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chronicallybookish's Reviews (1.53k)
This book gave me a similar feel to The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson. I quite enjoyed it over all.
Of Fire and Stars follows a split POV between Mare and Denna. Denna is a foreign princess betrothed to the crown prince of Mynaria, and Mare is the princess of Mynaria, but they fall in love, despite Denna being promised to her brother.
It contains, secret magic, war and politics, and a breathtaking slow-burn romance.
I absolutely adored Mare and Denna’s romance, and it never felt too rushed or too slow for me. The plot also captivated me. Though it was slow at times, it never dragged or bored me. The ending did feel a tad rushed and chaotic, and some things seemed to get wrapped up in a bow a little too neatly to be believable, and I saw most of the plot twists coming from miles away. None of these things particularly bothered me, though.
The one major problem I had with the book was the secondary and side characters. Mare and Denna were well developed and I had an easy time connecting with their narratives and they felt fully fleshed out and individual. The same can’t be said for any of the other characters. The only other character I formed any attachment to was Nils, and minorly, Ellaeni. Everyone else just felt as if they were there to play their role in moving the story forward and nothing more. They lacked dimension, motivation, and character. They were very shallow and two dimensional.
This didn’t take away from the story majorly for me, but I definitely think, had the side characters been fleshed out more, Of Fire and Stars would have been one of the best novels I’ve read and an easy 5 star rating.
Over all, it definitely has flaws, and you can tell it's a debut novel, but I definitely still highly recommend it if you’re looking for a sweet, romantic fantasy, or if you’re a fan of The Remnant Chronicles.
Of Fire and Stars follows a split POV between Mare and Denna. Denna is a foreign princess betrothed to the crown prince of Mynaria, and Mare is the princess of Mynaria, but they fall in love, despite Denna being promised to her brother.
It contains, secret magic, war and politics, and a breathtaking slow-burn romance.
I absolutely adored Mare and Denna’s romance, and it never felt too rushed or too slow for me. The plot also captivated me. Though it was slow at times, it never dragged or bored me. The ending did feel a tad rushed and chaotic, and some things seemed to get wrapped up in a bow a little too neatly to be believable, and I saw most of the plot twists coming from miles away. None of these things particularly bothered me, though.
The one major problem I had with the book was the secondary and side characters. Mare and Denna were well developed and I had an easy time connecting with their narratives and they felt fully fleshed out and individual. The same can’t be said for any of the other characters. The only other character I formed any attachment to was Nils, and minorly, Ellaeni. Everyone else just felt as if they were there to play their role in moving the story forward and nothing more. They lacked dimension, motivation, and character. They were very shallow and two dimensional.
This didn’t take away from the story majorly for me, but I definitely think, had the side characters been fleshed out more, Of Fire and Stars would have been one of the best novels I’ve read and an easy 5 star rating.
Over all, it definitely has flaws, and you can tell it's a debut novel, but I definitely still highly recommend it if you’re looking for a sweet, romantic fantasy, or if you’re a fan of The Remnant Chronicles.
Quick Stats
Overall: 4.5 stars maybe 5 idk
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 4.5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Diversity: 4.5/5
~
Let me start by saying: Wow. I was totally absorbed into this book. I read the whole thing in one sitting. This is the first book by Tess Sharpe that I’ve read, but I have another of her books on my shelf that I cannot wait to read now.
This book is a bit hard to describe genre-wise. It’s like a light thriller, maybe? There are mystery aspects, but more in the “what’s gonna happen next” sense, not “who dunnit” vibes. We know from the start who the bad guys are. We don’t particularly know why they do it, but that’s not a big motivator for the story. It’s mostly: We have to get out, and learning Nora’s story and about “the girls she’s been”. It’s got a good mix of suspense without being stressful—I have anxiety, so thrillers tend to stress me out too much. TGIB kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat, but I never got too anxious.
Now let’s talk one of my favorite aspects of the book: the diversity! This book has LG(B)TQ+ rep as well as chronic illness rep! The book follows mainly Nora, the narrator, and her two best friends, Iris and Wes. Nora and Iris are dating (Nora is bi, Iris’s sexuality isn’t explicitly mentioned).
As for the chronic illness and disability rep—Iris has endometriosis and is on her period during the book. Her endo isn’t a big factor of the story, but it’s handled pretty much perfectly when it does come up. As someone who’s chronically ill and disabled, I am obsessed with finding good rep in YA. I’d heard good things about Tess Sharpe’s first book “Far From You” where the main character is disabled. I believe she has chronic pain. But I wasn’t expecting it from this book, so when Iris’s endo became a part of the story, I was thrilled. Because seriously, Tess Sharpe writes this rep beautifully.
“I should’ve told her she could stay home this morning, that I had it handled. But she made me promise not to tiptoe around her endometriosis and how sometimes her pain changes our plans, so I try not to fuss when she insists she’s okay.” (pg 54-55 uncorrected proof).
This is one of the first times Iris’s endometriosis is addressed, and it’s great. It shows that disabled people aren’t weak, that we don’t need to be treated like we’re fragile, and it shows Nora respecting that. As the book goes on, we get more of Iris handling her pain like a champ, suffering realistically, and even, in a few cases using it to her advantage. I cannot stress how much I adore Iris and Tess Sharpe for giving us the rep we desperately need.
Please, just read this book.
But on a serious note, I really loved this book, and I highly, highly recommend it!
I gotta go read every other book she’s written now.
Overall: 4.5 stars maybe 5 idk
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 4.5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Diversity: 4.5/5
~
Let me start by saying: Wow. I was totally absorbed into this book. I read the whole thing in one sitting. This is the first book by Tess Sharpe that I’ve read, but I have another of her books on my shelf that I cannot wait to read now.
This book is a bit hard to describe genre-wise. It’s like a light thriller, maybe? There are mystery aspects, but more in the “what’s gonna happen next” sense, not “who dunnit” vibes. We know from the start who the bad guys are. We don’t particularly know why they do it, but that’s not a big motivator for the story. It’s mostly: We have to get out, and learning Nora’s story and about “the girls she’s been”. It’s got a good mix of suspense without being stressful—I have anxiety, so thrillers tend to stress me out too much. TGIB kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat, but I never got too anxious.
Now let’s talk one of my favorite aspects of the book: the diversity! This book has LG(B)TQ+ rep as well as chronic illness rep! The book follows mainly Nora, the narrator, and her two best friends, Iris and Wes. Nora and Iris are dating (Nora is bi, Iris’s sexuality isn’t explicitly mentioned).
As for the chronic illness and disability rep—Iris has endometriosis and is on her period during the book. Her endo isn’t a big factor of the story, but it’s handled pretty much perfectly when it does come up. As someone who’s chronically ill and disabled, I am obsessed with finding good rep in YA. I’d heard good things about Tess Sharpe’s first book “Far From You” where the main character is disabled. I believe she has chronic pain. But I wasn’t expecting it from this book, so when Iris’s endo became a part of the story, I was thrilled. Because seriously, Tess Sharpe writes this rep beautifully.
“I should’ve told her she could stay home this morning, that I had it handled. But she made me promise not to tiptoe around her endometriosis and how sometimes her pain changes our plans, so I try not to fuss when she insists she’s okay.” (pg 54-55 uncorrected proof).
This is one of the first times Iris’s endometriosis is addressed, and it’s great. It shows that disabled people aren’t weak, that we don’t need to be treated like we’re fragile, and it shows Nora respecting that. As the book goes on, we get more of Iris handling her pain like a champ, suffering realistically, and even, in a few cases using it to her advantage. I cannot stress how much I adore Iris and Tess Sharpe for giving us the rep we desperately need.
Please, just read this book.
But on a serious note, I really loved this book, and I highly, highly recommend it!
I gotta go read every other book she’s written now.
4.5 stars
~
Wow. I mean, I was expecting it to be good, but it definitely didn’t disappoint.
Patron Saints follows Jay, a Filipino-American teen as he returns to his roots and searches for the truth behind his cousin’s killing as a part of the Philippines’ war on drugs.
I must admit, I was nervous going into it because it’s called Patron Saints of Nothing. Patron saints are a Catholic belief, and as a Catholic, I have seen lots of bad and insulting representation in YA fiction. However, all talk of Catholicism and religion in general was very respectful and well thought out. In the story Jay talks about being raised Catholic and enjoying Mass, but that his family has fallen away from the faith. He does express a little remorse at that at one point but overall doesn’t seem interested in returning to the faith—which is perfectly fine! I love that even though he doesn’t always agree with the Church or believe in it, he still sees the beauty in the prayer and tradition.
Jun, Jay’s cousin who died, expresses distaste for the Church in letters he wrote to Jay when they were younger, but even this is done respectfully. Ribay showed that you can disagree with a religion and still be respectful towards it and that made me love the book all the more.
It also had beautiful, sometimes heartbreaking descriptions into life in the Philippines. I learned a lot from this book and definitely had a shift in my perspective. I wholeheartedly recommend this book!
~
Wow. I mean, I was expecting it to be good, but it definitely didn’t disappoint.
Patron Saints follows Jay, a Filipino-American teen as he returns to his roots and searches for the truth behind his cousin’s killing as a part of the Philippines’ war on drugs.
I must admit, I was nervous going into it because it’s called Patron Saints of Nothing. Patron saints are a Catholic belief, and as a Catholic, I have seen lots of bad and insulting representation in YA fiction. However, all talk of Catholicism and religion in general was very respectful and well thought out. In the story Jay talks about being raised Catholic and enjoying Mass, but that his family has fallen away from the faith. He does express a little remorse at that at one point but overall doesn’t seem interested in returning to the faith—which is perfectly fine! I love that even though he doesn’t always agree with the Church or believe in it, he still sees the beauty in the prayer and tradition.
Jun, Jay’s cousin who died, expresses distaste for the Church in letters he wrote to Jay when they were younger, but even this is done respectfully. Ribay showed that you can disagree with a religion and still be respectful towards it and that made me love the book all the more.
It also had beautiful, sometimes heartbreaking descriptions into life in the Philippines. I learned a lot from this book and definitely had a shift in my perspective. I wholeheartedly recommend this book!
