Ms. Bouchet is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors for fantasy with epic quests and the heroine as the underdog. Why? Because these stories are eerily similar to my dreams for decades... down to the torture and brutal lessons. Although my dreams are quite a bit more explicit than what Ms. Bouchet shares of her characters.
I first found Ms. Bouchet through Edelweiss because of book cover. I'm not usually a book cover picker, but I saw her Endeavor series and I couldn't resist the space-opera theme. The cover was appealing with its blues and purples and a strong looking heroine stood out to me. I guess Author Ilona Andrews is correct when they stated that a specific look is required for Fantasy/Sci-fi books. Still, it takes more than a look to convince me to read an author again. When it comes to a beautifully woven story of capricious gods, despot dictators and tortured heroes, Ms. Bouchet nails it for me every time. The Kingmaker Chronicles is a trilogy not to be missed. If you want to see my reviews for each of the books, you can check it out on GoodReads on A Promise of Fire, Breath of Fire and A Heart of Fire.
This trilogy focuses on Cat who is a young woman hiding from her past. She knows her powers but not all of it. The growth of Cat's character is what is attractive about this story. She starts out as a defensive and snarky woman looking out for herself. As she spends more time with Griffin, his noble pursuits rub off on her. She starts to think outside of her own self protection. She becomes aware of how those who have been oppressed for so long can band together and overthrown their tyrants. This glimmer of hope sparks a hunger to fight back against those who have abused their power. This journey of self actualization with a heavy dose of help from the Greek gods is mixed growth, pain, sorrow, love and betrayal. Cat experiences a wildly different family life and realizes that she's always had support whether she knew it or not.
The character and world building keeps this trilogy moving and exciting. Whilst it is mostly fantasy, there is a solid element of sexy times between Cat and Griffin. This is nicely intermingled between their constant sexual tension. These two characters are so compatible with each other. Because they are gods' gifts to each other. I read through each book one right after another and wished it would not end. I love this world Ms. Bouchet created and I adore the characters. I only hope there will be spin-offs or novellas featuring some of the secondary characters. This epic fantasy is recommended to readers who enjoy quests, fate and the underdog fighting for hope and a new tomorrow.
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