Reviews

Of Ice and Shadows by Audrey Coulthurst

ir_sharp2's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bibliophilicwitch's review

adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

More mystery to solve though less predictable and more interesting and continued lovely moments of the love between the two main characters create a nice sequel. Because the romance is a large point of this story we had to have conflict. Unfortunately, it is written to be due to not enough communication to work through conflict of expectations though both characters knew the expectations of the other so the creation of the conflict made no sense. This was a whole new level of the miscommunication trope. The mystery makes sense and we get a few twists before reaching the conclusion which was nice. The resolution of the romantic conflict was also sweet and satisfying.

megamind's review

3.0

I have such mixed feelings about these books, but this one is better than the first in my opinion. The beginning was a a struggle to get through but once the viewpoints became more separated I enjoyed it a lot more. The world building was so much better in this book, and I just wished the villain had had more buildup.

monycadianne's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

tortello_alla_zucca's review

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

ejspiese's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Much more action than the first book, which helps with the pacing issues I found in book. I enjoyed the magic system, world, and characters, but I’m a little disappointed with some unanswered questions. The ending felt a bit rushed, and I wish there was a bit more time given to the grief characters must feel at times but is mostly glossed over. Overall though, enjoyable and a step up from book 1. 

eletricjb's review

3.0

I really like the world Coulthurst has created, I think, and I'm interested to learn more about magic/the gods and Havemont. Denna is pretty okay, and so are various supporting characters. But god, Mare is so fucking stupid. And the writing itself is...lackluster at best. I did a lot of skimming to find out what happened in this one. Probably not gonna read a third one, if it appears.

boo1's review

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

makennas_'s review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

4.5

ameserole's review

3.0

Not bad.. but I liked the first book a lot more.

Of Ice and Shadows was a nice sequel for me to listen to. It was honestly more of background noise than anything but I really did try to focus on it. In it, we still have the same princesses that we fell in love with in the first book: Mare and Denna. Yet, there was something missing in this book.

Not going to lie, nothing really happened in this. At least for me because things didn't start to get interesting until the very end of the book. Each princess just felt different to me in this one. It's like they were on some big or grand adventure.. but nothing really happened? Yes, magic needed to be tamed and they needed to be together till the very end. 'Cause ya know.. they love each other and shit.

..but I just wasn't invested this time around. I tried but they these two felt so boring. I honestly wished that the ending could've redeem them or the entire book but it just wasn't meant to be. Maybe next time folks.