Review: Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

Breath of Fire
(Kingmaker Chronicles #2)
by Amanda Bouchet
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication date: Jan. 3, 2017
Genre: Fantasy
Rating:

SHE’S DESTINED TO DESTROY THE WORLD…
“Cat” Catalia Fisa has been running from her destiny since she could crawl. But now, her newfound loved ones are caught between the shadow of Cat’s tortured past and the threat of her world-shattering future. So what’s a girl to do when she knows it’s her fate to be the harbinger of doom? Everything in her power.

BUT NOT IF SHE CAN HELP IT
Griffin knows Cat is destined to change the world-for the better. As the realms are descending into all-out war, Cat and Griffin must embrace their fate together. Gods willing, they will emerge side-by-side in the heart of their future kingdom…or not at all.

I’m not sure how I feel about Breath of Fire. While it stepped up in the fantasy section, I found myself being a bit bored from time to time. Mainly because there are a lot of quests and trials that this group has to overcome. From finding and talking to wizards, to convincing a Goddess to give up an item, to fighting through a maze filled with deadly creatures, it was never ending. Just about every chapter was filled with some long test that would prove that Cat and her team were worthy.

While the non-stop trials may seem interesting, I still found myself being bored. Maybe it was the slower pace? I absolutely loved the arena fights at the end of the book. I was so tuned in at that point that I couldn’t seem to put the book down. I mean, what’s more exciting than a fight to the death with a mixture of brawny fighters and magic wielders? Especially when each magic user poses a completely different threat. A threat that Cat has to figure out how to neutralize in order to save her team. It left me on the edge of my seat the entire time. However, the majority of the book seemed to consist of boring trials, followed by sex with Griffin. These two were like horny rabbits.

I wish I could say that Cat has grown up some in this book, but she really hasn’t. I did start to warm up to her by the middle of the story, but I still found her beyond reckless. I mean, she should have died more than once but the Gods just kept interfering and bringing her back… and she seemed to never learn her lesson. It drove me nuts. Especially given that she’s well aware of the fact that she is the person who will bring about change. She knows her role and how important she is to make the world a better place, and yet time and time again she puts herself in extreme danger for no reason. Needless to say, my need to strangle Cat hasn’t diminished from the first book.

While Breath of Fire didn’t live up to my expectations, I still enjoyed it. I hope that now we are going into the finale, we will see more epic battles. I want to see Cat use her cool abilities. I want to see some centaurs fight along the humans. I want to see some pretty gnarly fighting scenes. I’m just hoping the author goes out with a bang for this series. I feel like the characters deserve that much.

Favorite quote…

“A heart of iron means I do not break. You cannot break me. I may not be the strongest, or the fastest, or the best, but I will fight. I will fight for everyone I love. I will fight for myself. You can beat me until I’m bloody. You can break my bones. You can tear my skin. You can burn me. You can crush me until I can’t breathe, and you’re sure I’m dead, and then do you know what? […]I will get up, and I will fight some more.”

Previous reviews from Kingmaker Chronicles
A Promise of Fire