Of Ice and Shadows (Of Fire and Stars #2) by Audrey Coulthurst

Of Ice and Shadows by Audrey Coulthurst

My Rating: ★★★

After faking her death, Denna and Mare are finally back together and seeking help with Denna’s magic abilities. After concocting a cover story, Denna must pretend to be Mare’s maid during their long journey to Zumorda. Once they arrive, they discover that Zumorda is very different from the world they’re from. Magic abilities are prevalent and used open in everyday life, which is something Denna and Mare are not used to. While Denna hopes to find someone willing to train her, Mare has started to wonder if they could just strip Denna of her abilities. Unfortunately for them, the political climate starts heating up as they start to discover their personal differences.

I have been a fan of this series since the first book, so I was very excited when we got a release date for the official second installment in the series. I absolutely love the characters from the first book as well as the prequel, so it was great to see Denna and Mare encounter one of the characters from the prequel.

This time around, the pair are in a new setting, so we got to meet a whole new cast of characters. I absolutely loved some of the new characters, especially Alek and Fadeyka. I would love to see Tristan and Evie again as well as see them developed a lot more than they were this time around. There are so many great and interesting characters throughout the story that I wish they were real people.

A lot of the story involved Denna and Mare exiting the honeymoon phase of their relationship. I knew they would work through it, but it was still great to see the ups and downs of their relationship and how they would become more solid as a couple in the end. Both characters grew a lot throughout the story, so that was very exciting as well.

Unfortunately, I did find the plot a little clunky at times. I wondered how the prequel was going to take form in the second installment, so that was interesting to see, but it seemed like a few aspects were shoehorned in. Much of the book seemed to be preparing for the next installment in the series, so there was a lot of build up only for it to fizzle out very quickly at the end. I also wish that the world building was a lot better once Denna and Mare got to Zumorda, especially from Denna’s perspective since she was a lot more open and understanding than Mare for much of the book. Regardless, I am looking forward to the next book and I hope that the issues I have with this installment gets sorted out.