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annineamundsen's review against another edition
5.0
Bisexual main character and lots of queer background characters. I think I liked this plot more than of fire and stars/of ice and shadows. I really liked the vibe of the story and Asra's voice and pov. Learning more about the magic and how it works was very nice, + good world building.
daniel26's review against another edition
1.0
Synonym for trash: rubbish, dump, garbage, inkmistress.
This bored the shit out of me, all the overwhelming fantasy terms is one thing, but the writing was so bland. I was completely baited into reading all of this thinking it was some fantasy wlw. I absolutely do not mind that Asra is bisexual, i love that for her, but everything felt so forced.
It felt like i was FORCED to read it after getting through the first 80 pages, the characters were MAD PLAIN. It felt like i was licking paper the entire time. Picking this book up felt like i had to run up mountains, there was no damn way i could do it and in fact once i started this and FINISHED IT, i found myself asking, “why the hell did i do this”.
What i hated most was the fact that authors tend to write about how the girl realises in the end “oh i never loved her in the first place”?????? “i met Hal and thats true love and bla bla bla”. Girl. put your pen down. Pick a path, choose good bisexual representation and dont undermine it, or just dont write things like “i realise i never loved her in the end”.
This entire read was DISS-appointing. seriously tho, it managed to make me question what made me walk to the store, look for it, realise it was the last book on the shelf, purchase it, make happy noises, go home, read it, get disappointed, and realises why it was the last book on the shelf. It was the only book. No one restocked it for a reason.
This bored the shit out of me, all the overwhelming fantasy terms is one thing, but the writing was so bland. I was completely baited into reading all of this thinking it was some fantasy wlw. I absolutely do not mind that Asra is bisexual, i love that for her, but everything felt so forced.
It felt like i was FORCED to read it after getting through the first 80 pages, the characters were MAD PLAIN. It felt like i was licking paper the entire time. Picking this book up felt like i had to run up mountains, there was no damn way i could do it and in fact once i started this and FINISHED IT, i found myself asking, “why the hell did i do this”.
What i hated most was the fact that authors tend to write about how the girl realises in the end “oh i never loved her in the first place”?????? “i met Hal and thats true love and bla bla bla”. Girl. put your pen down. Pick a path, choose good bisexual representation and dont undermine it, or just dont write things like “i realise i never loved her in the end”.
This entire read was DISS-appointing. seriously tho, it managed to make me question what made me walk to the store, look for it, realise it was the last book on the shelf, purchase it, make happy noises, go home, read it, get disappointed, and realises why it was the last book on the shelf. It was the only book. No one restocked it for a reason.
elliereads97's review against another edition
3.0
seeing as [b:Of Fire and Stars|25164304|Of Fire and Stars (Of Fire and Stars, #1)|Audrey Coulthurst|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1457102645s/25164304.jpg|44868262] was one of my top favorite reads last year, i miiiiiiiight have gone into this with unreasonably high expectations. which is 100% my own fault.
one main criticism i remember seeing a lot of for of fire and stars was the plot's predictability, which i agree with, to an extent. but i connected so deeply with denna and mare and loved them both so much that honestly? i didn't even care. however, in inkmistress, i don't really care very much about any of the characters other than, and the plot is even more predictable.
my main disappointment with this book was (and i hope this isn't too spoiler-y) that i went in expecting a lesbian romance and was REALLY jonesing for some lady love, whereas most of the romance in this is between asra and a dude. he's a great dude, sure, and of course i love that asra is bisexual. i don't think she shouldn't be bisexual. she's fabulous in terms of bisexual representation. personally, i was just really looking forward to an f/f romance (which is how the book is marketed), and i felt kinda disappointed. i feel like that might have colored my opinion of this overall.
regardless, coulthurst's prose is absolutely beautiful and has gotten even better since her first novel. all of the nature scenes made my actual life, and also gave me the irresistible urge to go play skyrim?? i will be a reader of coulthurst's for the rest of my life and i urge other fantasy writers to take tips from her on writing diverse and unique fantasy.
one main criticism i remember seeing a lot of for of fire and stars was the plot's predictability, which i agree with, to an extent. but i connected so deeply with denna and mare and loved them both so much that honestly? i didn't even care. however, in inkmistress, i don't really care very much about any of the characters other than
Spoiler
ina, the literal villain, who is my manipulative bloodthirsty evil dragon queenmy main disappointment with this book was (and i hope this isn't too spoiler-y) that i went in expecting a lesbian romance and was REALLY jonesing for some lady love, whereas most of the romance in this is between asra and a dude. he's a great dude, sure, and of course i love that asra is bisexual. i don't think she shouldn't be bisexual. she's fabulous in terms of bisexual representation. personally, i was just really looking forward to an f/f romance (which is how the book is marketed), and i felt kinda disappointed. i feel like that might have colored my opinion of this overall.
regardless, coulthurst's prose is absolutely beautiful and has gotten even better since her first novel. all of the nature scenes made my actual life, and also gave me the irresistible urge to go play skyrim?? i will be a reader of coulthurst's for the rest of my life and i urge other fantasy writers to take tips from her on writing diverse and unique fantasy.
leannecroft's review against another edition
3.0
A brilliant book with great representation. But I feel it could have had more substance like book 1 did. Still really enjoyed the read though and would still recommend .
therese_nook68's review against another edition
3.0
I ended up giving this book a 3/5 stars.
I loved this book, I thought it was a great second novel, but a good prequel to Of Fire and Stars. We definitely got to see more worldbuilding and stronger attempts at fleshing out a magic system.
I thought the representation was done wonderfully and from reading the acknowledgements, Audrey Coulthurst does mention that she did a lot of research into making sure that the representation was done right: there are mentions of gender fluid characters in the book, black characters, lesbian and bisexual characters as well. So, she did really well on that front and I thoroughly enjoyed reading her characters.
Like I said, I liked that she did try to create more of a magic system that we saw in the first book, it's not the best magic system, but I think there's room for improvement and I can't wait to see how this magic system continues to develop in the sequel.
The biggest thing that annoyed me was that I couldn't invest myself in the characters. I found them all varying degrees of annoying and the emotional attachment wasn't there. I waited for the moment where I could get attached to the characters. But instead, the characters were so hard to get invested in and I couldn't bring myself to feel anything toward their problems or their struggles.
Overall, I did enjoy this book because it was so diverse and it did add more to a world I genuinely enjoyed reading the first time, but the characters just fell kind of flat for me.
I loved this book, I thought it was a great second novel, but a good prequel to Of Fire and Stars. We definitely got to see more worldbuilding and stronger attempts at fleshing out a magic system.
I thought the representation was done wonderfully and from reading the acknowledgements, Audrey Coulthurst does mention that she did a lot of research into making sure that the representation was done right: there are mentions of gender fluid characters in the book, black characters, lesbian and bisexual characters as well. So, she did really well on that front and I thoroughly enjoyed reading her characters.
Like I said, I liked that she did try to create more of a magic system that we saw in the first book, it's not the best magic system, but I think there's room for improvement and I can't wait to see how this magic system continues to develop in the sequel.
The biggest thing that annoyed me was that I couldn't invest myself in the characters. I found them all varying degrees of annoying and the emotional attachment wasn't there. I waited for the moment where I could get attached to the characters. But instead, the characters were so hard to get invested in and I couldn't bring myself to feel anything toward their problems or their struggles.
Overall, I did enjoy this book because it was so diverse and it did add more to a world I genuinely enjoyed reading the first time, but the characters just fell kind of flat for me.
moh's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
Lovely book! It took me a little while to get oriented, but then it was magical, exciting, and queer (in short, everything I hope for in a fantasy).
Lovely book! It took me a little while to get oriented, but then it was magical, exciting, and queer (in short, everything I hope for in a fantasy).
pretyrekless's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
estanceveyrac's review against another edition
5.0
Two of the main characters are bi (or at least have romantic partners of several genders), that was really nice to see, I thought the rep was well done.
I loved it even more than I liked Of Fire and Stars, I hurt with Asra, the characters were well crafted and the intrigue rich & surprising. I especially appreciated the lore aspect of it.
I loved it even more than I liked Of Fire and Stars, I hurt with Asra, the characters were well crafted and the intrigue rich & surprising. I especially appreciated the lore aspect of it.
angelica87's review against another edition
3.0
Slow start but Fast Finish
I had a hard time getting into this book at first as the motivations and the goals of the main characters kept changing. Some things were really rushed and I feel like some of the emotional moments would have felt better earned if it had been spread out over a trilogy. But aside from that, I loved the world building and the magic system. I loved how there was a price for magic and how the characters were flawed and learned from those flaws. I was impressed by the story this author told and I will check out her other books.
I had a hard time getting into this book at first as the motivations and the goals of the main characters kept changing. Some things were really rushed and I feel like some of the emotional moments would have felt better earned if it had been spread out over a trilogy. But aside from that, I loved the world building and the magic system. I loved how there was a price for magic and how the characters were flawed and learned from those flaws. I was impressed by the story this author told and I will check out her other books.
anna_brookover's review against another edition
3.0
tw: blood, kidnappings, death
this book is certainly interesting. the bi representation was refreshing as always and having wlw and mlm couples without their sole story being their struggles with homophobia. it also did a good job showing that lgbtq+ relationships can be toxic. a lot of times, it feels like wlw and mlm relationships are glorified, almost as if they can’t be unhealthy and the author did a really good job in showing that that isn’t always the case.
this book is a prequel to of fire and stars, but it definitely could be a stand alone. i haven’t red of fire and stars because it’s next, but from what i can tell this story is set a pretty good while before of fire and stars, which is fine. it also means this book could be a stand alone, as it ends in a resolution pretty much tied in a near little bow.
i think my biggest issue with this book is that it just didn’t draw me in all that much and that’s why i just gave it 3 stars. it was just alright. it wasn’t bad by any means, and it was definitely entertaining, but it wasn’t one of those books that you cant stop reading.
i did enjoy the love story that was a big part of the story. the development of it was really good. they started as strangers and you really got to see them grow together.
all around, it was just alright. some of it felt rushed and it seemed like a lot could’ve been expanded a lot more. the ending especially felt very rushed. but all that being said, overall it was a good read and i enjoyed it.
this book is certainly interesting. the bi representation was refreshing as always and having wlw and mlm couples without their sole story being their struggles with homophobia. it also did a good job showing that lgbtq+ relationships can be toxic. a lot of times, it feels like wlw and mlm relationships are glorified, almost as if they can’t be unhealthy and the author did a really good job in showing that that isn’t always the case.
this book is a prequel to of fire and stars, but it definitely could be a stand alone. i haven’t red of fire and stars because it’s next, but from what i can tell this story is set a pretty good while before of fire and stars, which is fine. it also means this book could be a stand alone, as it ends in a resolution pretty much tied in a near little bow.
i think my biggest issue with this book is that it just didn’t draw me in all that much and that’s why i just gave it 3 stars. it was just alright. it wasn’t bad by any means, and it was definitely entertaining, but it wasn’t one of those books that you cant stop reading.
i did enjoy the love story that was a big part of the story. the development of it was really good. they started as strangers and you really got to see them grow together.
all around, it was just alright. some of it felt rushed and it seemed like a lot could’ve been expanded a lot more. the ending especially felt very rushed. but all that being said, overall it was a good read and i enjoyed it.