Of Fire And Stars by Audrey Coulthurst is definitely a unicorn of a book, at least thus far in my reading experiences. It is a young adult standalone fantasy novel with two girls who fall in love. I mean, the standalone bit on its own is enough to qualify this is a unique experience. Then you add in the two girls falling in love, and this is something that I rarely read. Thankfully, it is not just the concept alone that recommends this book, it is actually a very good book. I enjoyed my time with it immensely.
Of Fire And Stars is about two main characters – Dennaleia and Mare. Dennaleia is promised to Mare’s brother, Thandi. Their marriage will result in an alliance between their kingdoms and just might be what they need to defeat what is perceived as an enemy kingdom. Alas, not all is well. You see, an assassination takes place. Together, Dennaleia and Mare work together using their separate talents to find out exactly what happened and to hopefully save their kingdoms from sabotage.
Dennaleia is definitely more girly and feminine than Mare. She’s got this wonderful hair and great sense of style. Lots of the ladies of court suck up to her because of her status. However, she’s hiding a secret. Denna has an affinity for fire and that’s dangerous in her new kingdom. You see, they don’t take kindly to the use of magic and it is outlawed due to religious reasons. Denna will do what it takes to control her gift though, even deny herself. In addition to being able to use magic, she’s also a bit of a scholar and her time spent in the library contributes to unraveling the mystery.
Meanwhile, Mare is much more athletic and hands on. You see, she bonds with Denna over horseback riding lessons. In their kingdom, horsemanship is an essential skill. It is also one that Denna does not have. At first, Mare resents her, but over time they become dear friends. Meanwhile, Mare is also big on her freedom and sneaks out of the castle to do some spying in town. It’s how she gathers intel about the assassination. I liked that the two girls had talents that balanced each other out.
Of Fire And Stars has a pretty organic romance. I mean, Mare and Denna spend more time in each other’s company. It goes from this antagonism to grudging respect to trust to love. The progression of the romance is incredibly sweet and well written. I will say that the adult times aren’t fade to black, so if you’re the type who can’t handle that, you might not be into this book. For the most part though, I felt that it seemed realistic and I absolutely rooted for Denna and Mare’s happiness.
Audrey Coulthurst has quite the winning debut on her hands. It left me wanting just a little bit more, however, I was satisfied with how the book resolves. I did not feel like Of Fire And Stars dragged on unnecessarily. The character development was absolutely on point. This book certainly won me over and I am happy to say that I really enjoyed my time reading it.
Other reviews of Of Fire And Stars by Audrey Coulthurst:
- Writer Of Wrongs – “These princesses in love deserved a way better plot.“
- Girls In Capes – “The book achieved exactly what I’d hoped it would achieve“
- Gone With The Words – “will work for some readers, but it was mostly wasted potential for me“
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