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A review by ellariawrites
Of Ice and Shadows by Audrey Coulthurst
3.0
I'm not even sure where to start with this. I really liked this book, which is why I was disappointed when I got to the end. There is so much potential in this story, like in the first book, that just goes unused. And I could let it all slide if this was the second book in a trilogy, but apparently, this is the final book in a duology. My biggest problem is, once again, the worldbuilding. It feels like many of the things in this story, whether it be characters or locations, only exist to move the plot forward, not to make the world feel lived in. For example, it is revealed that Denna is a relative of the Queen. You would think this relationship would go somewhere but it never does. The Queen is some 200 years old. Denna could ask her every conceivable question she could ever have about the world and magic and the Queen herself but she doesn't. They don't even form anything beyond a surface level relationship. Another example, Denna discovers a library at the castle where she's training. Denna, who has wanted to learn about her magic her entire life, who wants to understand the world around her, who is constantly seeking answers, uses that library once in the entire story. Once! What was the point of the library?! This story introduces the seven pointed star and the idea that there were originally 7 gods instead of 6. The whole story Denna is trying to figure out the mystery of why the gods are gone and instead of finding answers in the library or talking to the Queen, she does nothing! This book left the reader with 100 questions and only gave 5 answers.
Let's talk about Mare for a moment. She was difficult to follow this story. Her problem was that she was constantly afraid of Denna getting hurt or killed and wanted to keep her by her side to protect her. Now, why does Mare have this fear? It's likely because her mother died when she was young. The first chapter of the story is Mare just talking about her mother. So, it would make sense to connect her fear of losing Denna to her pain of losing her mother, and using this conflict between them for Mare to have the chance to talk about her mother and subsequently deepen her relationship with Denna, right? Well, that never happens. The story has these huge, obvious pieces that are begging to be connected and expanded on, and the author just doesn't.
Lastly, the ending. The true antagonist of this story turns out to be this incredibly powerful demi-god who has been waiting for the chance to kill the Queen for centuries. The story sets itself up to have this huge battle between her and the Queen, likely the two strongest magic users this world has ever seen. (I'm sure you know where this is going.) They never meet. The Queen and her don't talk, don't confront, and she's killed because Mare somehow snuck behind her and stabbed her. The end. I just...it felt like the author just wanted the story to be over as quickly as possible and that lead to a quick and unsatisfying ending. This story would have been so much stronger and so much better if only the author took advantage of it. The best stories do a lot of showing and minimal telling. There is barely any showing and what is told was often never told as well as it could have been.
Let's talk about Mare for a moment. She was difficult to follow this story. Her problem was that she was constantly afraid of Denna getting hurt or killed and wanted to keep her by her side to protect her. Now, why does Mare have this fear? It's likely because her mother died when she was young. The first chapter of the story is Mare just talking about her mother. So, it would make sense to connect her fear of losing Denna to her pain of losing her mother, and using this conflict between them for Mare to have the chance to talk about her mother and subsequently deepen her relationship with Denna, right? Well, that never happens. The story has these huge, obvious pieces that are begging to be connected and expanded on, and the author just doesn't.
Lastly, the ending. The true antagonist of this story turns out to be this incredibly powerful demi-god who has been waiting for the chance to kill the Queen for centuries. The story sets itself up to have this huge battle between her and the Queen, likely the two strongest magic users this world has ever seen. (I'm sure you know where this is going.) They never meet. The Queen and her don't talk, don't confront, and she's killed because Mare somehow snuck behind her and stabbed her. The end. I just...it felt like the author just wanted the story to be over as quickly as possible and that lead to a quick and unsatisfying ending. This story would have been so much stronger and so much better if only the author took advantage of it. The best stories do a lot of showing and minimal telling. There is barely any showing and what is told was often never told as well as it could have been.