The first in the series (highly recommended both for itself and to understand this one) left us with one big question: When will Griffin find out the truth about Cat? Turns out, not very long at all. The action starts in the very first chapter and keeps rolling onwards, to the very end. The final pages set us up for what I anticipate will be a thrilling finale and I can’t wait to read more!
The world-building is intricate and original, with a pantheon borrowed from Greek mythology but a geography and a society all of its own. This help keeps the Gods straight – no need for a glossary to remember who each one is. I would’ve liked a map, though, especially as our heroes travel even further than the last book. We don’t get to see many differences between the three nations, but maybe that’s because they are destined to be reunited anyway.
Cat goes through interesting character growth as they travel the realms: she starts off willing to sacrifice everything (including herself) for her friends and learns the best way to help everybody is to let them take their own risks and to look after herself a bit more. This is a twist on the usual ‘learns to be less selfish and help others’ as Cat needs to learn that she is needed alive and well. Griffin chips away at her self-hatred with stubbornness and love until she can see her true destiny is not about destruction, but about a new beginning. In some ways, she’s an unreliable narrator: all her risks seem calculated at the time, but boy, is she bad at math.
If you have any fondness for magic-and-monsters fantasy with bickering heroes on a quest: well, start with A Promise of Fire then come read this one because this series just keeps getting better and better.
Five scorching stars.
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