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Breath of Fire (Kingmaker Chronicles, #2)

by Amanda Bouchet (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading, magical-fantasy-adventure-romance

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PANDA said: " I don’t think I’m going to finish this….

Spoilers for book 1 and the starting part of book 2 (I’m currently at 41% and not sure I want to continue)

Book 1 was okay (I finished it and reasonably enjoyed it). I actually would have given it a 4 star up u I don’t think I’m going to finish this….

Spoilers for book 1 and the starting part of book 2 (I’m currently at 41% and not sure I want to continue)

Book 1 was okay (I finished it and reasonably enjoyed it). I actually would have given it a 4 star up until the point the Beta team and Cat arrived at the palace and met Griffin’s family. Why? Because:

1. Cat clearly loved and adored her sister Eleni for being a pure hearted, caring and honourable girl. But for some reason she has the interal monologue and patriarchal attitude at the idea that Egeria (Griffin’s sister) should take the throne. But to make things worse, it’s one thing to THINK this - but to immediately be conflictive, rude little b***ch to Egeria and griffins family (literally JUST BECAUSE they are ‘delicate little flowers’) is not only a horrible character trait, but also really ugly. I just felt this was such a horrible childish side of her - essentially a bully licking on his sisters just because they’re girls (and young). Which is ironic considering she herself could be perceived as a ‘delicate flower’ which she often uses against her enemies, by fooling them. She should know better! And then to top it off her biggest idol is her sister who is described very similarly. Out of everything happening why be a bully to his innocent sisters for no apparent reason? Nuh huh don’t like it.

2. In Book 1, in the last scene where Cat is nearly dying - Griffin loses his temper and in rage breaks stuff. I get that this was to represent how much he loves Cat and cannot stand the idea that she’s going to die and he needs to expel that rage. Which I don’t mind BUT I cannot condone or even accept that someone who you love that much that you’d then be able to do what Griffin did when he found out Cat’s true identity (whilst she’s still recovering from those injuries).

3. I really got turned off Griffin in book 2 - (spoiler from the first scene of book 2) but I was SO TRIGGERED. Firstly, his reaction to finding out who Cat was felt disgusting to me. He can be mad at her for hiding it - which even then it’s not like she sought him out and decided to confide in him- let’s not forget that their relationship started because he literally abducted her for her powers. It makes sense that she’d be hesitant to then express to him who her true identity is (another thing he could use on top of her powers). So it’s not like her hesitance is totally unfounded. But fair enough, he can be upset: but the things he said were disgusting. The fact that he got aggressive with her, lost his temper scaring the life out of her bashing the room apart and the fact that she was naked whilst it happened and he swiped her sheet away from her so she was completely bare whilst he was belittling her dirty blood, calling her a monster and physically intimidating her.

4. Later on we are just meant to forgive this because Griffin assumes that Cat has left when in reality she’s just moved rooms and fallen into a deep coma like sleep (because this confrontation happened right after she nearly lost her life and then the trauma Griffin causes led to this long sleep). He bursts in panicking and hugs her in relief. They then speak and he essentially (and Cat’s inner monologue) is essentially ‘I grew up in a messed up family so I don’t understand emotions, I stupidly assumed that you stripping me, pushing me against a wall, destroying the entire room and being disgusted by my existence meant that you didn’t want to be near me anymore… that is my bad I totally overreacted…’ I just felt like she was giving him an out and he was making her believe that his awful ghastly behaviour was HER FAULT? And she believed him. Which going back to my first point - she hated on the girls for BEING GIRLS and being vulnerable or innocent and yet Cat herself was the one in a toxic relationship with a man who I’m sorry but that was just plain gaslighting.

5. This overbearing, narcissistic and frankly misogynistic Griffin that I saw glimpses of in book 1 (which I didn’t mind because a certain amount of it, I don’t mind and sometimes makes the character more real) really came to life in book 2 for me. I feel like from being controlling and myogbstic about sisters to his inability to even let Cat speak to a male species to Griffin’s insistence on Cat essentially doing and living exactly the way he wants was too much for me. Cat might have an attitude with him and might be sarcastic, but in reality it always went Griffin’s way and if it didn’t well he got borderline rage with her and it made me uncomfortable. I really don’t like the development of his character and their relationship started feeling more about lust than love - I almost never start hoping for a different nainnlove but I low key was hoping Carver would be the main interest at some point because I just couldn’t get over how the whole identity reveal went. Perhaps I could have gotten over it if Cat would have been done with Griffin and iced him out for absolutely grossing a line and forced him to really work back the trust and safety he took from her. To show that Cat has self respect and knows where the line is and griffin realises that he crossed a line and what he did was disgustingly (the fact that while he was screaming at her, using a sword to gash their bed apart and destroy the room - that she was cowering naked and still recovering from a deadly stab wound that he’d then just to be extra cruel and take away any protection from her her rip the sheets off of her and force her to stand by naked while Groffin berates her with his sword in hand and entire combat gear on - this just felt like plain abuse to me and not something someone so in love would do regardless of what the other person has done least of all an omission someone kept and also arguably for good reasons too.

So all in all book 1 o actually enjoyed. I liked Griffin and I liked Cat and I loved the supporting Beta team. I loved Carver and Flynn too. But it all started going downhill after Cat decided to have an attitude with Griffin’s sisters as if she was a school bully - no clue what the purpose of this facet being added was. But nonetheless it was redeemable.

But by book 2, too many questionable attitudes, interactions and behaviours popped up that had me uncomfortable. Griffin’s character is exposing some toxic traits, Cat seems to be regressing and the book is making references to shipping children with adults (Kaia). To top this all I don’t feel like Cat and Griffins love is real (maybe because I can’t get over the identity reveal, but I just feel like their banter and interactions are now only lust / sex scenes whereas in book 1 we had more interactions, chats, laughs etc) ...more "

Jan 31, 2026 02:31AM · see review