Of Ice and Shadows

By: Audrey Coulthurst

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, Moira Quirk

Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

The long-awaited sequel to the acclaimed YA fantasy Of Fire and Stars! Mare and Denna travel to a new and dangerous kingdom where Denna will be trained to tame her magic by a mysterious queen who is not all she seems. Perfect for fans of Malinda Lo and Kristin Cashore.

Princesses Denna and Mare are in love and together at last - only to face a new set of dangers.

Mare just wants to settle down with the girl she loves, which would be easier if Denna weren’t gifted with forbidden and volatile fire magic. Denna must learn to control her powers, which means traveling in secret to the kingdom of Zumorda, where she can seek training without fear of persecution. Determined to help, Mare has agreed to serve as an ambassador as a cover for their journey.

But just as Mare and Denna arrive in Zumorda, an attack on a border town in Mynaria changes everything. Mare’s diplomatic mission is now urgent: She must quickly broker an alliance with the queen of Zumorda to protect her homeland. However, the queen has no interest in allying with other kingdoms; it’s Denna’s untamed but powerful magic that catches her eye. The queen offers Denna a place among her elite trainees - an opportunity that would force her to choose between her magic and Mare.

As Denna’s powers grow stronger, Mare struggles to be the ambassador her kingdom needs. By making unconventional friends, her knowledge of Zumorda and its people grow, and so, too, do her suspicions about who is truly behind the attacks on Zumorda and her homeland.

As rising tensions and unexpected betrayals put Mare and Denna in jeopardy and dangerous enemies emerge on all sides, can they protect their love and save their kingdoms?

©2019 Audrey Coulthurst (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

I LOVE my Princesses😘🥰😍

Loved how Denna and Mare evolved to much stronger princesses. They loved each other when they're together but love much more when they're not. My heart ached and blossomed with every emotions the characters felt, thanks to the talented narrators. The story make me want for more of Denna and Mare's adventure, will definitely wait for the third book.🥰🥰🥰

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A pleasurable read, like it's predecessor.

Short of some writing "faux pas" that were also present in the first installment of this series, including unnecessary redundancy of how the characters felt about one particular thing or another throughout the book, and maybe some narration issues that I think should've been cleared from the beginning, such as how to pronounce a character's name, this series is truly unique and clever. Each book (the first I read, this one listened) kept me on the edge of my seat. They pull at your emotions in the same way the characters' are pulled with each new turn. Even though there were some similarities between plot formulas used for each book, each of the characters are different and show growth throughout. The two main characters also remain a favorite of mine in terms of fictional couples. I was also thrilled to see Moira Quirk and Saskia Maarleveld as narrators for each character, as both are very talented.

I think some people might be put off by the story's climax, but if you think about it for a minute, it was a wise decision on the author's part considering the story's overarching conflict (validity of magic vs non-magic in battle), looping everything together.

The stories as a whole are not without issues, but I've never found time spent on these stories a waste. (Which is an unusual place to be in.) I mean this as a complement to the author, and do hope she continues the series as she's found a fan in me.

A worthy sequel

While perhaps not so gripping as the first book, it’s a solid follow up and the strength of the narration carries this listen when the story itself flags a little. The prequel, released between these two main volumes, adds a lot of context for this arc of the story. I am eager to continue following the adventures of Denna and Mare.

Happy gay ending!

I loved it almost as much as the first book. I cant wait for more!

Great series

Loved everything about the series. The character development and the world building were fantastic! I only wished there had been more fluff or maybe something a lil riskier ;)
It broke my heart that the main characters spent so much time apart, but what's a good love story without a lil angst

interesting series

enjoyable listen. I could see more stories written in this world. inkmisstress is required to read before this just because if the backstory.

Satisfied

I was worried that this would just be a bridge book and not really have a resolution. I was pleasantly surprised that it will probably have additional books in the series, but there is enough resolution at the end of this book to not make me bitter.

I was mixed about how much of the story I enjoyed with the two main characters apart from each other, but it did work well enough for it. It's worth it to listen to it now, and no issue with the narrator.