Review: A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

A Promise of Fire
(Kingmaker Chronicles #1)
by Amanda Bouchet
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication date: Aug. 2, 2016
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Rating:

Catalia “Cat” Fisa is a powerful clairvoyant known as the Kingmaker. This smart-mouthed soothsayer has no interest in her powers and would much rather fly under the radar, far from the clutches of her homicidal mother. But when an ambitious warlord captures her, she may not have a choice…

Griffin is intent on bringing peace to his newly conquered realm in the magic-deprived south. When he discovers Cat is the Kingmaker, he abducts her. But Cat will do everything in her power to avoid her dangerous destiny and battle her captor at every turn. Although up for the battle, Griffin would prefer for Cat to help his people willingly, and he’s ready to do whatever it takes to coax her…even if that means falling in love with her.

 

 

Cat’s been traveling with the circus for years, hiding out as a soothsayer. However, she is much more than that. She has magic and it isn’t the kind of magic that tells someones future. She can take in someones magic with just a touch, and use that power as her own. She can tell whether or not someone is lying. Plus, she has a very close relationship with the Greek Gods. Gods who grant her favors and keep an eye on her. Cat is so rare that there is only one of her kind and unfortunately for her, a warlord has discovered her powers and takes her for his own. His people recently overthrew Sinta and they are in need of someone magical to help them keep their reign. He had no idea what he was actually getting when he captured Cat, let alone the powerful enemies that would like nothing more than to get Cat back for their own torturous gain, but he refuses to let her go.

First off, can we take a moment to ogle the cover. I love it! I love the colors, I love the model, and I love that the cover model matches Cat’s description perfectly. This cover definitely screams fantasy with a bad-ass chick wielding magic.

With that out of the way… my one major complaint about this story is that Cat is not in fact bad-ass. Sure she has some amazing powers and those are pretty bad-ass but her character itself is annoying. She is supposed to be in her 20’s, which I figure in the time-frame of warlords and throne takeovers, that 20 would be almost middle-aged. She should be wise, not stomping her feet every two minutes. She kisses a guy and then does her invisible spell for two days afterward where she pouts about it. She sleeps with said guy, and then turns invisible and runs out of the room on him. He proposes to her and she throws his jewelry back at him, literally. She was so frustrating that I wanted to put the book down on more than one occasion. The only thing stopping me was the story itself. It’s so rich, and I loved all the other characters. I was invested in knowing what would happen with Griffin’s family and hoping to the Gods that Cat would grow up. Sadly, up until the end of this installment, that hasn’t happened. Here’s to holding out for some development in the next book.

One character I really liked was Griffin. He’s the warlord that captures Cat. Except he’s not a bad guy. The moment he realized Cat’s potential, he approaches her and asks her to accompany him and his men back to his land. When he is unable to persuade her, he kidnaps her. Which, you would think would be horrible, but it’s not. He is gentle with her, even when she is so aggravating that I probably would have throttled her after the first couple of hours. When she whines about wanting bread and fruit, he makes a detour to a local market and procures a ton of fruit and bread to last a week. He looks out for her and protects her when enemies show up. He really wants her to want to be there with him and his team. He tries to include her in everything and tries to show that she is part of Beta Team. Plus, his description immediately conjured up Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) from Game of Thrones. MmmmMmmmm. So, yeah, I may have been crushing pretty hard on Griffin with just that alone.

The world the author created is wonderful. There’s Greek Gods, magic, dragons, vengeful villains, Khal Drogo… I mean, sexy warlords named Griffin, and aside from Cat, an amazing line-up of characters. Gah! I just really wish Cat wasn’t so freaking frustrating. I know that her banter is supposed to be amusing and funny but I really just wanted to strangle the girl. I hope the second book shows some character growth for her because she needs it.

 

 

Favorite quote…

“You’re intelligent, brave, skilled, and lethal. You’ve got Poseidon and Hades looking out for you. I don’t believe you’ll die young, and I don’t believe they’d let you. And even if they’re not paying attention, then I am. I won’t let you. I told you I was keeping you. I meant it.”

 

 

12 Thoughts on “Review: A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

  1. I just could not, the Greek gods annoyed me SO much, I mean, fantasy world…why Greek?

    • Cat irritated me so much that I couldn’t see past her to get annoyed with anything else. It sounded like such an amazing read and I had been holding off on reading it because I was saving it for a “rainy day” when I needed to get out of a book slump. That plan backfired. LoL

  2. That sounds really good and I do like the cover.

  3. I admit the cover ALWAYS makes me want to read this series lol I need to read this asap

  4. I absolutely would love to have those super powers, particularly to tell when a person is telling an untruth. I think that would put a scare in a lot of people. (lol) This is one of those books I could probably relate to a little more as a movie, but I totally loved your review. I’m with you and that cover is pretty amazing! Happy Tuesday! Hugs…RO

  5. Yes!! Lets ogle the cover. They are amazing for this series. I need to get this one read. I’ve been meaning to for quite some time.

  6. This one sounds exciting. And my, those cover looks amazing!

  7. I’ve seen that cover around and LOVE it. Not sure the book is for me though.

    For What It’s Worth

  8. It’s a shame that Cat annoyed you, I actually really liked this one, but I can see why when you point it out like that. I think she has hidden from everything for so long that she didn’t know how to handle Griffin. Great review!

    Naomi @ Naomi’s Reading Palace

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