Of Fire and Stars

What initially drew me to the book was that it was fantasy novel about a romance between two women; what kept me reading was the not only the likability of the two leads and how well they carried the story, but also just how much this book exceeded my expectations. I mean I just flat out adore Mare and Denna. By switching perspectives from chapter to chapter between the two girls the author makes it so that their characters are much more fleshed out and makes it so that it's impossible (at least for me) to not sympathize with their struggles and root for them to find their happy ending. I love rebellious types, and Mare, with her sharp tongue and roguish attitude, instantly became my favorite character. These qualities eventually brought out Denna's rebellious side, and I loved the slow turn from good girl who does what she's told to the woman who would defy all she was taught in order to save a kingdom and the person she loved. I honestly expected this book to be more of a bare - bones, cliché fantasy story and I am happy to report that it isn't that. The author put forth a lot of effort to make this story and its characters as enjoyable as possible. For example, I was convinced I was going to hate Denna's betrothed, Mare's brother, Thandi, but I ended up sympathizing more with him more than I thought I would. Even the main villian, once he was revealed, had clear and understandable motivations for doing the things he did, however wrong his actions were. I also thought the author was going to do some weird love triangle thing between Mare, Denna, and Mare's friend Nils, but she kept Mare's and Nils' relationship purely platonic despite their past romantic involvement. Plus the switching perspectives caught me of guard because I expected the story to be told from one point of view, and I loved that the author decided to tell it from two because, as mentioned, it made the two main characters that much more likable. The author also added in a lot of political drama to make the plot more than just a romance story that added a lot more conflict for the characters to deal with. My favorite thing overall was how well done the romance itself was. It wasn't a love at first sight kind of romance, but one that followed the less classical trope (at least for a fantasy story) of enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. It's a slow burn with the two girls not realizing they have fallen for each other until damn near the end of the book. Hell they weren't even really friends until about half way through. And I liked that because it made their eventual romance feel much more organic because they got to know each other before they realized how in love they were. I've always thought that the best romances are the ones where the two characters can stand on their own without relying on the other to be important to the story and this story gives me exactly that. Mare's initial motivations revolve around her desire for freedom and Denna's around her desire to live up to expectations. What brings them together is a shared desire to save a kingdom and its people. I love that the author took the time to make her characters this nuanced instead of making one or both mearly a love interest for another's story. This is both their story and I couldn't be happier with this choice. Also LGBT romances are common in this world so the whole forbidden romance thing is based purely around the fact that Denna is supposed to marry Mare's brother and not the fact that they are both women. A romance being forbidden between two people of the same sex for just homophobia reasons is a queer fiction trope I'm glad the author threw out the window. As a bonus, the story at one point mocks the classic fantasy trope of ridiculously long and elaborate names by shortening Amaranthine's name to Mare (because she hates how long it is) and then acknowledges how silly the nickname itself sounds. It's all very self - aware and came off much more clever than it might have. Honestly just read this book. If you want a well - written fantasy romance between two women, you've found what you're looking for.

I read this book in one sitting unable to stop myself after starting. I love the way the author shifted between both girls points of view with each chapter. The fantasy world painted in the words came alive with incredible amounts of detail in such a short book. I loved watching the relationship bloom from annoyance to love between Denna and Mare and felt very tense with the suspense of how the story would develop. I am so used to seeing tragedy in lgbt stories that to read one with a happy ending is rare and welcome. The story is compelling and the characters each have a unique voice. It really drew me in. I only wish it were longer or had a sequel so I could learn more about Denna’s affinities and more about the rich fantasy world that we only got to see glimpses of. If you like fantasy, magic, romance between two women, and romantic horseback rides as much you like conspiracy theories, murder, and running through every possible emotion during your reading experience then this is the story for you.

Of Fire and Stars was a very interesting book to read. Our heroines Denna and Mare split the Pov's throughout the book and are very distinct characters. Denna is a Princess who is forced to marry Mare's brother in order for their lands to form an alliance. It's a very strenuous alliance, due to the fact that many in Mare's land oppose the union with Denna. It sounds like your typical book of war, love, and betrayal. What sets this book apart are the heroines themselves. They wind up falling in love--- with each other. Before I move forward, here's the synopsis below: An atmospheric and romantic debut fantasy perfect for fans of Ash and The Winner’s Curse. 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 kingdoms. But Denna has a secret. She possesses an Affinity for fire—a dangerous gift for the future queen of a land where magic is forbidden. Now Denna has to learn the ways of her new kingdom while trying to hide her growing magic. To make matters worse, she must learn to ride Mynaria’s formidable warhorses before her coronation—and her teacher is the person who intimidates her most, the prickly and unconventional Princess Amaranthine, 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 work together, they discover there is more to one another than they thought—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. Denna harbors a secret that could get her killed and ruin the already strenuous alliance with the kingdom she's marrying into. She can control fire. Magic is banned in Denna's new world, and those around her would see it as treason if she were to ever reveal her power. Things get more complicated for Denna when she realizes her power is growing, which begins to spiral out of control. Along the way Denna who is the embodiment of courtly life and grace, meets Mare who is the black sheep of her royal family. She is crass, rough around the edges, and has a spitfire tongue. She's also not conventionally pretty. All of this does not stop love from blossoming between the two women. It was refreshing to see two prominent heroines fall in love with each other. It showed a progressiveness that we don't often find in literature, even though we should. I never take gay characters for granted, because I personally identify as gay, and I love to see how the gay perspective is transformed through story telling. I value reading about the struggle of my people and how they can become triumphant. It gives me hope. I will say that the first third of the book was very slow. I'll also admit that I didn't love Denna at first. She seemed very frivolous and completely at the mercy of her emotions. Overtime she grew on me. I think that's in part by her love for Mare. I fell in love with Denna through the eyes of Mare. Mare showed me the qualities I was overseeing in Denna. It was invigorating to have a character's pov change my perspective on another character. I've never had that happen before. The action in the book wasn't in abundance, another small gripe that I had. I often felt like the love between the two women was too much at the forefront, even if it felt more like a timid cat & mouse game for most of the book. On the romance alone and the themes it's promoting, I'm happily looking forward to a sequel. If you love passionate characters, gay lovers, and war & betrayal, you will love this book

In this tale, a smart, nerdy, somewhat introverted princess married off to a foreign prince finds herself falling for the tomboyish, somewhat rebellious sister of her betrothed. There is action, intrigue, and adventure, with a lot of the subplots you'd expect from a fairy tale about nobles in a pseudo-medieval world, but with the subversion of a lot of tropes, too. The story also explores how one defines one's culture, religion, duty, and sense of self, which was interesting and thought-provoking. There is relatively little problem with any character being interested in a member of the same-sex (with perhaps one exception), but instead there is a lot of discrimination against people born with magic skills. With the issues faced by magic users in the story, the author successfully weaves a parallel to the discrimination many LGBTQIA+ people face in the real world, past and present, but without being too "in your face" about it. I really enjoyed the development of the two main characters, as individuals and as a couple. I also want to applaud the author for crafting a beautiful platonic friendship between one of the leading ladies and an ex-boyfriend, which is something you don't see very often in these kinds of books.

It is not always easy being both LGBT and a fantasy fan, and so I am eternally grateful for authors like Coulthurst. The plot was extremely well-designed, with twists and turns at times both exciting or heartbreaking. No detail feels unnecessary to the development of the love or the story. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart, but perhaps that is one of its best features. Perhaps you will wrestle with liking the characters as much as they do each other in the beginning, but that only speaks to its complexities. The world itself was very well fabricated, again, with intimate yet never overwhelming or trifling detail. As someone who hopes to undertake a similar project in the future, this brings nothing but hope and joy to my life. A real achievement to inspire many of us. Thank you.

Let me start out by saying that I liked this book. I liked the characters and the dual points of view. The two main heroines had depth and personality. We saw insight into minor characters and the story line included some twists that led to action and an unpredictable story with a nice romance attached to it. What I didn't like could be the fault of her content or developmental editor. There were some major wishy washy moments with some minor characters. A major flaw in the world building itself and how it views and relates to women. For example, the princess is a woman and women should just get married and see to the correspondence and host parties and that is how they are helpful to the kingdom and the women courtiers all want to sit around and gossip and look pretty. Yet, the captain of the guard and key members of the court that are in power are also women and these rules are suddenly forgotten about. Several soldiers are also women. Another part also states that the courtier women were picking out love poems to read to the men and wand men they were courting later, implying that both hetero and homosexual relationships were the norm. But then later on we learn that a character was shunned from her family for choosing a woman lover. Why if these relationships are normal in this world? It just had too many back and forth issues for me to give this book a four or five star review, especially a bok from a major publisher that has an entire team of editors at their disposal to catch things like this.

What a wonderful read for young and old alike. The world, with its six elemental gods, and its magical affinities has huge potential for further exploration. I would love to see a continuation of these characters' story or a story with new characters set in the same world. The love story is sweet and well-told, and the author does an excellent job of normalizing same-sex attraction within the world. The problems between the characters have more to do with politics and the circumstances of their situation rather than conflict over them both being women. I also enjoyed the fact that there is a good deal of moral ambiguity in the story, and especially in the antagonists, many of which are not evil, but are working from a flawed set of assumptions and beliefs. Overall an excellent, quick read. It's appropriate for tweens and above, and recommended for all WLW

Of Fire and Stars is a tale of magic, romance, and treachery. The story is told through alternating points of view, Mare is the princess of Mynaria and sister to Thandi the future King while Denna is a princess of Havemont and future wife of Thandi. Although Mare is royalty, she does not enjoy her crown choosing to spend her time in the stables and wishing she could live her own life. Denna has been trained and taught her entire life to be worthy of the arranged marriage that is her future. That is what is expected of her and all she knows. Forced to adjust to a life at court, Denna finds herself in riding lessons with Mare in preparation for her wedding. Having never ridden a horse before she is concerned but puts her all into learning, which impresses the recalcitrant Mare. Their interactions and friendship grow over the course of the novel in a believable way, from the initial opinions of dislike to a true, bonded friendship. Although Denna is betrothed, her feelings only grow for Mare until her every thought is of the princess rather than the prince. Mare dismays each time she thinks about her brother marrying Denna, as he doesn't realize her best qualities. Each fears that her feelings are not reciprocated and keep everything bottled up. Whether their tale has a happy ending or not, you won't know unless you read the book. I really enjoyed the relationships and interactions in this book, particularly a romance that is more diverse than we normally get to see. The world-building could have been better in this novel, but it is not non-existent. There are a variety of different lands and people mentioned, unfortunately, we only receive the barest of information. Even though one of our main characters is from another land, we learn about little more than their harsh winters. The magic system and other lands like Zumorda were so fascinating, but not explored. While some of this can be explained by the fact that our characters also seem to be ill-informed about their neighbors, we don't receive much more information about Mynaria and that's where this book takes place. I found the main characters to be relatable but didn't connect deeply with some of the secondary ones. That was disappointing because it meant when there was an emotional scene or death, as a reader you weren't torn apart by it. To be honest, I didn't have opinions or feelings about it at all and I wish that were not the case. I love when books sweep you up, heart and soul, making you a part of the story and tearing out your emotions with every line. Magic is feared and punished in Mynaria, so we sadly don't get to experience much of it. When we see experienced practitioners perform, it is fascinating and varied. Someone with an air affinity might be able to create a breeze but they also may be able to transform into a bird. I wish this magic system was more developed and/or explained more because I just want to know more. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to young adult/teen readers who enjoy magic, fantasy, romance, or more diverse books.