**I received an ARC from a giveaway (thank you Balzer + Bray!). These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**
Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
Release Date: November 22, 2016
Summary: Betrothed since childhood to the prince of Mynaria, Princess Dennaleia has always known what her future holds. Her marriage will seal the alliance between Mynaria and her homeland, protecting her people from other hostile lands. But Denna has a secret. She possesses an Affinity for fire—a dangerous gift for the future queen of a kingdom where magic is forbidden.
Now, Denna must learn the ways of her new home while trying to hide her growing magic. To make matters worse, she must learn to ride Mynaria’s formidable warhorses—and her teacher is the person who intimidates her most, the prickly and unconventional Princess Amaranthine—called Mare—the sister of her betrothed.
When a shocking assassination leaves the kingdom reeling, Mare and Denna reluctantly join forces to search for the culprit. As the two become closer, Mare is surprised by Denna’s intelligence and bravery, while Denna is drawn to Mare’s independent streak. And soon their friendship is threatening to blossom into something more.
But with dangerous conflict brewing that makes the alliance more important than ever, acting on their feelings could be deadly. Forced to choose between their duty and their hearts, Mare and Denna must find a way to save their kingdoms—and each other.
When I heard about this book, I was so excited. WLW princesses!! Magic!! WLW princesses!!
Unfortunately I was mostly disappointed.
I was so bored reading this. It took me three and a half weeks, which is incredibly unusual for me. I read ten books instead of finishing this, and one of those I reread, so really it was eleven. Now, I'm not entirely sure if I just couldn't get into it and had more interesting things to read, or if it was actually just really boring. I guess I'll say it's both, but either way, I was bored.
One of the things that bothered me was the writing. I think this book could have been better (and easier to read) if it were in third person, but it was in first person and kept switching between the two POVs. Both POVs basically read like each other, except for the obvious things like Mare being, "horses!! refusing to wear a dress and follow orders!! hating Denna!!," while Denna's POV was more of wanting to please everyone and hide her magic. Of course there's nothing wrong with any of this, but none of it was subtle. It was just written in such an obvious way, and kept repeating, that I grew tired of it.
Also, the names and the worldbuilding?? The names were unnecessarily long and complicated, and they seemed to try to make the worldbuilding more complex. But it really wasn't?? Three countries, all of them being completely the opposite of the others. None of it clicked.
I don't want to make it seem like I hated this book. I really didn't!! One of the good things about this book is that there's no queer baiting. Denna's feelings for Mare were made clear from the start. Although there was some confusion, she never thought her feelings were unnatural or gross. When their relationship progressed, it was done very well (albeit with no buildup). There was this one scene I really liked, but I won't say here because it's too spoilery ;). And although there wasn't really any worldbuilding, one of the cool things was the characters drawing the symbols of the Six Gods. Idk, I just really liked that.
This book was decent, just not the worldshattering wlw fantasy book I've been waiting for.
About the Author: Audrey Coulthurst writes YA books that tend to involve magic, horses, and kissing the wrong people. Her debut novel, Of Fire and Stars, was published on November 22, 2016 by Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins. When she’s not dreaming up new stories, she can usually be found painting, singing, or on the back of a horse.
Audrey has a Master’s in Writing from Portland State University, is a member of SCBWI, and studied with Malinda Lo as a 2013 Lambda Literary Foundation Fellow. She lives in Santa Monica, California.
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