Of Fire and Stars (Of Fire and Stars, 1)
Of Fire and Stars (Of Fire and Stars, 1) book cover

Of Fire and Stars (Of Fire and Stars, 1)

Paperback – February 6, 2018

Price
$9.99
Format
Paperback
Pages
416
Publisher
Balzer + Bray
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0062433268
Dimensions
5.31 x 0.94 x 8 inches
Weight
11.2 ounces

Description

Review “A powerful and exquisite love story” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Reminiscent of the kinds of fantasy books I loved when I was a young teenager, tales of princess angst, horses, and the blossoming of reluctant love. This book is bold enough to create a world that moves beyond the prejudices we are still fighting in our real world.” — Caitlyn Paxson, NPR “A deeply romantic, bold, and nuanced fantasy. You will be captivated by Denna and Mare and their star-crossed love for each other.” — Malinda Lo, Author of Ash and Huntress “Lovely…a worthy debut that succeeds as both an adventure and a romance.” — Booklist “Murder, mayhem, magic, romance-and horses…a romantic fantasy that will appeal to those who appreciate character-driven novels.” — Kirkus Reviews “I devoured Of Fire and Stars in two sittings; it’s a delightful debut, full of all the things I like best in a fantasy story, including not one but two wonderful heroines. I’m looking forward to seeing what Audrey does in the future!” — Mercedes Lackey, New York Times bestselling author of over 125 books, including the Valdemar series “Coulthursts’s debut is an absolute delight; I loved seeing these smart, fierce princesses fall in captivating, slow-burn love as they investigate political assassinations and unravel magical conspiracies.” — Corinne Duyvis, author of Otherbound and On the Edge of Gone “Romantic, compelling, and bursting with fascinating characters, Of Fire and Stars is the fantasy novel we’ve all been waiting for.” — Amy Tintera, author of Ruined “A slow-burn love story about two unique, brave, and endearing young women.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) About the Author 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.

Features & Highlights

  • 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
  • !

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(1.1K)
★★★★
25%
(439)
★★★
15%
(263)
★★
7%
(123)
-7%
(-123)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Lovely Book!

Absolutely loved Of Fire And Stars! I adore Denna and Mare, they’re such lovely characters and their romance is beautiful! And the buildup of it was great, not too soon or too slow. The action was awesome as well. Even though the concept of people having magical powers has been done before, the author did it in her own way for this story that was really interesting to read. I like the world the story is set in too. A well done, good read!
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Interesting fantasy story with a cute WLW romance

This was a really fun read with lovable protagonists and an easy-to-follow plot. Once I started, I could not put it down. I picked it up before going to bed and after what felt like just five minutes I looked and noticed I was already halfway through the book. I really enjoyed following Denna and Mare and seeing their feelings develop from both their points of views. Their romance is incredibly adorable and the “doomed lovers” aspect of their relationship kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

There were a few issues that kept me from giving it five stars:
The plot does feel a bit meandering and pointless at times. On the other hand, it felt like the relationship between Denna and Mare was the central focus, so I don’t fault the author for placing most of the attention on their interactions. The characters are relatively flat and predictable, but, again, I don’t think this novel is trying to be the next LOTR or anything like that. For what it is, it develops its plot and characters as well as it should. However, this does lead to some less believable moments or forced interactions, especially beyond Mare and Denna (who, as I mentioned, are the most fleshed out characters in the book). I especially found Thandilimon to fall prey to this-he switches sides and forgives or becomes angry at the flip of a switch. Particularly at the end, he seems to do what he does simply to benefit the plot.
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Wonderful read!

A wonderful book i normally dont read but when i started this book i couldn't stop.
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Bought as a gift

Purchased as a "coming out" gift for my 11 y/o cousin. She loved it.
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Magic Princesses

Such a cute love story! If you love magic, horses, and badass princesses, you definitely won’t be disappointed. Highly recommend!
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Didn’t finish

I was excited by the premise of this book. We definitely need more LGBT SciFi/Fantasy in the world. That being said, it was just...dull. I got about halfway through when I decided to throw in the towel. The main characters weren’t particularly interesting and Mare was a jerk for no reason. I think the author was going for some enemies to lovers thing, but there was no real foundation for the enemies part. Also the horse thing was...yeah. Two stars because it takes guts to put LGBT content into this world (especially for a YA audience) but without that element it would have been one for me.
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Starts on page 27

I bought this book a few months ago and just finally had the opportunity to finally start reading it. The copy I received starts on page 27 in the middle of chapter 3. It’s been too long since I bought it so I can’t return it and now I am not able to read it given that I will have to start so far into it. I was really looking forward to reading it.
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Highly recommended

This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. The plot flowed very well and the romantic sub plot fit in very nicely and wasn't over shadowed nor was it too much. It's a perfect read of a cute and action packed story and I could not put it down. I cant wait for the sequel.
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It arrived on the expected day

I liked that it came in great condition and arrived safely. I'm excited to read the book.
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Thoroughly Enjoyable...Couldn't Put it Down

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and honestly could not put it down. I finished it in a day. I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 only because the beginning was a little clunky and I felt there were a couple inconsistencies, but overall very well written, well flushed out characters, and a good storyline. I grew up on Tamora Pierce books and this definitely reminded me of her universe, with the added benefit of a romance between women and a normalization of same-sex relationships. Very accurate horse representations as well, which is always refreshing to read. All in all, I highly recommend this book and I am excitedly awaiting the sequel!