Review: Heart of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

Heart on Fire
(Kingmaker Chronicles #3)
by Amanda Bouchet
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication date: Jan. 2, 2018
Genre: Fantasy
Rating:

Who is Catalia Fisa?
With the help of pivotal figures from her past, Cat begins to understand the root of her exceptional magic, her fated union with Griffin Sinta, and Griffin’s role in shaping her destiny.

Only Cat holds the key to unlocking her own power, and that means finally accepting herself, her past, and her future in order to protect her loved ones, confront her murderous mother, and taking a final, terrifying step–reuniting all three realms and taking her place as the Queen of Thalyria.

What doesn’t kill her will only make her stronger…we hope.

 

 

Heart of Fire is the finale to Cat’s story. I won’t lie, I struggled with this series. I found Cat’s character a bit immature, selfish, reckless, and not really worthy of her destiny. However, I was interested to see how it all would end for everyone and pushed on to the end.

Thankfully, the author decided to give the Gods and Goddesses a larger role than previous books. Usually they are there as a form of test or maybe to impart some quick wisdom. However, in this installment, they are more in the forefront than they were before. We got to see some big hitters come up to bat and I enjoyed every minute of it. Which brings me to another thing I really liked, the author threw in some surprises when it came to the Gods, and I’m not talking about fight scenes. She really shocked me with some of the people she brought into the story line. And let me just go on the record, I hope Lycheron, the Alpha centaur, gets his own story. We met him in the previous book and he was initially shown as this ruthless creature with his own harem. However, in this book we see a completely different side to him. One I really hope the author explores if she does a spin-off. Let’s just say this horse-man is a lot more than he appears. 😉

With that all said, I am still not a Cat fan. I was more invested in all the other characters than I was with the main character. It’s as if she doesn’t retain anything that happens to her. She doesn’t learn. She’s still the same annoying character she was in the beginning. She behaved like a spoiled girl instead of the hardened survivor that she is.

Just like the last book, I felt like the author focused a lot on inner monologue and scenes that just felt way too long winded. Thus, cutting short scenes that were pretty important. For instance, we’ve been building up to this massive battle between mother and daughter. A mother who’s tortured and killed her own children because she’s just nuts. So, imagine my disappointment when the big moment comes, and all of a sudden it’s over. I blinked, and they lived happily ever after. WHAT?! Here’s this person that Gods and Goddesses needed to interfere and help strengthen in order to survive this horrible villainous person, and the fight is over before it begins. I am so beyond disappointed that it honestly killed the book for me.

Not to mention, there are so many loose ends. Sure Cat and Griffin get their happily ever after as King and Queen, but what about everyone else? What about Carver, Kato, Flynn, Ianthe, Bellanca, and Jocasta? They all experienced turmoil in these books and I felt like their suffering was pushed to the side. For instance, Kato undergoes some traumatic stuff in the previous book, and yet that’s never really addressed. Carver hits rock bottom in this story and we get nothing! I just, I feel like so much was left hanging.

The covers really grabbed me from the moment I laid eyes on them. They promised a fantasy loaded adventure. Except, that’s not what I got. I was bored the majority of the time I read the series, I didn’t care for the main character at all, and I felt like the ending was more of an afterthought than something that was actually planned out. This series just didn’t live up to my expectations at all.

 

Previous reviews from Kingmaker Chronicles
A Promise of Fire

Breath of Fire

 

 

 

 

6 Thoughts on “Review: Heart of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

  1. Being bored in a book is never good. Sorry you didn’t like this one more.

  2. I really enjoyed this trilogy quite a bit but I actually loved Griffin the most, way more than Cat and I would have liked to see him more in this book.

  3. bookwormbrandee on 11 February, 2019 at 5:10 pm said:

    Hmm…well, I’m glad you pushed through and found some redeeming qualities (secondary characters) to like about the series, Kristin. You have me worried about starting this one since character growth is a biggie for me and it doesn’t seem as though Cat does much of that. That’s disappointing. Thanks for your candid thoughts though. Great review!

  4. I find it awkward when a character doesn’t grow during even one book. To not mature over the course of a trilogy would be too exasperating! It doesn’t sound like this was much of a Final Book either. Do you think maybe storylines are being kept open to sell spin-off novels?

  5. Love that cover and recognize Amanda’s name, though I don’t think I have read any of her work. Sorry the series is falling a bit short for you.
    sherry @ fundinmental

  6. I had really wanted to read this series but since then I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews and my interest has waned. I don’t have time to be bored with a book lol

    Karen @ For What It’s Worth

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