Of Fire And Stars - Audrey Coulthurst

Summary:

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.

My opinion: This is the book from my december 2016 Owlcrate. It belongs to the box with the theme "Epic". It was a fast read for me but I'm not a fan of this story. After all this book has the problem that often comes with YA novels. There is a young lady who has a special gift which she can't control and she falls in love with someone who is hard to reach. And then suddenly, when it's necessary, she learns to use the gift without any tutorial. You know what I mean? I miss the world building. The reader is thrown in the situation without any knowledge about politics, culture or the magic system. It is okay to start a story like this but then you have to give explanations little by little.
Overall the story stays way to surficial for me. Altough I like Denna and even more Mare. I like her strong character and her will to prove herself. But that's not enough.
Too many things happen without a real reason (For example: Why does Denna have to learn riding so fast? I can#T see any reason why she cannot do that after the coronation!) and as a dot on the I it was very easy to identify the traitor long before he got revealed. It would have been great to get to know something about the other countries like Zumorda. The basic concept was really great.

But there was something I noticed while reading and what I really adore about: The fact that Denna and Mare fall in love with each other is only a problem because Denna is betrothed to Thandi, not because they are two girls. This world seems to accept homosexual relationships and there is no reason to discuss it. I like that! More authors should write such storys. Even disregarding those facts, the romance was the best part of the book. I love the slow development between Denna and Mare. From antipathy to friendship and finally love. Not this "love at first sight" thing, you know?

All in all I can say that it was really okay to read this book, but I miss too much. The world "epic" is definitely too big for this book.

The cover is gorgeous. The leaves in the back, the little stars and the two girls that hold their hands. It matches with the story very well and so does the title. You will understand it, when you read the book. :)

Would you read this book again? No, rather not.