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A review by joanna1905
Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
3.0
(Rating closer to a 3.5, rather than a 3).
So I have mixed feelings about this book, I adore the concept - two princesses falling in love is the best premise ever, And it is so cool to see both bi and lesbian representation in YA fantasy.
I love the friendship and relationship between Denna and Mare, and I totally ship it - however my appreciation of this book kind of ends here. This book is marketed as way more of a romance than it actually is, most of the book is actually focused on the assassinations and upcoming war, and while I'm totally on board with political intrigue and fantasy - it made this book fall flat for me. I would have loved to see more of the development of the relationship between Denna and Mare (honestly this feels vaguely like an instalove plot line - there was some tension at first then all of a sudden they are in love.
The central problem with this book Is that while the world is an interesting one, the world building and execution of the fantasy plotline was done poorly. It reads as though written by someone who has a vague idea what fantasy is as a genre but has zero experience with it as a reader or an author. The plot is the culmination of fantasy tropes that have been hastily written to make the book seem more fantastical but when mixed together make very little sense.
Now perhaps I'm biased, as a lover of George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss I'm no stranger to high-quality fantasy - and perhaps they have spoilt me to the point where I struggle to enjoy lesser fantasy authors. However, authors like Sarah J Maas (ACOTAR) and Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments) are able to create well-developed magic systems and worlds that still appeal to young adult readers while still retaining the quality and the authenticity of their world - and this makes me an even harsher critique.
As much as I wanted to adore this book - it honestly just feels like the publishers were banking on the whole 'A princess falls in love with the sister of her betrothed' concept to do the selling, and since LGBTQ+ representation in fantasy is so SCARCE and seeing the increasing demand for such representation in YA books they knew that even if the actual fantasy elements weren't that developed it wouldn't matter - because any representatio I better than none.
Now I know I've been pretty harsh, but I seriously did like this book - my expectations have just been raised so high by booktube that the reality couldn't compete. I do hope we get a sequel in the future and get the development this book lacked - I have no idea whether this is intended to be a stand-alone - but I think it has the potential to develop into an awesome duology.
So I have mixed feelings about this book, I adore the concept - two princesses falling in love is the best premise ever, And it is so cool to see both bi and lesbian representation in YA fantasy.
I love the friendship and relationship between Denna and Mare, and I totally ship it - however my appreciation of this book kind of ends here. This book is marketed as way more of a romance than it actually is, most of the book is actually focused on the assassinations and upcoming war, and while I'm totally on board with political intrigue and fantasy - it made this book fall flat for me. I would have loved to see more of the development of the relationship between Denna and Mare (honestly this feels vaguely like an instalove plot line - there was some tension at first then all of a sudden they are in love.
The central problem with this book Is that while the world is an interesting one, the world building and execution of the fantasy plotline was done poorly. It reads as though written by someone who has a vague idea what fantasy is as a genre but has zero experience with it as a reader or an author. The plot is the culmination of fantasy tropes that have been hastily written to make the book seem more fantastical but when mixed together make very little sense.
Now perhaps I'm biased, as a lover of George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss I'm no stranger to high-quality fantasy - and perhaps they have spoilt me to the point where I struggle to enjoy lesser fantasy authors. However, authors like Sarah J Maas (ACOTAR) and Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments) are able to create well-developed magic systems and worlds that still appeal to young adult readers while still retaining the quality and the authenticity of their world - and this makes me an even harsher critique.
As much as I wanted to adore this book - it honestly just feels like the publishers were banking on the whole 'A princess falls in love with the sister of her betrothed' concept to do the selling, and since LGBTQ+ representation in fantasy is so SCARCE and seeing the increasing demand for such representation in YA books they knew that even if the actual fantasy elements weren't that developed it wouldn't matter - because any representatio I better than none.
Now I know I've been pretty harsh, but I seriously did like this book - my expectations have just been raised so high by booktube that the reality couldn't compete. I do hope we get a sequel in the future and get the development this book lacked - I have no idea whether this is intended to be a stand-alone - but I think it has the potential to develop into an awesome duology.