I was casting about for an idea for a blog post and fortunately, a question from a reader provided the answer. The comment from the reader in question referred to ATWB as a 'harem' story.
The short, straightforward answer is that ATWB is not a harem story. Having said that, it does share many similarities with those.
Let me start off by saying that “harem” stories don’t appeal to me very much. I’m not completely put off by them if they are otherwise well-written, but they aren’t the type of story I seek out.
To my way of thinking, what makes or breaks long-form erotica (smut, adult fiction, whatever you wish to call it) are the female characters. Over time, I've come across numerous discussions revolving around male main characters (MCs), but I don’t believe they are as vital as they seem. Unless the character is (or becomes) utterly, intolerably annoying (eg. “Summer Camp”), as readers, we tend to largely overlook them. What happens is that (to a large extent) we replace them with ourselves. It's what's referred to as "self-insertion.”
The thing that really keeps (male) readers interested, I think, are the female characters. They are the ones we fall in love with. We want their romance with the MC to work out. We want revenge on those who have wronged them (sometimes, including the MC). Think of all the long-form adult stories where the MC starts with one girl and then ends up breaking up with her for whatever reason, and how difficult it is for authors to establish a second character to take her place.
My understanding of the term ‘harem fiction’ is a story where the MC ends up with multiple women who are devoted exclusively to him - unless it is girl-on-girl stuff. After all, we all know that when it comes to smut, all female characters are enthusiastically bisexual. There may be stories that deviate from that particular trope, but let me assure you that mine isn't one of them.
While the MC is allowed to sleep with a bunch of women, the women must remain sexually exclusive to him. To my mind, the concept of harem stories necessitates portraying the female characters in a somewhat pathetic manner. It's difficult to develop a likeable character when they're depicted as being pitiful and lacking self-worth.
So what does all this have to do with ATWB and the way it both is and isn’t harem fiction?
The reason behind this has to do with the scope of the story. ATWB's timeline spans only a few months, from when the protagonist Fayard returns from boarding school (in the last weeks of winter, within the story's timeframe) to his departure for university in early autumn. During this time, he will develop relationships with various female characters that implicitly exclude other male partners.
However, these relationships are understood to be transitory by all parties involved. The female characters are not Fayard’s women. Everyone understands that in some way or another, they will eventually move on.
Of course, I recognise the immense popularity of harem stories. It's hard to ignore the abundance of comments both here and elsewhere, where readers insist that no other male character should touch the MC's girls. If this is a narrative element that gets you riled up, perhaps you should give ATWB a miss. Although something like that doesn’t actually occur in the story, as an author, I am not massively sympatric to the attitude and ATWB isn’t building up to that kind of resolution.