A Promise of Fire (#1) - Amanda Bouchet [Review]

Book: A Promise of Fire

Author: Amanda Bouchet

Published: 2nd August 2016

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Pages: 448
Source: eArc provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Rating: 5/5 stars

Wow, I was not expecting to enjoy this book so much. True, I had heard good things, so I was hopeful, but this book is amazing and surpassed even my (sometimes) high expectations. I loved it so much, it's almost like it was written with me in mind.

So, I'll break it down as to why I loved this book.

Firstly, there is a heap of interesting mythology. Now if there's one thing you should know it's that I LOVE books with mythology in them. My favourite being Greek mythology - and guess what? This book has an absolute abundance of Greek mythology and references. Be still, my beating heart. There's mentions of Poseidon, Zeus, Hades, and a bunch of mythical creatures like Cerberus, and dragons. I mean DRAGONS, people (!) - this book is astounding. I love the way the mythology is woven into the story and it feels like there's so much more coming in this regard and I am very, very eager for the next book. 

Moving on to the characters, what's not to love? Cat, our lead, is such an enigma, and a mystery. She's bad-ass, brave, and super sassy, which is something I truly loved. She's quirky and different and altogether endearing. She has an intriguing backstory that I can't wait to hear more about in the next book, and her relationship with Griffin is lovely. It's a slow burn, and I like that; there's no insta-love here (at least on her part), and I really appreciate that. She's not without her flaws, she's rude and bold and blunt, but she's strong in her beliefs and loyal in her heart. I loved all the elements of mythology surrounding her character and couldn't help but root for her from the get go. 

Griffin is the classic dark mysterious stranger - he's a ruthless warlord who's used to getting his way, is a bit overpowering and doesn't sway easily, but that's all part of his charm. Although I found his behaviour at times perplexing, there is definitely more to his character than we are shown in this book, especially his relationship/connection to the gods. I enjoyed his aspirations in terms of how he wants to rule the kingdom, even if they were altogether a bit naive. His character is really complimentary to Cat and they work together nicely. Their relationship forms the crux of the book and I was glad that it gelled so well, as it's a really important part of the story and takes up a fair few pages.

Other notable characters, for me, included Andromeda - I can't wait to hopefully see more of her character in the sequel. She's very complex, intriguing and downright cruel, and the story of her family is violent and brutal, but utterly engrossing. Another standout for me is Selena, and again, I hope to see more of her in the future. Her relationship to Hades was interesting, but I loved how motherly and protective she was of Cat and how concerned she was for her welfare, it was really cute and touching. 

Ultimately, I would call this book a fantasy-romance, and normally I'm not one for the romance, but it's a testament to the excellent writing skills of Bouchet that I thoroughly enjoyed this read. As I say, this is a slow burner so if you're not interested in constant swooning and you prefer more tongue-in-cheek, gradual build romances, this is for you. The writing is well-paced and engaging and the story has enough action segments to keep even the most fair-weather reader interested. There were lots of kick-ass fight scenes and the description of the settings were excellent. I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere of the circus in the beginning, with all its magic and mystery. The elements of magic are some of the best parts of this book (oh who am kidding, I love all of it) and there's bound to be something to entertain almost every reader.

If you're debating on whether to start this book, or think romance isn't really your thing, I urge you - get your hands on a copy, for this is a captivating and entertaining read, and makes for a truly promising start to the Kingmaker series.