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Wednesday, September 15, 2021


Review: Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

 


Title: Of Fire and Stars
Author: Audrey Coulthurst
Publication Date: November 22, 2016
    

Finish Date: August 30, 2021
Format: Physical
Rating: 4.5/5 stars


Favorite Quote/Scene: 
The horse riding lessons

Review: 
I don’t often read fantasy books, but I received this book as a gift and figured that I’d give it a chance. I had heard good things about it before and was very hopeful that I would manage well.

Denna has been betrothed since she was a child and now she is making the trip to Mynaria to marry her intended. This marriage will seal an alliance between their two lands. Denna’s finding that her magic is reacting differently here and that poses an issue, especially because she now has to take horse riding lessons with her betrothed’s sister. Mare doesn’t want to be doing this, but she has to give in. The kingdom is left shook after an assassination. Denna and Mare team up to discover who committed the assassination and what they wanted to get out of it.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I had expected to. The worldbuilding was deep but not so extensive that I had trouble remembering it. The characters were well-written and likeable, for the most part. The plot and mystery were the best parts of the book to me, and I was drawn in immediately. I do have slight regrets that I don’t currently have the sequel or prequel to read as I really want more of these characters and this universe.

I want to start by talking about the characters in this book. I loved them, at least the ones I was meant to like. Mare and Denna were characters that I immediately latched on to and sympathized with. They had a great relationship that felt well-built and established. There were some characters that I didn’t like, but I don’t think I was supposed to like them. I also thought the author did a good job at individualizing the characters so that I never had a problem remembering who everyone was and what they were pushing for.

I loved the relationship between Denna and Mare. I just wanted to highlight that in a separate paragraph. It goes from enemies (rivals?) to friends and then to more. It’s built not just randomly but because the two are forced to spend time together and they get to know each other while they try to figure out what’s happening.

The pacing of this book is another part that I really enjoyed, for the most part. It did seem to drag a bit at the beginning of the book; but once it found its pace it was steady. There was good build up in relationships and suspense. The ending felt a bit disappointing because I know that there’s a sequel, but it would have made for a good ending even if there wasn’t a second book.

The magic in this book is very interesting to me. Like I would willingly read a book that just goes into the magic in the various lands and how it’s handled and focused and grown. It was very interesting to me especially with Denna dealing with a surge in her magic abilities. It left me wanting more, but not because the details weren’t fleshed out but because I just wanted more.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a nice, fun read with well-built characters that were given time to shine. Relationships between the various characters felt authentic to who the characters were and the relationships that were built for steady as well.

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