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    Of Fire and Stars
    Of Fire and Stars
    Of Fire and Stars
    Audiobook10 hours

    Of Fire and Stars

    Written by Audrey Coulthurst

    Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld and Moira Quirk

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    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.

    Plus don't miss the sequel: Of Ice and Shadows!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateFeb 6, 2018
    ISBN9780062825445
    Author

    Audrey Coulthurst

    Audrey Coulthurst writes YA books that tend to involve magic, horses, and kissing the wrong people. 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 degree in writing from Portland State University. She lives in Santa Monica, California. She is the author of Inkmistress and Of Fire and Stars, which was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start. Visit her online at www.audreycoulthurst.com.

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    Reviews for Of Fire and Stars

    4/5

    406 ratings35 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A simply plotted but charming fantasy romance. I really liked the main girls. The rest was serviceable. The author's structure and technique was solid.
    • 3/5
      3 stars for the actual book, but 5 stars for the audio production.
    • 5/5
      I really liked character development, I think the story is very fun and entertaining. the irony of it all was charming and I had a great time
    • 3/5
      Of Fire and Stars was quite a fun read, but also a very frustrating one. I REALLY enjoyed the romance in the novel. The two main characters were quite well developed and I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop, but that was almost about it. It was nice to see a kingdom where same sex relationships were not frowned upon and hardly even remarked upon, love is love.

      The world building was incredibly lacking. We are thrust into this world knowing Denna is being married to a prince from a neighbouring kingdom to make an alliance...for what? Oh and this kingdom hates magic users, why? No explanation is given as to why magic is "bad," it just is. The political intrigue would have been super interesting, if we were given a little more background to the kingdoms. It was very poorly put together and written.

      I also did not like how Mare and Denna were treated - because they were women/princesses. They were expected to plan parties and participate in gossip and frivolous things - and not involved in the politics of running the kingdom. Yet there were several women in this book who were in powerful positions and were involved. It just baffled me. I didn't get it. They treated them like they were useless with no evidence to back it up.

      Other than Mare and Denna, character development was severely lacking. Thandi was just a shell of a character and I really would have liked to see him develop and not just be a puppet. Even the villain lacked depth.

      Overall, I was a little disappointed in this book. I really liked the romance and how it did something different, but at the same time, this fantasy world was under developed. 2.5/5 stars

      I may stray away from YA fantasy for now, I've just not been impressed lately.
    • 5/5
      just fabulous magical world to get lost!The plot is intriguing and can't wait to read the next parts. Narration was fantastic.
    • 2/5
      La historia y el mundo son muy interesantes, sin embargo no pude conectar con las protagonistas, ni con su amor. Espero que la segunda parte me guste más que este inicio.
    • 5/5
      "Of Fire and Stars" is a really excellent YA fantasy f/f read. Adult book writers could take some lessons from the slow burn and chemistry that Coulthurst created between her two leading ladies and is one of the reasons I still read YA. YA authors just often do it better.

      As fantasy stories go, it's a combination of an alternate Earth, Medieval-like royalty and certain people having an affinity with one of the six gods that includes Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Those with the affinity can use the element their born with for good or bad and, because of this, they are feared by the general public especially when someone with the ability starts killing off royalty.

      The plot does take awhile to unravel and the characters do build their relationship over numerous encounters so expect a somewhat slow but steady pace.

      Denna and Mare are both distinct, likable, and interesting three dimensional characters. Mare is an ice-queen, black sheep member of the royal family who wants her freedom above all else while Denna is proper, does what is expected of her, and puts her kingdom and duty first. They are 17/18 but their decisions and actions are those of intelligent, mature women doing the best they can with intense outside pressure and lousy circumstances.

      The romance between them was really well done as was the mystery and the world building. Action was amped and the story held good suspense on a number of levels.

      This book is currently available in the Kindle Unlimited program but I listened to its audiobook on Scribd. The story is told in their alternating points of view of Denna and Mare and the two actresses who played each role did a fantastic job. The story was engaging enough but their delivery elevated the text.

      As a read, I'd say this is 4.5. But, because the narration was so good, I give it a 5.

      Recommend.
    • 3/5
      I loved the fantasy aspects of this book, but the romance was cringey and it didn't really fit in with the story or the genre.
    • 5/5
      I love this story so much I listened it in one day
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book! There should be more books with strong female characters that fall in love.
    • 5/5
      ITS GAY. ITS FANTASY. ITS AMAZING. 10/10 WOULD RECOMMEND. THE ENDING WRECKED ME.
    • 4/5
      So, I think the book was fairly good. I have to give it four stars because I was really pulled into the story until like chapter 39, and then I DNF'd it at the start of the year, but that is what often happens to me. I usually love the romance before the pairing actually gets together. So, I did DNF it in February but I just now decided to finally finish it months later, and well what can I say, it didn't add much. Don't get me wrong I loved the story, although I do get that people are complaining about the worldbuilding or lack thereof, I just think the ending was a little underwhelming. I really liked Mare's character, but to me, Denna was quite annoying and I did not like her nearly as much. I love a slow burn romance, and the story was heavily romance and character-driven, so if you're someone who wants a strongly plot-driven story with great worldbuilding this story is not for you. Also, we all got to love the fact that it's a fantasy story with an f/f pairing, we don't see a lot of those.
    • 5/5
      LOVE LOVE LOVE!! A captivating story with heartfelt and strong women characters. Love this.
    • 5/5
      oh my god i loved it, the low burn romance gave me life
    • 4/5
      It was really cute, had a lot of individual development while also having relationship decelooment
    • 5/5
      MIAWJAIWUAIAUIAUSIQUA I'm just so happy I literally go like ??? happy ending wiii happy ending (◍•ᴗ•◍) awyyyy they so cuteeeee!
    • 5/5
      This is an engaging fantasy novel that seems to be beginning a series. Princess Dennaleia has been betrothed to the Crown Prince of Mynaria since she was six years old. Now sixteen, she is finally traveling to Mynaria to meet him.Dennaleia finds a prince who just seems to see her as a trophy and who seems uninterested in her as anything by an ornament. Her years of training to rule are completely disregarded. She also learns that people who have magic are being persecuted in that kingdom. She has been told since she was small that she needs to keep her affinity to fire a secret. Now the secret must be kept even closer which is hard because her gift seems to be growing and getting harder to hide. Dennaleia finds herself lonely in her new life. The only one she would like to be her friend is her betrothed's sister Princess Amaranthine who prefers to be called Mare and prefers to spend her time training and breeding horses. Mare has also been set aside by her father and brother as having no purpose other than being someone to marry off for political gains.When the king's adviser is murderded Mare and Denna team up to try to find out the killer despite being discouraged by the king and crown prince. The two also begin a relationship that starts with a tentative friendship and builds into a romance.The story is filled with action and tension as the country hovers on the brink of war with a neighboring county and deals with rebellions magic users. I loved the way the love between Denna and Mare grew gradually through the story. I liked the world building and would be glad to read more stories set in this world.
    • 4/5
      I've been sort of reluctantly contemplating reading this for a while -- I'd heard it was good, and also that there was girl romance in it, but I've been reading a little too much YA lately, and wasn't in the mood for high drama. To my delight, this is the sort of book that you read the first couple of pages and fall into. Solid fantasy, new worlds, excellent heroines (double narrative) and both magic and horses, which I have to admit that I find to be an appealing combination. I'm a bit bothered by the boneheaded stupidity of the leaders of Mynaria -- yes, I know that's the point, but it seems taken to extreme. I'm very happy to see them off, together, alone and out of the kingdom at the end. Poor Nils! Also, I mentioned the name (Of Fire and Stars) to a friend when she asked what I was reading. Her response -- you know those are the same thing, right? And I was deeply pleased when Denna pulls the stars down using her fire gift, so the author know those are the same thing, too -- although really, they would have had to be meteors or the whole planet would have gone, but... anyway. Good fun, and stands alone enough that I don't feel like I HAVE to read book 2 or nothing makes any sense/ cliffhanger story arc. I can contemplate book 2 with pleasure instead.
    • 3/5
      teen queer romance/adventure/suspense - a princess with magical powers falls for the prickly sister of her betrothed
      the writing seems ok, I just wasn't that into the princess/fake medieval setting.
    • 4/5
      It's long, but was so enjoyable that it reads like a much shorter book.
    • 4/5
      This is a sweet ya fantasy romance that puts great emphasis on court intrigue. I especially enjoyed that in this world same sex marriage was just a thing that happened, and that women had far more agency than you usually find in your typical feudal fantasy. I'm definitely giving the sequel a try. Mare's earthy freedom and Denna's library loving wildness touched me.
    • 2/5
      Nils deserved better than that

      Understatement of the century, Mare. Honestly.

      To be honest, I felt that everyone who died in this book deserved better because there was literally no reason for any of it. Their deaths only pushed the plot forward in the weakest of ways. It felt like Coulthurst just wanted to kill some people hoping it would make this oo-la-la dramatic impact and it just was confusing and lacklustre instead.

      As so many people have already pointed out, the characters were flat. There was nothing. I expected to at least like Denna or Mare but they were both so freaking annoying. There was no depth to their characters. If it wasn't for the fact that I am always down for some women loving women, I would have given up. If you had told me I would read a book about wlw and would come away with a cishet white man as my favourite (Nils because a good friend always gets me) I would have called you a liar in no uncertain terms. But that's what happened and I am upset about it.

      This book had so much promise: women in important positions and Mare being allowed to run wild with horses, except throughout the book, the women are never taken seriously (I mean supposedly women are capable but the eldest child isn't the heir for some wild reason) and Mare is allowed to run wild with horses because . . . literally no reason and her family seem to resent her for what they have allowed her to do? I guess the Directorate shows a more equal side but only because literally ALL of the Directorate have a negative amount of critical thinking skills and have taken leave of all of their senses. They want to go to war with a WHOLE nation based on one piece of forged evidence? Forged evidence that it took two teenagers all of a day to figure out was forged.

      Do I even WANT to touch on the lack of black and brown people in this book? Hm? Maybe. We are presented with one person, Hilara who is said to be dark-skinned. Literally no one else in the entire book is dark-skinned yet we never hear Denna speculate about this dark-skinned woman who HAS to have some kind of foreign ancestry from some INCREDIBLY distant land unknown to everyone (because even the desert inhabiting former nomads are white apparently). So I guess she just materialised out of thin air or something. I don't know. But Hilara, remember the only dark-skinned person in this entire godforsaken book, is an antagonist throughout the entire thing. I mean, she does pose some opposition to the weird and nonsensical decisions of the Directorate BUT it's only because she is smarting over having her butt whooped in a vote over who to be allies with. Like it's not common sense at all, it's just a lingering hope that her political goals can still work out. And she's never redeemed in the eyes of the reader. She just stays this massive POS who would probably actually kill Denna if she was convinced that it would get her the alliance she wants but it won't so she just settles with being openly antagonistic towards her future queen.

      I know some people were complaining about the magic but that is actually the one thing I am mostly willing to let slide because everyone is actually clueless about it. Supposedly magic works in some kind of elemental way (including stars and shadow (what the even?)) but that's clearly not true because apparently things can be magicked to do other things like an arrow magicked to home in on a target so that it kills them. I heard there is going to be a sequel so I'm assuming that will get explained. I said MOSTLY willing to let slide because what kind of actual mess would this have been if a sequel had not been agreed to. Would we have been left with a book where that magic makes less sense than a DT tweet? I think that kind of mess is irresponsible to say the least. But there will be a sequel so I can let this go.

      My last disappointment was with the plot itself really. It was so predictable. Now I like some predictability when it comes to say my romance. For example, the book says that one or both of the characters are emotionally unavailable and will they be able to work past their issues to find love in each other. Well, the answer is pretty freaking OBVIOUSLY yes or the book would probably not exist. Now in fantasy, I feel like there should be things that people don't expect. Now I know (even though I have so many problems with her books) we all can't be Sarah J. Maas where the twists are actually just ridiculous so you never see them coming, but still I KNEW Kriantz was going to be the evil one from the moment he was introduced because it would be "surprising" or something. Maybe it was because he seemed to have an inkling of sense which the other "adults" in the books completely lacked and thus was only pretending to have have sense and be a decent person to the princesses.

      I was really hoping that Thandi would end up being the evil one who was plotting a take over of the kingdom the whole time because that would have actually been fucking conniving and interesting and given him some character because he was also as bland as butterless untoasted white bread and had the intelligence of one. I mean, agreeing to let the now only surviving heir of your kingdom go completely alone to a hostile neighbour might be the most ridiculous thing about this entire book and this is a book where a girl brought down "stars" to kill people and managed not to kill someone literally in the middle of it all or destroy the entire country.

      All right. Now I know it sounds like I really hated this book. It's not true, mostly because wlw. I love girls falling in love as much as I love most things and them going from (kinda) enemies to friends and lovers is so sweet to see. It was just incredibly disappointing in every other aspect.
    • 3/5
      I both loved the concept of this tale and was frustrated by the feeling that the writing was holding the story back at times. Centered around an unlikely and forbidden romance between two princesses, one of whom is also hiding magical abilities, this novel has all the makings of good fantasy and at times the tale felt epic, but the writing just didn't and I struggled to get into the story. To be fair, this is the author's first novel and the ending was both satisfying and intriguing enough that I might continue the series.
    • 3/5
      Princess sent to marry a prince falls in love with the tomboy princess instead, in the midst of political intrigue and discrimination against magic users, which is a problem for our magic-user princess. It didn’t grab me.
    • 3/5
      Alright! Let's do this. this book was really cute. I love Mare, girl after my own soul. seriously she felt like someone took my inner workings and spliced them with my ideal partner. The world building was spot on; perfect balance of explanation and holding back. Writing style was totally my thing. Nice and easy, flow wise. Got second hand embarrassment in certain spots.
    • 4/5
      Good queer magical wlw fantasy. Drama, earnestness, interesting world setting.
    • 5/5
      When I first read Of Fire and Stars in November 2016, I was so delighted by a book that wrapped up everything I wanted and loved reading about as a preteen that I felt like I was in the first rush of love and would be blinded to any unfortunate faults in the novel. I didn't want to write a review only to come back, embarrassed, after a reread opened my eyes to any terrible flaws.It took a while, but I finally felt ready to reread the story and sure enough, I was right back in that utterly joyful reading space. There are some story quirks that might have been done better or plot threads that got a little lost, but for the most part, this book is everything I love.A princess book: it takes all the tropes and clichés in the usual MG/YA princess stories and gives them to us in two main charaters: Dennaleia is the dutiful princess who desperately wants to fulfill her role and care for her people, except that she is hampered by secret magic and plotting against the crown. Amaranthine, "Mare", is the rebellious princess who hates the strictures placed upon her simply because of her birth (but definitely takes advantage of the privileges!) and who sneaks out of the castle disguised as a villager. There is intrigue and taverns where secret messages are passed and climbing out of castle windows and through forgotten passageways.A horse book: raising and working with horses is central to the economy of Mare's country, especially for the highborn, and Mare is a Horse Girl. Plenty of scenes take place on horseback, and Denna plays the reader's part in learning about horses for the first time, though in not quite so much detail as a horse series.A fantasy book: this is a world of magic, though not everyone possesses the ability. Magic users have an affinity to one or more of six elements, which informs their powers - only the kingdom of Mynaria is hostile to magic and Denna's own affinity becomes more than she hide once she arrives.A f/f romance story: it's a forbidden romance - Denna was betrothed to Mare's younger brother when they were children, but when Denna arrives for the wedding, she finds herself falling in love with Mare. How can the young women be happy together if Denna must marry someone else for the entire country's sake? There is even kissing and some fade-to-black sex.The princess-horse-magic part of the novel is very regular fare for a YA book, and the kind that I adored as a teenager (and, admittedly, as an adult). Many of the story elements are well-trod and completely predictable, especially if you've read more than a few books in the genre. The addition of the f/f romance plot is what I always craved, and it is what makes the book special. It feels like Audrey Coulthurst knew all of my favorite things and then put the book together just for me - though she says it's just the kind of book that she always wanted to read.I won't pretend that it's a work of genius or has a perfect plot. It doesn't, but it doesn't need to and doesn't pretend to. It's a princess fantasy story (with horses) where the princesses fall in love with each other, and it's fluffy and sweet and that is something rare and charming.
    • 4/5
      I truly enjoyed reading this book. It is a breath of fresh air to read a story where a princess can also be a hero. This book has it all; love, action and fantasy delicately rolled into one. I will say that the storyline was slightly predictable but that did not take away from the overall experience of the story as a whole.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book. The author does a good job of making it clear that lesbian or gay relationships are not considered unusual in the world in this book. It is refreshing to not have to have homophobia as a plot point. Other than that it was a typical fantasy-with-a-map-at-the-front type of book, with kingdom politics, sneaking out of castles, and trying to figure out how to work with magic. I'm dying for a sequel.
    • 3/5
      My youngest sister has long lamented the lack of LGBTQ romances in YA fiction (and in general), so when she came across this book a few months ago, she was super excited and read it in a day. I was touched that she wanted to lend it to me, since it meant so much to her. And while it wasn't my favorite thing that I have ever read, it was fun and exciting and had several well written characters. The story centers around Dennaleia, a princess who has been betrothed since infancy to the future king of a neighboring kingdom. There's just one small problem (or two, really). One, she has an Affinity, a magical ability to create fire, which is most inconvenient as magic users are being persecuted. And two...she starts to fall for her fiance's sister, the headstrong Mare. It was refreshing to read about a blossoming love between two strong females instead of the usual prince/princess, bad boy/good girl stuff that gets quite repetitive in YA fiction (and written by a LGBTQ author as well!) Representation is important in fiction, and I'm glad there has been a steady increase in diverse books.