Greek mythology comes alive in this fantasy romance. A CURSE OF QUEENS is book four by Amanda Bouchet in the Kingmaker Chronicles series. The first three books in this series followed Cat Fisa, who is now Queen, and her husband and warlord Griffin, who united the three realms of Thalyria. This power couple has [powerful] magic at their fingertips, but Cat has just been cursed to live eternally unchanging, with an eight month baby in her womb who will also remain unchanged (ladies, doesn’t that sound AWFUL?!) This stasis spell is placed on Cat to use her as a pawn for the widening fight between gods on Olympus. The queen’s sister-in-law Jocasta, a Hoi Polloi healer, comes up with a brilliant plan to find Circe’s Garden on a remote fabled island, where Jocasta hopes to get the antidote to revert her sister-in-law and her unborn child back to their desired mortality.
But Jocasta doesn’t travel alone. She’s backed up by several other members from the royal court, including Flynn, her brother’s best friend, the Captain of the Royal Guard. Jocasta tried to pledge herself to Flynn on her eighteenth birthday. But noble (and irrational) Flynn, convinced that everyone he loved was cursed to die, spurned her advance. Jocasta and Flynn have since been silently pining from afar for each other until they are thrown into close contact on Jocasta’s quest.
The book is solidly centered on the adventure of the quest, with the romance between Jocasta and Flynn taking a back seat to the unrelenting action. Those coming to this book for the romance may be disappointed. The pacing of the action is somewhat uneven, as well. I’ll admit that the Greek gods have always frustrated me- they are so petty and childish, and I just wish they would all simply quietly disappear. So books that rely heavily on the frivolous and contemptible Greek pantheon are pretty annoying.
A CURSE OF QUEENS is the weakest entry in this series. Readers who are diehard fans of the Kingmaker Chronicles series will likely enjoy seeing their favorite characters again and watching the world-building progress. Be prepared for a lot of mythological fighting and a lot of fantasy action, with some interspersed long sex scenes and light romance. Bouchet’s first in the series was fantastic, and I hope we see much sparks of similar brilliance from the author in the next book of the series.
Discover an all-new adventure in USA Today Bestselling author Amanda Bouchet's thrilling, white-hot fantasy series featuring the king's younger sister and his best friend, the man she's loved in secret for years.
THE WAR OF GODS IS JUST BEGINNING
After centuries of conflict, the three kingdoms of Thalyria have finally been reunited. But now the queen has been cursed, the royal lineage has been broken, and no one knows who's behind the plot to threaten the once-fractured realm's fragile new peace.
Desperate to help, Jocasta—the king's younger sister and a gifted healer—hatches a daring plan to find Circe's Garden, a fabled island where she hopes to discover an antidote. But she can't do it alone. She needs the strong arm and unflinching bravery of the warrior she's loved since childhood—her brother's right-hand-man and captain of the guard, Flynn of Sinta.
Flynn has spent years fighting to deny the desperate longing burning between them, but he cannot allow Jocasta to face this danger alone. He swears he will be her shield, and together they will do the impossible. Yet with old feelings blazing bright and treachery brewing on Mount Olympus, one thing is clear: Thalyria and its new royals are still pawns in an epic game of power—one that might end in a War of Gods.
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