Cat is supposed to be this tortured anti-hero but I just don’t believe it. My biggest issue is that this book doesn’t commit enough. That being said TW: dubious consent, romanticizing domestic violence, and cutting/self-harm for healing purposes. I’ve read some other reviews and I understand that a lot of readers have a problem with the VERY dubious consent that happens and while I totally understand that, it wasn’t an issue for me.

I recommend them to anyone who enjoys fantasy or epic adventure stories. Ha ha!Īll in all, it’s a fascinating read, and I rated all three books in the trilogy a solid five stars. I’m not sure if that’s because he’s Cat’s favourite or mine. The secondary characters are fantastic additions to the story, and Kato is a clear favourite. The romance between Cat and Griffin is secondary to what is an epic fantasy adventure story.

So many things happen that I don’t expect, and things don’t go how I thought they were going to, and it all adds up to keep me interested and keep me turning the page. The general plot of the story is obvious, but the story doesn’t feel predictable. Even the healing scenes can be pretty gory or squicky in their own right. There is plenty of action, and if you’re squeamish, it might squick you out a bit. You get enough scenery to picture the scene, but not so much that you feel the need to skip pages of description.

There is an enormous amount of world building that has gone on behind the scenes, and the creatures (some are mythical creatures I’ve heard of, some aren’t), the gods, the secondary human characters, etc., are all well described and feel like integral parts of the story. It’s an epic adventure and story, and so it feels okay that it takes three books to tell it. I never felt like the story dragged, even after reading all three books in the trilogy. Sometimes she resents liking them, which feels like it fits the situation pretty well! I’ve read other reviews that say Cat is a bit whiny, but frankly, I would be too if I was treated the way she was! They are good guys though, and she can’t help but warm to them. He wants Cat because she has the magic his family lacks.Ĭat takes a long time to warm up to Griffin and his team, but I felt that was understandable considering that he literally kidnapped her, put her in danger and made her leave the only people she loved. She is kidnapped by Griffin, who is a warlord who has recently taken control of one of the three Kingdoms in Thalyria.

Cat is hiding from her evil family, and has made a home with the circus. Our two primary characters are Cat and Griffin. Magic is stronger in the regions with ice, and weaker in the regions without. Half the world is ice and half is desert, or so it seems. It seems to be based largely on Ancient Greece, with Greek language, Greek Gods (who are real in this world), etc. The books are set in a land called Thalyria.

A promise of fire