Her past has made her rough and hard to trust anyone but she warms up to Griffin and his people, learning what true family means. The woman knows how to fight, be a bad-hard-kicking-kind of a girl and her powers are also amazing. Not to mention that the best part of this book is Cat, as a strong female character. Despite the fact that the ending was kind of forced, it left me wanting more and maybe some more light in Cat's past. The secondary characters like Kato, Flynn, Griffin's family too, show support and fill the pages with funny moments and also romances from the sides. As for Cat and Griffin, although their relationship began in a bad way and I found faults in their behavior many times (they could have escaped much drama if they were more truthful), their romance was slow and burning and became more open towards the end of the book. You can never get bored with the info dump, because the author makes a good work slowly unraveling the world she has built. Greek names were also used in cities like Ios and Cat from her own POV, never misses a detail in explaining everything. You can tell that Amanda did her research in the Greek mythology, and as someone who has studied it meticulously, I was thrilled to read page after page describing the Gods and the creatures like Cerberos and Sybaris. When Griffin, the warlord who has conquered Sinta, one of the three realms, appears demanding her cooperation, they will both sing up for an epic adventure full of mythical creatures, magic and swoony worth romance.

She is a strong willed, full of secrets woman, who lives into a traveling circus and has powers no one could ever think of.

Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. Bouchet writes believable camaraderie, dramatic fight scenes, and moving personal angst, but worldbuilding purists will hate the insertion of the Greek gods into this secondary-world fantasy context. Their smoldering erotic burn hits charged love/hate buttons without falling too far into glorifying Griffin’s abduction of Cat, and by the end of the novel, they become a powerful team well situated for the fights ahead. Griffin hopes to use Cat as a tool in his challenge of the status quo, in which the minority Magoi rule the hoi polloi. In a fantasy world where access to magical power is tied to geography and bloodline, Warlord Griffin, second in command of kingdom Sinta, is guided by a oracular dream from Poseidon to soothsayer Catalia Fisa, who’s hiding in a traveling circus from her family history and her magical role as Kingmaker. Debut author Bouchet makes a very strong start to her Kingmaker Chronicles, combining a richly developed political landscape defined by the influence of powerful ruling families, meddling gods, and destiny with a broad exploration of the relationship between might and magic in a social context.

A promise of fire