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.🥰🥰🥰

Ending was lacking

The issue I had was the ending felt very rushed. The love story as a whole between the two books I thought was okay. I stuck it through to hopefully get the happy ending I wanted for the characters.
I just think unfortunately the story lost itself along the way and the Author realized that they needed to end the book and tie up everything they introduced.

-SPOILER-

The battle Dena faced to secure her place along side the queen that had been what her character had been working toward and dreading for over half the book was very fast and there wasn’t much to it at all. It was a few pages worth of quick fighting.
The end battle for Kartasha was so fast and nondescript that I actually had to rewind to understand that the battle ended so suddenly and easily against what had been built to be an all powerful demigod.

I thought the narrators did a good job and I really enjoyed them personally.

I need a third book!

I love how animated the narration is. Like the first book, the story is entertaining. It even brought tears to my eyes at times. Definitely worth purchasing.

Holy Hell what a wonderful book!

Okay, just finished the second book of this series and I’m ready for a 3,4,5,6 and so on. What wonderful character and world development for mare and denna. I loved how this book simultaneously grew the world and its characters setting them on paths toward becoming more well rounded individuals. I’m in love with the world and need to get to the bottom of what’s happening in the desert with the plot to repopulate it with magic. I loved all the side characters and felt that they were developed and aided the story. The voice actors were brilliant and brought these characters to life with their superb acting skills. I have yet to read inkmistress but will be doing so ASAP! It is my greatest hope that this author continues in this world because it truly is a treasure reading her work. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing your work into this world. Thank you for choosing to tell such a beautiful story with queer characters. Best to you on your writers journey. I do hope this comment finds your eyes and inspires you.

Refreshingly good writing for wlw lit

Solidly developed and well defined characters, flawed and likeable. Just enough twists to the standard fantasy romance formula to stay invested in side characters and side quests.
The in-universe variation that lady lovin ain't no big thang was odd getting used to, but was nice after I did. The gays fleeing homophobia plot line gets old and this allowed a for more focus on the actual relationship. Thoroughly enjoyed! =D

Amazing story

Both narrators really embody the characters. The story is refreshing. Edge of my seat. Love!

Leaving the success of the first book in the dust!

well I must say I was not only hesitant to begin, I also was weary during the first few chapters that this story would not be a strong follow up. boy was I wrong! this surpassed the first book in both the political turmoil of the kingdoms in this tale, and the romance between the 2 princesses.

not expected after book 1

missing most of the amazing elements from book 1, namely romance and interesting side characters

i loved this story and its world but

this book series is currently a favorite and the world building was amazing. the dialogue was impeccable. this book also has probably the best performance narration I've heard in a while. but... and light spoilers ahead the ending felt so anticlimactic it felt like it was just too easy to defeat the villain at the end i get the idea behind it but It was just not very well executed. I felt like the pacing just happened to quickly like at one moment someone dies dramatically and the next moment suddenly the fights over "god" is defeated in the span of a few sentences

Great adventure

An fun tale, and great ending. Looking forward to a third book in the future!