Let me tell you something I’m not a huge fan of: first person present tense.
I also don’t generally reach for sci-fi or paranormal romance as a first or second choice (though I do it enough that I know some great books in the past year have been in those genres!).
So you can absolutely know that some of the best books in the past few years have been Amanda Bouchet’s titles, because she writes fantasy and sci-fi in first person present tense and not only do I tolerate them, I LOVE them. These books are fantastic!
Her debut was A PROMISE OF FIRE (currently $1.99 @Amazon by the way), the first in the Kingmaker Chronicles, a trilogy with a setting of a different planet that shared our Greek mythology. The two main characters of Book 1, Cat and Griffin, remain the focal characters of the trilogy, with an expanding spotlight on friends and family in the subsequent titles.
If you haven’t discovered these, then you really need to add them to your TBR pile and get to them soon. Not only is Bouchet an amazing writer, but her world-building is so fiercely intelligent and breath-taking – I use this phrase often, I know, and part of that is because the books I get to read tend to be really, really good – but Bouchet’s world in The Kingmaker Chronicles seriously, at times, made me stop and breathe, so creative and a brilliant twist on Greek myths and characters.
Then once she wrapped those up she bounced into Sci-Fi with a space opera with another alpha pair trilogy and another astonishingly detailed and rich world she builds for the the story.
This is one magnificent writer, and definitely one you don’t want to miss!
Find the books:
Amanda Bouchet @Amazon
Definitely read these books in order!
A Promise Of Fire, first in the Kingmaker Chronicles ($1.99) @Amazon https://amzn.to/2MNCMOm
Nightchaser, first in the Nightchaser series @Amazon – https://amzn.to/2Fcid8D
NIGHTCHASER
The galaxy’s most wanted captain must trust her life to a charming and mysterious rogue if she doesn’t want to see her latest mission go up in smoke…
Tess Bailey: the galaxy’s Most Wanted.
Captain Tess Bailey and her ragtag crew are on the run, pursued by a tyrant who’ll take them dead or alive. Her best hope is a tall, dark, and much-too-appealing stranger, Shade Ganavan. The handsome charmer claims he can help, but his motivations are far from clear…
Shade Ganavan: arrogance, charm…and that special roguish something that makes you want to scream.
There’s no denying their chemistry, but with the dreaded Dark Watch closing in, what Tess and Shade don’t know about each other might get them killed…unless they can set aside their differences and learn to trust each other before it’s too late.
A PROMISE OF FIRE
Discover the white-hot fantasy romance that broke all the rules, where a fierce woman with powerful hidden magic goes toe-to-toe with the alpha warlord who abducted her…only to steal her heart.
KINGDOMS WILL RISE AND FALL FOR HER…
Cat Fisa isn’t who she pretends to be. She’s perfectly content living disguised as a soothsayer in a traveling circus, avoiding the destiny the Gods—and her dangerous family—have saddled her with. As far as she’s concerned, the magic humming within her blood can live and die with her. She won’t be a pawn in anyone’s game.
But then she locks eyes with an ambitious warlord from the magic-deprived south and her illusion of safety is shattered forever.
Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker—the woman who divines truth through lies—and he wants her to be a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm. Kidnapping her off the street is simple enough, but keeping the fierce beauty by his side is infuriatingly tough. Cat fights him at every turn, showing a ferocity of spirit that burns hot…and leaves him desperate for more. But can he ever hope to prove to his once-captive that he wants her there by his side as his equal, his companion…and maybe someday, his Queen?
Get ready to burn: This romantic fantasy reads like the fiercest fairytale and includes a protective alpha warlord, enemies who become so much more, high action, humor, heat, and a dangerous world where mythical creatures hide. Readers will want to return to this fantasy world again and again in its sequels A Breath of Fire and Heart on Fire.
Happy reading!
(This review is part of Read-A-Romance Month. Hope you’ll come back every day to check out my book recommendations. You can find the calendar here. Also check out The Romance of Reading, a Facebook “book club” where we’ll have great authors guest hosting every week.)
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Enjoy!