A review by yodamom
A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

5.0

Fantasy, Greek Gods, Snark, Magic and Romance, Strong Women, Hot Alpha Men, Complex World Building with Fantastic Characters you can’t help but connect to. What else could you want ? Nothing this book is a complete winner.
I finished it with tingly butterfly feelings of happiness.

Cat is a young woman hiding from her past and the future she dreads. She has abilities that made her a hot property, desired by many. She is my kind of woman, a complete smart aleck, educated, street smart, and she has powers, really great powers. She hides in the circus, blending in, in plain sight until one difficult warlord takes her freedom away.
The difficult warlord, aka Griffin is and arrogant cut throat intelligent who has “Eyes like Poseidon's wrath-stormy, gray, intense- the kind of eyes that hold you there.” Oh yeah, he is one hot alpha man, and he’s got a need that must be met and Cat is the answer. That need is, read the book and find out. I’ll tell you there is more than one need.
The side characters are almost as good as the main ones. Griffin’s men are all uniquely funny, sexy and fully developed. Then there are the gods and goddesses and mythical beasties, Medusa, Hades, Zeus, dragons, Cerberus and more.

I will be sweating out waiting for the next book in the series. There was some serious stuff going down and I need know !

Here are a few lines that I loved, they still make me chuckle.

Cat-“The mace he carries tells me he’d rather bludgeon than slice. I get that. There’s something satisfying about whacking people over the head.”- How could I not love this character ?

Cat-“Never n 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”

2nd read
After my second read- I am upping my 4.5 rating to 4.7. I loved re-reading it blaring through it in less than 2 days. I purchased the audio for my second read- wonderful narration
I love a smart arse and Cat fit that title very well. It was protective shield for her, her past had been harsh and her future bleak. She was unique in her abilities and I immediately liked her tough shell of insecurity and bravado. I liked her even more the second time. She was all fake it till you make it, which I can connect too.
Griffin, was a pompous sexy arse. In the beginning it was hard to like him, but as the story developed his shell cracked too. He developed into a good scared and flawed man. He was so hard, I didn't catch it in the first read. I adore a challange character, one who does not back away, who doesn't promise happiness, he fit that very well.

The tension I felt in the first reading stayed through the re-read. Conflict, sexual tension, and survival feed my reading addicted
heart . The fact that she was his prisoner intensified the tension, but didn't go to the usual place. He was honest, and did not take advantage. I didn't really consider this in my first read. Big kuddos there, many authors go there, it's something that will make me DNF a book.
I am completely in love the humorous Kato, Flynn and Carver. The three amigos of balance for the arse-holeness.
The magic, and mythos still held well and thrilled me. Poseidon, he is my favorite god, so won me there.