This story, being a prequel, gives us insight to the Zumordan Queen as a young woman, and how she came to power. Inkmistress (2018) is a prequel to the Of Fire and Stars duo. This is a world where both Denna and Mare’s strengths can be appreciated. This is a sharp contrast to Of Fire and Stars, where the King, the Prince and the other council members rely on their titles instead of their merits. They go to the Zumordan Queen, who essentially has a court full of powerful intelligent women ruling the kingdom. I appreciated the women power in this book. They are both devastated to leave each other, but find it is a necessity. When Denna’s magic gets out of control, she realizes that she needs to leave Mare to get the training she needs from the Queen of Zumorda. Denna must find a way to control her magic, and Mare must broker peace with a warring kingdom. Fans of the first book had to wait three years for the sequel, but it was worth it. Of Ice and Shadows (newly released August 2019) starts where Of Fire and Stars leaves off. The trouble doesn’t arise because Denna falls in love with a girl, it’s that she’s betrothed to her brother, trying to hold their kingdoms together and keep her magic a secret. They are all fluid to some degree, and in this world Denna could just as easily been betrothed to Mare – it just didn’t work out that way. One thing that Coulthurst did beautifully throughout all of her books was make the characters sexuality a non-issue. Mare gives Denna riding lessons, and the two hit it off, leaving Denna feeling that she would rather marry the Princess than the Prince. Once Denna gets to Mynaria she meets Mare, the Princess of Mynaria, who is worldlywise, and would rather spend her days in the horse stables than dealing in on politics.
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