Of Fire and Stars

DNF - PG 17 (roughly)

Why?

I listened to the audiobook while I was at work (which is why the page count is a rough estimate) until I couldn't put up with it any more.

First of all, I disliked the narrators - both of them. So, because we deal with royalty, they both, naturally have to have a British accent. The first one was okay (Denna's) if a little odd in pronouncing things sometimes. The second one (Mare's) sounded more like a pirate accent than a princess. So, that contributed a little (but only a little) to my problems.

I went into this book having read several one or two star reviews, so I knew what the common complaints were. Or, rather, I knew that the most common complaint was lack of world building. In was still interested in the story - though I don't know if that was despite or because of that complaint. I love fantasy books, but I hate the habit so many fantasy authors has of infodumps and page upon page of boring nothingness and what reads more like stroking their own ego over ‘look how awesome my world building is.' I don't need to know (or, honestly, want to know) what the economy is like, what the politic situation is ect. unless it directly pertains to the story. (I read The Fellowship of the Ring and I truly believe it was the most boring fantasy book I've ever read.)

So, I knew what I was getting into. In fact, I was reading the book as a romance as opposed to expecting anything else from it. But, I have to believe in and support the main couple for a romance story to work for me. Instead, it was the romance that made me drop the book.

Let's set the scene: Denna and Mare's second meeting, first introduction, and we already have Denna feeling things (tm).

We are, for the first time, inside Mare's (very pirate sounding) head. Denna seems to talk a lot when she gets nervous and Mare thinks (lightly paraphrasing) ‘As soon as she started talking, I quit listening.'

...

If you like the more antagonistic, enemies-to-lovers romances, you might not have a problem here, but I have a hair trigger when it comes to lack of respect between love interests and one being dismissive and not listening to the other is a big one for me.

(Also, I do have an early impression of Mare that she will be dismissive of Denna because Denna isn't as tomboyish (aka: not like the other girls) as Mare is.)