I won a paperback copy of this from Sarah Wendell of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books a few weeks ago via Twitter. I knew nothing about it but I’m a big fan of SBTB and generally trust her recs. Then I read that Nalini Singh gave a recommendation for the book, and I pretty much adore all things Nalini so I started the book immediately lol. And…OMG…I’ve never been happier to have won a book before! I thoroughly loved everything about it.

There are SO MANY things I loved about this book. So first let me start out with a little background on the book. I read a little bit of everything but fantasy/science fiction is probably the genre I read the least. However, if a book is well written, particularly with great world-building, I am sold and sold pretty quickly. A Promise of Fire has a little bit of everything that fantasy could possibly throw at me – magic, dragons, Kings, warriors, mythology-ish. I’m guessing I wouldn’t have picked this up on my own just based on my typical reads but I would have been seriously wrong.

Cat, the heroine, is one of those characters that normally would irritate me with her back and forth attitude. She is a clairvoyant trying to stay off everyone’s radars and hiding from pretty much everyone. Cat has more power than anyone knows so when Griffin and his merry band of men find her she is not happy to be basically taken back to their kingdom. I’m not a fan of kidnapping plots but it really, really worked here. Cat’s attitude would go back and forth but the author used her internal monologue in a really smart way to make me laugh every single time and want to root for Cat to change her mind and start to want to go with Griffin. The use of that inner voice is the single smartest choice for this book for me. It made Cat funny and lovable whereas I may have thought of her more as annoying.

Now that that’s settled, you’re coming with me.

Never in a billion suns. Not even if Zeus showed up as a swan and tried to peck me in your direction. I wouldn’t go with you even if my other option was Hades dragging me to the Underworld for an eternal threesome with Persephone.

Meanwhile, Griffin, the hero, is super alpha, but also funny. And funny in a way that also doesn’t make me want to smack him! The whole team of his is funny and endearing even though they’re kidnapping Cat and taking her to their realm. Authors that can manage to write something like this and get me on the ‘right’ side always amaze. I was rooting for Griffin and his team within a few miles from the circus where they took Cat! There is tension and hosility between Griffin and Cat and watching it grow and turn from that to something else was a treat.

I’m a romance reader at heart and that’s almost solely what I read. I wouldn’t say this is a romance book but more of a fantasy book with romantic elements. The magic and creature parts are done really well and I was really interested in what was going on. I loved the mythology aspects that were woven throughout the story as well. The whole thing worked so well for me and I’m shocked this was a debut! I want everyone to read it!

Rating: 5 stars

Reviewer: Melinda

Title: A Promise of Fire

Author: Amanda Bouchet

Release Date: August 2, 2016

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