A Promise of Fire

By: Amanda Bouchet

Narrated by: Mia Barron

Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The perfect pause-resisting romance debut for fans of Game of Thrones.

Catalia "Cat" Fisa is a powerful clairvoyant known as the Kingmaker. This smart-mouthed soothsayer has no interest in her powers and would much rather fly under the radar, far from the clutches of her homicidal mother. But when an ambitious warlord captures her, she may not have a choice.

Griffin is intent on bringing peace to his newly conquered realm in the magic-deprived south. When he discovers Cat is the Kingmaker, he abducts her. But Cat will do everything in her power to avoid her dangerous destiny, and she battles her captor at every turn.

Although up for the fight, Griffin would prefer for Cat to help his people willingly, and he's ready to do whatever it takes to coax her - even if that means falling in love with her.

©2016 Amanda Bouchet (P)2016 Recorded Books

What a journey!

Oops, I never posted my reviews of this series here. Fixing that now.
Re-Read/Listen: 01/22/2018 - Still 5 stars. I decided to read book 1 and 2 again to remind myself all that happened before reading book 3 that was recently released.

Original review: 12/23/2016
This book was so entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the journey it took me on. This was my first book by this author and it certainly will not be my last. The author is a wonderful story teller. I could picture it all coming alive in my head. The world, the characters, and the interactions were all so vividly written. There was also a good dose of humor. I laughed out loud at a few parts and completely cracked up at one. I love the main characters and the supporting characters as well. Cat's personality and character development made me angry at times but only because I wanted her to lay all her cards on the table about who she is and be like no, screw you mom, but I totally get why she didn't. Griffin is awesome and has all the right character traits to make him swoon worthy. I'm looking forward to continuing this series to see what happens next.

As far as the narration goes, the narrator was easy to listen to and understand but wasn't that great with using different voices for different characters. I still enjoyed this as an audiobook.

Wow! Fantastic fantasy!!

Would you listen to A Promise of Fire again? Why?

Yes! Great story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cat, the heroine in A PROMISE OF FIRE, is a kick-ass, snarky, bundle of fire who has caught the eye of be-still-my-heart-Griffin, a warlord who abducts Cat and carries her off to his realm by tying her to him with a magic rope. Cat has beauty, boldness, intelligence, magic... and a secret. She's snarky and brave and true to her word. I just love that type of character! Even the minor characters were wonderfully created, fully developed and lovable.

Any additional comments?

Oh wow! I now know why this author and this series is so popular! I loved it!There was a ton of fast paced action in this book and the descriptions and world building were amazing. The battles had my heart racing! I listened to the audio version of this book and when it ended I wanted to scream! I wanted more! So much more. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.Oh! And the romance! OMG! The romance started out slow and smoldering and built up to some amazing heat! I loved the tingles and anticipation! I was hooked from the first page!

The best fantasy romance I have ever read

What made the experience of listening to A Promise of Fire the most enjoyable?

The story was FANTASTIC. I was just engaged from the very start. I hadn't even gotten halfway through the book before I went and bought the Kindle version of each of the books in the series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cat is a delight. I liked how she was flawed in a more realistic way; she often doesn't pick the "right" choice and pushes people away, but given her (literally) tortured past it is completely understandable. Also, I love wisecracking badasses.

What three words best describe Mia Barron’s performance?

Okay but confusing. Her characterization is okay, but what made me want to switch to the Kindle edition was that it's impossible to tell what Cat is saying out loud versus in her head. So often I'd have to keep listening and try to figure out if she said something out loud based on whether anyone else reacts to it. I also wish she did a better job differentiating between the male characters.

I have the romance package subscription so I didn't buy this audiobook; I might recommend you buy the physical or Kindle edition rather than buy this audiobook. Just don't let the narrator put you off the book because it is totally worth it!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

This is the badass magical heroine you have been looking for

Any additional comments?

This is a romance novel so there are somewhat explicit sex scenes. I found them extremely hot and awesome, but if you are bothered by that, just skip those scenes. The rest of the book is worth it.

Stubborn to a Fault

Cat is the most stubborn and accident prone character I have read in a long time.
The story is interesting but drawn out because, seemingly, too many pages are full of her healing.
Looking forward to the next book.

Very Good! Got my interest right away

Where does A Promise of Fire rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It reminded me of "A Touch of Power" by Maria V. Snyder. First book was the best! of the three Ms. Snyder wrote. The third book was the worst.

Have you listened to any of Mia Barron’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Very well

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no. I listened in spurts.

Any additional comments?

Was going to get Book 2 of this series, but read a bad review and thought I wouldn't bother. Doesn't sound good at all.

Incredibly creative storyline…

Mystery, magic and enemies to lovers, what more could you ask for in a novel? Loved the storyline, but I still have to drop this performance to a 4.5/5. This story would be whole if we could get a male narrator to perform dual narration with the current female narrator. 😫

Really good start to the series :)

4-4.5 stars

This was a really good story and start to the series. I really liked both Cat and Griffin and enjoyed their beginning. This story takes place in an alternate reality that has a heavy basis in the Greek mythologies...it was a very interesting concept and I liked it.

Cat is from the country of Fisa, a place that she escaped in order to save her life and/or sanity. She hid in a travelling circus acting as a soothsayer and has been with them for the past 8 years. Cat has magical abilities (and a destiny that's tied to her being the Kingmaker) and people would be after her for her abilities so she keeps who and what she is secret, even from her friends.

Griffin is a the non-magical second-in-command of the country of Sinta (he pretty much took over the country and put his sister in charge of it with him as her second). He won the country away from the magical rulers and the commoners seem happy with the new leaders. The magical elite don't like the new rule and Griffin is on a mission to seek out people with magic that he can hire to help him.

In his searching, Griffin comes across Cat and is relatively sure she's the Kingmaker. He watches her for a while before approaching her and when he does approach, he asks her (as a soothsayer) to read his companions and tell him if they're all loyal. Griffin already had his doubts about one of the men and Cat's ability to gain the truth convinces Griffin that he's found the right woman. Griffin uses a magical rope to bind Cat to him and kidnaps her to take her back to the ruling seat of Sinta. Cat is pissed to be captured and won't listen when Griffin and his men try to win her over to work with them instead of being a prisoner. The thing is, even though Griffin knows that Cat is the Kingmaker, that's not the only issue. Who Cat is, is as big of a secret as what Cat is (the Kingmaker) and she wants to escape because if anyone found out who she is and where she's located, all hell would rain down on anyone with her.

Cat tries to stay pissed at Griffin and his men but she soon finds that she likes them...although she still insists that she hates Griffin because he's the one keeping her against her will. They do run into some issues on the way back to the Sinta ruling seat but manage to get past them and in doing so, Cat finds herself feeling even more comradery with Griffin and his men. They make it back to the castle and Cat finds the new rulers of Sinta to be vastly different than the rulers of Fisa. Griffin's family is actually nice....maybe a bit too nice if they're going to be the ruling family. Cat is a bit annoyed by this but soon finds herself becoming protective and doing what she can to help Griffin's family learn what they need to to continue their reign. Griffin continues to pursue Cat and with reluctance, Cat starts to respond and eventually they come together. There are more troubles that pop up but Griffin and Cat are able to get past them and end the story heading toward a HEA together (but there are still some unresolved things that will need to be addressed in the following books).

This was a really enjoyable story. I really liked Cat. I got a little annoyed about her tendency to push Griffin away because she's convinced that she can't be with anyone without risking them. Considering I'm 95% sure who she really is, I can understand her fears but I think she needed to be open to the possibilities since the Gods seemed to be on her and Griffin's side. Griffin was a really good hero. I wasn't thrilled that he kidnapped Cat but I really can't think of any other way he could gotten her on his side and outside of that, he was great. Overall, I really liked this new world and the characters in it. I'm looking forward to more books in the series and would definitely recommend this one. :D

GREAT AS A NA ROMANCE FANTASY

I listen to this while reading the book. It was quite entertaining.

Plot wisely? Yet to see that as this is the first instalment. But base on my perspective I wish to see more improvements in the plot. Almost everytime we see the fighting riffraffs, whcih is unnecessary.
There too many occurrences that should be omitted, hence focus on the court politics, scheming how to alleviate the magic wielder royals into allies. Rather than fo using on what she is, because it is obvious she is the missing royal princess.

As for the characters, I’m on the borderline of liking and hating Griffin. he is entitled, stubborn, and forceful. Taking advises isnt his cup of tea then later throwing himself in trouble to be save and jeopardise things. For Cat, she’s whinny tries to hold back herself she was already prophesied she could kill however gets in her way, but all I could see was her weakness and slow witted mind. But it was also her fault as to why couldnt she break away. Plenty of things that a smart heroine would do, ‘outwitting the devil’. The rest of Beta Sinta Team, still yet to know them so apparently I could judge.

For the romance, things are a little bit of instantaneous and the how the heck did they developed a love that is so strong when its just almost beginning. For the sexual tendencies I like how angsty and in denial they are then eventually give in, even so it gets anoying when those tension had been dragged almost 5x times like it’s already there how could they have. Also, I dont support the abduction then they become something more, this book doesnt give that creepy sort of vibe, but still in that troupe.

5 🌟

Great narrator and an explosive and action packed slow burn romance. This was so good.

Romantasy Rocks

I love when an author brings a fresh, original idea, and so it is with this epic story. Building on a strong foundation by using the Greek Pantheon, the author creates a tremendous new world worthy of the reader's time and attention.

Main characters Cat and Griffin are strong and engaging, although not always easy to understand or love. Our first impression of Griffin is as a fierce and formidable warlord who has his sights set for some reason on Cat. She's working as a soothsayer in a traveling circus, hiding from her past, and from truths she cannot bear. Cat is a complex woman, so used to manipulating her environment and distrusting everyone that she's difficult to like at times. She can be whiney, grumpy, argumentative, opinionated, obstinate, and defiant--and that's on a good day. But as we begin to know her better and what her life has been like, her personality starts to make sense. Plus, she actually does have more enjoyable qualities...they're just surrounded by rough edges.

This epic story is at once fascinating and bold. There's so much to like in here with the amazing cast of diverse characters, a plot line that pulls the reader deeper into intrigue with each page, and a slow burn romance that sets the entire story alight. Readers should be aware that many would consider this an 18+ novel. There's no adult language in the traditional sense (i.e.-no f-bombs, for instance). The author did a great job of sticking to what would be more appropriate to the language of the time/place. However, there is extreme violence since some are trying to dethrone a royal family, and the bedroom scenes are also pretty smokin.' If these are issues, reader, you've been warned. If this doesn't bother you, prepare for an amazing new literary experience. Okay, it does have one unfortunate setback: that most heinous of all things, a cliffhanger. *sigh*
See you in book two.