — female, 22 in Aflame’s main story. A racer preparing for medical school, determined to protect the life she has built.
- Jared Trent — male, 22 in Aflame’s main story. A motorcycle racer and business co-owner returning to the woman he left.
- Katherine “Kat” — female romantic lead in Next to Never. Nineteen when she first meets Jase and fifty-eight in Quinn’s framing timeline. Her story follows a young mother’s struggle with dependence, addiction, and recovery.
- Jason “Jase” Caruthers — male romantic lead in Next to Never. Twenty-six at his first meeting with Kat and forty-two at their later reunion. A wealthy lawyer whose possessiveness and choices leave lasting damage.
- Quinn Caruthers — female framing narrator, 17, approaching 18. A high-school senior trying to find room for her own ambitions.
- Lucas Evan Morrow — male family friend, 29, approaching 30. An architect and Quinn’s longtime crush. Their story remains open beyond this collection.
Reading details
A two-novella collection in the Fall Away series, with multiple first-person viewpoints. The ages above belong to different timelines. Both central adult romances have happy endings; Quinn and Lucas do not receive a completed romance here. Read the earlier books, especially Bully, for the history behind these relationships.
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