A Promise of Fire (The Kingmaker Chronicles, 1)

"Is this man my enemy?" FINAL DECISION: Fabulous first book in a series about Cat Fisa, the Kingmaker, and Griffith, the man who captures her and then captures her heart. This book is successful at concentrating on the romance while building a fascinating and complex world along with a plot intricate and filled with adventure. THE STORY: Catalia "Cat" Fisa travels as a soothsayer in a circus, but she is actually the Kingmaker -- with the legendary talent of being able to tell truth from lies. Unfortunately, Cat catches the attention of Griffith, a warlord whose family has taken control of Sinta. Griffith wants Cat to use her as a weapon for the newly acquired realm. Cat, however, has no intention of allowing herself to be used again. OPINION: This is a fantastic beginning for a series. My only reservation on the book is that this story is not complete in and of itself and thus if the subsequent books are bad, this one will too. (I might revisit my rating up or down after the other books in the series are published). The best part of this book is that the worldbuilding is intricately intertwined with the romance. No pages of descriptions or explanations. Things are explained as needed through the story in a natural fashion. It makes the story go faster and keeps interest throughout. Cat is a heroine that centered this book and made me want to read more. This is her journey. More than a romance, it is the story of a woman coming into her own destiny. Like many great heroes, Cat is hiding from her fate as the story begins. In danger because of her past and running from her future, Cat has made a place for herself in the circus. When Griffith comes to upset her hideaway, Cat at first hates him and wants to escape, but he also begins to make her part of a team, a family, a place worth defending. Cat has tremendous power. Her weaknesses become strengths, her powers become more enhanced and she is funny and flawed and a powerhouse. Her cynicism is matched with a innocent heart that she denies but which leads her to care and love those around her. Griffith is an interesting hero. Great ambition matched with intelligence and a recognition of the necessity of limiting power. He is like water on stone with Cat. Determined, quietly himself. He is determined and incredibly honest and loyal. He comes from a loving family -- which is a mystery to Cat -- which grounds him. He does what he has to do, but tries to be his best self. The mixture of magic, dragons, help by the Greek Gods gives this book a rich basis for its mythology. The story feels grounded and recognizable without being entirely derivative. This book leaves readers with many questions which I hope will be teased out in the other books in the series. This book shows such promise and I want to see that promise flower into something amazing. WORTH MENTIONING: This is only the beginning of the series. The story is not complete and readers should be aware that wanting to know the end of the story necessitates committing to more books. CONNECTED BOOKS: A PROMISE OF FIRE is the first book in the Kingmaker Chronicles. STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

I enjoyed this one a lot, but there is nothing that really stands out and makes it exceptional. The world building was great, the characters are interesting and funny, the magic is interesting, and the romance is yearning and slow burn with a little bit of spice. It was a good read, and I definitely want to read more of the story, but it kind of checks all the boxes for a generic romantic fantasy without something really unique.

I've read hundreds of romance books. Most are pretty average quality. This one is not. The series is one of the best in the genre. I don't usually write reviews, but seeing the undeserved criticisms of this excellent story spurred me to create one. This book, and the rest in the series, are not only well-written, but exceptional in the quality, depth, and complexity of the characters and relationships. The vividness and immediacy with which the characters are rendered really stand out in the genre. The world-building is beautifully done, and emerges organically as it is woven naturally into the plot instead of through lengthy treatises on history and description. Many of the criticisms in the reviews here are not only off-base, but also extremely misleading, and it is obvious that some of these people did not read very far into the story. The plot begins with an abduction scenario, which is common in romance. But this part of the plot has nothing whatsoever to do with some "implicit idea" that women's autonomy should be taken away. The underlying circumstances of the abduction become clear and understandable as you read. No heroine in romance is stronger or more powerful than Cat. Some come close, but none exceed her in terms of personal agency, power, and resourcefulness. Nor is the hero, Griffin, motivated by personal power over her, as becomes crystal clear in the story. That criticism is so misleading that it gives you the exact opposite impression of the story's actual trajectory. If anything, this story could be criticized for the overwhelming importance it gives to Cat's power and agency compared to literally every other character. Not that I would make that criticism - it is wonderfully refreshing and satisfying to vicariously experience Cat's utter conviction and resolve, and her ability to back those up with decisive action and power. For a writer, It is extremely difficult to pull off a believable relationship between a character as strong as Cat is and a true Alpha male like Griffin. That's a rare feat in this genre. This story does it beautifully. Neither loses anything to the other. They enhance and heal one another. They fall in love by talking, arguing, and negotiating. The dialogue is some of the best in all of romance, with plenty of laughter sprinkled in. Griffin never becomes less Alpha, while at the same time he supports her constantly increasing influence and importance with everything in him. There is no limit to his promotion of her growth and empowerment, as becomes incontrovertibly clear in the second book. Yet he remains as Alpha as it gets. Power sharing has never been done better in romantic fiction. Cat is not the typical sweet, "plucky", sassy romance heroine seen in so many romance novels. One reviewer described her as adolescent and used the term "YA" about the book. There is NOTHING YA about this story. Not one molecule. And Cat does NOT exhibit adolescent snark. She starts as deeply emotionally damaged due to horrific past trauma. It would not be believable for her to be depicted (as is so often the case in romance novels) as essentially unaffected by her past. The hostility she displays is fully warranted by the story's events, right on target, and there's nothing "spoiled Kardashian" about it. The only surprising thing about Cat in the beginning is that she's not more hostile and untrusting than she is. There is an apt balance struck by the writer between the conflicting forces that shaped Cat's character. She's a complex mixture of all of it, and totally relatable for any readers who have experienced childhood trauma of their own. Cat's damaged and vulnerable and hurting, but also strong, resilient, powerful, and extremely smart. Griffin, too, is a complicated, fascinating mixture of traits, and is doing his best to navigate the conflicting ethical demands of a very knotty situation that urgently needs to be resolved. The complex, vivid humanity of both characters shines from the pages. The side characters are also rendered so vibrantly that the reader comes to love many of them as much as the main characters. This writer is outstanding at creating multiple distinct, sympathetic, magnetic characters, such that the reader feels drawn into the midst of a group of actual people. Rarely have I felt so eager to hear more about the supporting characters in a romance. I'll be buying everything that gets written about these characters. One reviewer threw shade at the world-building. No, there's no map, but those don't show up well on Kindle anyway - it's almost impossible to really use them. There may not be long, drawn-out descriptions as some other fantasy books have, but there is more than enough description to make the reader feel like they are right there with the characters. The dry, dusty plains, white marble cities, lush green north, unforgiving mountains, busy markets, and lovely terraced palaces are all described beautifully and draw the reader in. The history and cosmology of the world are rich, complex and coherent, but emerge bit by bit throughout the story rather than being recited to the reader like a history lesson. I found the world-building to be exactly right for this series, and definitely felt fully drawn in to a believable alternate reality. There is plenty of action, an engaging, adventurous plot, humor and humanity, and an exceptionally rich romantic relationship developing over the course of this book and its two sequels. It's really all one story, about characters who seem like real people, all of whom the reader comes to care deeply about. This is romantic fantasy at its finest. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

Okay I’m honestly not entirely sure how to feel about this book.. it started off sooo good! I was loving the writing, the plot, the characters, the banter, the yearning etc. but when we got to around the 50% mark I felt like the plot was being dragged out, but at the same time moving way too fast at times? Also the fmc started grating me 😬 the writing slowly turned more childish with the banter, and I felt like the fmc just kept having the same internal dialogue with herself with no growth really happening? And don’t even get me started on the ending… I was expecting a plot twist, knowing there’s two more books in the series… I was honestly disappointed and left with a “is that it?” Feeling 😅 HOWEVER, with that being said, I still couldn’t stop reading this?! Something just kept me intrigued and wanting to know more, and I’m honestly really wanting to go into book 2 straight away!

Mein erstes Buch von Amanda und es war einfach so großartig. Ich liebe ja Geschichten mit griechischen Göttern, Mythologie, Fantasy. Und mit der Kingmaker Trilogy hat Amanda hier eine tolle Kombination aus allem geschaffen und einen fantastischen Auftakt. Cat ist mir von Anfang an sympathisch und eine tolle Prota. Sie ist eine Heldin, auch wenn sie es selbst nicht sieht, hat so viel miterlebt und durchstehen müssen und ist dadurch zu einer starken Person geworden, aber auch damit hat sie Probleme, dass sie sich selbst so sieht, wie andere sie sehen. Doch dann plötzlich kommt Griffin, und verändert alles. Er bietet ihr Kontra, fordert sie heraus und nimmt sie einfach gefangen: mit seinem Wesen, mit seiner Art und auch mit seinem Körper, denn er bindet sie an ein magisches Seil und nimmt Cat mit zu sich nach Hause. Nach und nach verliert Cat das Misstrauen und beginnt, sich und ihren Gefühlen zu vertrauen. Und sie lernt dank Griffin endlich, was es bedeutet, eine Familie zu sein und zu haben, zu lieben, Freunde zu haben für die es sich lohnt. Zu kämpfen. Die Dynamik zwischen den beiden war von Anfang an herrlich. Zum einen, da Griffin und Cat sich anfangs einfach nichts schenken und sich immer wieder zoffen mit herrlich lustigen Dialogen, zum anderen war einfach von Anfang an da diese Chemie zwischen den beiden. Und doch benötigte es Zeit, dem ganzen die nötige Reife zu geben. Das Ende war spannend und hat mich einfach sprachlos zurückgelassen, dass ich sofort weiter zu Band 2 wechselte. Perfekt für alle Fans der griechischen Mythologie, mit einer guten Portion Romantik und Erotik, aber genügend Spannung und Fantasy.

This book was total perfection - now one of my favourite books - well done to the author. It was well paced, descriptively written and so enjoyable to read. The FMC origin is shrouded in mystery that she withholds from the MMC. Yet, we see glimpses of her past & story unravel in her internal dialogue. Subtle, like secrets, you might miss if the story was boring and you skimmed a section. I found the way the author chose to trickle her story intriguing, rewarding and very engaging. The chemistry is real between the two of them, and I love Cat's inner dialogue, I giggled on several occasions. I found myself loving all the side characters and really felt to start to get to know them. There are vibrant & articulate romance scenes that feels genuine. Honestly I read the reviews that this series would surprise the reader with how good it is. I couldn't agree more. I read A LOT of fantasy romance style novels and this one is remarkable. I've already purchased the next book, even though there are plenty of free titles to still read on my kindle subscription. Do it, this author is incredible. ☺️

It is a well-written adventure with smart dialogues, and a decent plot. It was hard to put down until I finished it, and I immediately bought the next book of this series.

If you like found family this book is for you. The main character is fun and we get a great story full of hotties and greek mythology. This book was good and worth reading, I feel like it was definitely the best one of the series. The series is still one going with side characters getting their own spin offs, so potential to spend a lot of time in this world.