Kingmaker Chronicles Series Review by Amanda Bouchet

One of the things I love about reading is being able to disappear into a fantasy world. The Kingmaker Chronicles was a great escape full of unique characters, mythical creatures, and gods. This article DOES contain spoilers, so make sure you read the headings of each synopsis to ensure you avoid spoilers!

A Fire of Promise (Book 1)

4 Stars

There are three realms in the Kingmaker Chronicles: Sintan City, Tarvan City, and Fisan City. For the last 10 years, Cat has been laying low and traveling the realms with a circus as a soothsayer. One day, after a show, she notices a warlord and his lackeys (Kato, Flynn, and Carver) lingering around making eye contact with her. The warlord eventually abducts Cat, binding them together with a magical rope.

During the journey back to the warlord's (Griffin's) home, she finds out that he is part of the royal family who just took over Sinta City. Griffin is not just part of the royal family, but Beta Sinta, second in charge with his sister, Alpha Ergia on the throne. Cat is dreading going back to Beta Sinta’s home. Her gift makes her the Kingmaker, meaning everyone wants her on their side in order to know everyone's truth. She is terrified of being locked up and forced to be someone's minion, or worse, being found by those who are hunting her.

Over the journey back to Sinta City, Cat starts to feel a fellowship with her abductors. When they finally arrive back in Sinta, she is welcomed with open arms by Griffin's family. His sisters are instantly taking her in, especially Jocasta, Griffin's sister. She also realizes she doesn’t really hate Griffin any more–quite the opposite. But everything she has been hiding from is coming back for her.

Breath of Fire (Book 2)

3 Stars

Breath of Fire picks up just hours after A Promise of Fire ends. Cat is recovering from her near death experience when Griffin storms into the room. He has discovered the truth about Cat, that she is the long lost daughter of Queen Andromeda who went missing 10 years ago.

Griffin wants to unite all of the realms and have peace among everyone. However, uniting Sinta City, Tarva City, and Fisa City will be difficult. In order to do that, they must travel to find the magical creature, Lycheron, so that they can use it to protect their kingdom. Throughout their journey they face many gods and magical creatures, making it nearly impossible for them to complete their mission.

Once they are home, they decide to enter into the Agon games in hopes of winning over Tarva City. These are the royal games where some fight until death, and the last one standing wins. The six of them, Cat, Griffin, Kato, Carver, and Jocasta, all enroll in the games. Unfortunately, even if they are lucky enough to win the fight, that does not mean they will win over Tarva.

Heart of Fire (Book 3)

3 Stars

After taking over the Tarvan realm, Cat and Griffin have to go back to Sinta City to deliver tragic news to his parents about the loss of their brother, Pier, to another world. However they also have some amazing news: they are expecting a baby.

Cat comes face to face with the Fisan queen, who happens to also be her mother, Andromeda, after 10 years. She knows she needs to defeat Andromeda in order to create peace among the realms, but in order to do that she must learn to control her powers.

During the final battle, Cat tries to save others, putting her in a standstill of time. She is neither dead nor alive, but stuck for over a month. When she emerges, she is stuck in the same standstill, unable to age.

Curse of Queens (Book 4)

4.5 Stars

With a surprising turn of events, Cat is cursed with no idea who is behind it. She is stuck in time, unable to age and unable to give birth to the baby in her womb. Jocasta, Griffin's sister, is a healer on a mission, and believes she has found out what she needs to do in order to save Cat.

Jocasta, Flinn, Carver, Bellanca, and Prometheus all head out on a dangerous journey to find Circe’s garden in hopes of finding the antidote. But as everything continues to go wrong, driving the team apart and keeping them from success, Jocasta and Flynn grow closer. Trying to fight a lifelong attraction to one another is not as easy as it used to be when they are forced together.

REVIEW:

The descriptive words in this series make you feel like you are right there in the fantasy world with the characters. Like every fantasy book, it did take time to build up the world and understand the different cultures. Sometimes I felt like I needed to take notes or annotate my books in order to make sure I was following everything correctly.

Amanda Bouchet did an amazing job with developing the characters throughout this book. I thoroughly enjoyed Cat’s inner dialogue. I was laughing out loud at her thoughts and they made her a relatable character. She is a badass with a soft heart. Griffin was all strong, grumpy, and broody, making him intriguing. I also really enjoyed Kato and Flynn. They felt like protective big brothers who would do anything for Cat.

I finished reading book one in complete awe, and jumped into book two with high expectations. However, all of the characters I loved quickly started to annoy me. Griffin was extremely controlling and I went from loving his character in book one to disliking him in book two. Same with Cat, as I began to get frustrated with her angsty vibes.

I really enjoyed the sexual tension between Jocasta and Flynn. This was what kept me engaged in this story. The glossary in the back was SO helpful with keeping all of the gods, mythical creatures, and family members straight while reading.

Cat and Griffin were more enjoyable in book three, Heart of Fire. Their connection was strong and it was clear they are meant to be together. Cat did wallow in self pity quite often, and it went from Griffin wanting peace between the realms to Cat wanting it more. She took over Tarva, but I do not understand how she became the Thalyria queen.

I wish there had been more on Kato and his journey in this story. He had a snake tattoo that was given to him by one of the gods, but it was never explained and nothing really came of it.

Book four, A Curse of Queens, was by far my favorite. We got to more from Cat and Griffin, and into the sexual tension between Jocasta and Flynn. I loved how their romance grew throughout not only this book, but throughout the entire series. Flynn needed to deal with his past trauma and Jocasta never gave up on him.

There is a 3.5 book, and I have not read it yet! Of Fate and Fire is Piers (One of Griffin's brothers) redemption story.

I am very thankful for the opportunity to read this series, and hope to read Peir’s story, Of Fate and Fire, sometime soon. Although I really did not really enjoy books two and three as much, books one and four definitely made up for it!

What is your favorite fantasy series?