Review - Crown of Embers (Girl of Fire and Thorns, Book 2) by Rae Carson (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 416 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: September 18, 2012
ISBN: 978-0062026514
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book of the Girl of Fire and Thorns series
Source: Borrowed through Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

This was the second book in the Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy. The last book will be titled The Bitter Kingdom and is scheduled for a Fall 2013 release. This was an absolutely wonderful fantasy book and an excellent continuation of this series.

Elisa is struggling with her position as Queen of a country that has been torn by war and is struggling to recover. She follows the power of her Godstone to go in search of more power to help her kingdom; all the while fleeing assassins. Accompanying her is the steadfast Hector along with others.

Elisa learns a lot about herself and what it means to be Queen and grows a lot throughout the story. You see hints of the laziness that Elisa showed in the beginning of the first book in this series. Elisa is kind of enjoying her status as hero of the realm but not really stepping up in her role as Queen. It takes a quest for power initiated by her Godstone to teach Elisa to be the ruler she is meant to be. Elisa is so human and tries so hard. She is smart, but lazy at times. It was wonderful to watch her grow in this book.

Elisa’s main love interest in this book is Hector. Hector is an intriguing character and we learn a lot more back story about him in this book. He is brave and steadfast. The romance that develops between him and Elisa is somewhat star-crossed, yet oh so very sweet. Their relationship is based on so much friendship and trust that it was a joy to read about.

The other characters surrounding Elisa are all intriguing, interesting, and have stories of their own woven into the story. They are all very well done.

This is an intricate and well thought out world. I love the hints we get throughout the book of what the world used to be before Elisa’s people arrived. There is a story behind that that I am eager to see unraveled.

This book was less about action and adventure and more about intrigue. That is not to say there aren’t a number of heart-pounding action scenes...but there are also a lot of scenes where Elisa is trying to navigate politics in order to provide the best situation for her people.

The story is more religious than most fantasies I read. I am not a big fan of religion in fantasy; but for this book it works. Religion is such a basic foundation of Elisa’s culture that it is woven seamlessly into the story. I will warn that the story ends at a horrible cliffhanger, which has me dying to know what happens next.

Overall this is a wonderful addition to this trilogy. The book is beautifully written with touches of humor and a super sweet love story entwined with an excellent world and intrigue filled plot. I couldn't put this book down. It is a bit more religious than most fantasies I read, but religion is such a part of the culture that it flows well with the story. This was just a wonderful book; I absolutely cannot wait to see what happens in The Bitter Kingdom. This series is strongly recommended to fans of YA epic fantasy who don’t mind religion driven cultures.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Early Review - The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (4.5/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Size: 432 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: September 20, 2011
ISBN: 978-0062026484
Stand Alone or Series: 1st in a planned trilogy
Source: eGalley through NetGalley.com
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I got an advanced reading copy of this book through NetGalley(dot)com.  This was a spectacular book, a really phenomenal fantasy read.  I was drawn into the story right away and enjoyed practically every moment of it.  This is the first book in a planned trilogy.

Elisa is the Chosen One, she bears the God Stone in her navel.  She is also the youngest daughter and is pampered, kind but a bit lazy and overweight.  When her marriage to a King of the neighboring kingdom is planned, she doesn't know what to expect.  She doesn't want to rule and she doesn't want to love her husband; but she wants to finally live up to her title as the Chosen One and wants her husband to love her.  When Elisa is kidnapped shortly after arriving in the new kingdom everything she knows changes.  She will embark on a forced quest to find what it really means to be the Chosen One.

The world in this book is a desert world, which was fun to read about.  You don't see many fantasy books set in the desert.  The world is intricate and well built and I really enjoyed it.

Elisa is an inspiring character.  In the beginning she is kind and smart, but lazy and untried.  She changes so much over the course of the book, her struggle to become something more really captured my attention and my heart.  The fact that she partakes in this struggle even knowing that most of the Chosen Ones fail and die, just made her all the more courageous.  Elisa's attitude is awesome; she never despairs and always makes the best of what she is given.

All of the side characters are so well done, they are all so well filled out and have complex lives of their own.  I wished we could have spent a bit more time getting to know them all and hopefully we will in future books.

The descriptions are wonderful, making the world and the characters easy to picture.  The action scenes incredibly well done and the pacing perfect.  I was impressed at the breadth of the story and at how well the main story line is tied up in this book, but still eager to see what Elisa does next

There were a couple things about this book that bothered me.  Firstly I wasn't a big fan of Elisa's husband, the King.  After all Elisa went through I just wanted so much more for her than this King.  It's not that he was evil or even mean, he just wasn't enough for her.  I am hoping in future books they will grow more as a couple and her husband will be able to learn from his weaknesses.

Secondly religion and God are extremely prominent in this book.  I am not saying this is good or bad; although I am not usually a fan of books that rely heavily on religion as a plot device.  Religion was the driving factor for a lot of the characters' decisions.  Just something to mention.  The religion was actually a necessary component of this world and really seemed to be story driven (some of this story seems a bit based on the Crusades); it's not like the author was trying to lecture readers or force religion on readers.  But it was definitely there, Elisa's main form of combating her opponents in by praying and there is a ton of it in this book.

Overall this was just a fantastic adventure fantasy of sorts.  There was political intrigue, a wonderful world, action, adventure, romance, and a coming of age tale that will capture every-one's heart.  If you are a fantasy fan you have to read this book.  I adored it and cannot wait to read what the next book has in store for Elisa.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge
- The Debut Author Challenge
- E-book Reading Challenge
- Fantasy Reading Challenge