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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
Trigger warnings: violence, serious physical injury to a loved one, blood, stabbing, storms at sea.
24/6/2019
I STILL SHIP IT LIKE WHOA. But also, I'm bumping this down to 4.5 stars on reread. I found it slightly slower and slightly more middle-book-y this time around. I still love the characters, I still love the world, I still love the writing, I still love the plot. And honestly, this is a spectacular slow burn and I adore everything about it.
8/2/2017
I SHIP IT LIKE WHOA. Full thoughts to follow.
5/2/2016
OH HEY IT'S MY FIRST NEW FIVE STAR BOOK OF THE YEAR. About bloody time.
I loved everything about this book. Well. That's a lie. I didn't love the cover of this edition, because it's made of lies. Like, in no way is this series set in a Middle Eastern inspired world. It's VERY CLEARLY a Latin American world with Latin American characters. And yet, there's a mosque on the cover. Just because it's set in a desert, doesn't mean it's Middle Eastern, cover designer...
ANYWAY.
The story was fast paced and action packed. The world building was trickled out from start to finish, no info-dumping to be seen. Not everybody gets to live, the food sounds amazing, and I really enjoy the religion and the magic system. The characters are great, the setting is great, and I ship it like whoa. Basically? This was a fabulous middle book that never dragged or felt like it was creating artificial tension, and I'm very glad I have the third book waiting on my bookshelf at home. Because I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
24/6/2019
I STILL SHIP IT LIKE WHOA. But also, I'm bumping this down to 4.5 stars on reread. I found it slightly slower and slightly more middle-book-y this time around. I still love the characters, I still love the world, I still love the writing, I still love the plot. And honestly, this is a spectacular slow burn and I adore everything about it.
8/2/2017
I SHIP IT LIKE WHOA. Full thoughts to follow.
5/2/2016
OH HEY IT'S MY FIRST NEW FIVE STAR BOOK OF THE YEAR. About bloody time.
I loved everything about this book. Well. That's a lie. I didn't love the cover of this edition, because it's made of lies. Like, in no way is this series set in a Middle Eastern inspired world. It's VERY CLEARLY a Latin American world with Latin American characters. And yet, there's a mosque on the cover. Just because it's set in a desert, doesn't mean it's Middle Eastern, cover designer...
ANYWAY.
The story was fast paced and action packed. The world building was trickled out from start to finish, no info-dumping to be seen. Not everybody gets to live, the food sounds amazing, and I really enjoy the religion and the magic system. The characters are great, the setting is great, and I ship it like whoa. Basically? This was a fabulous middle book that never dragged or felt like it was creating artificial tension, and I'm very glad I have the third book waiting on my bookshelf at home. Because I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
This second instalment was much better then the first. It follows Elisia as she struggles to control the country she is now queen of and searches for answers regarding the power from her Godstone.
The story itself is more fleshed out and offered more suspense and excitement. Also, the characters were better developed, less awkward, and more realistic. I enjoyed seeing Elisia grow into her own person and finally get rid of the most annoying character in the whole book. I’m very interested to see how the series ends!
The story itself is more fleshed out and offered more suspense and excitement. Also, the characters were better developed, less awkward, and more realistic. I enjoyed seeing Elisia grow into her own person and finally get rid of the most annoying character in the whole book. I’m very interested to see how the series ends!
GIVE ME THE BITTER KINGDOM! NOW!
Enough said ;)
***CONTAINS SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!***
***CONTAINS SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!***
I NEED the next one cause of reasons (most of them having to do with certain Queen's Guard *wink wink*)
Oh, I loved this book! I flew through it quickly, and it kept me very intrigued. I loved Elisa even more in this book than I did the last one. I really enjoyed the author addressed the many issues there are when running a kingdom and the, as Elisa put it, "loneliness" of it all, for a monarch to rule, but not wholly know who to trust, even those that are the closest. That was just beautifully done!
Don't even get me started on Hector...Don't even...<3 Mmmm....I want one Hector for Christmas...Anyone?
Storm was like a breathe of fresh air, frustrating and hilarious, he's my kind of character! His shadowy character was really nice to have around (cause scenes between him and Elisa were absolutely hilarious!) I'm glad he was able to redeem himself, even though he didn't get to stay up in a crummy mountaintop for thousands of years...but seriously who'd want that??? Not him XD
I was pleasantly surprised by Belen's return (and it made me miss Humberto more than I already did) and wasn't he just the bomb! Belen is sooo cool *.* Badass assassin! Woohoo! He is my second favorite male character (second after Hector, duhh!)
Tristan's part in this novel was quite intriguing for a while (Yay, Elisa made a new friend!) and then that thing with his personal (assistant???) happened...and I was like, "Whhhaattt?!?!" but then I was like ,"Ooohh, that explains a lot!" ;)
Overall, a great sequel to the first book! I hope the conclusion to this trilogy lives up to my expectations!!! Crossing my fingers!!!
Enough said ;)
***CONTAINS SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!***
***CONTAINS SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!***
I NEED the next one cause of reasons (most of them having to do with certain Queen's Guard *wink wink*)
Oh, I loved this book! I flew through it quickly, and it kept me very intrigued. I loved Elisa even more in this book than I did the last one. I really enjoyed the author addressed the many issues there are when running a kingdom and the, as Elisa put it, "loneliness" of it all, for a monarch to rule, but not wholly know who to trust, even those that are the closest. That was just beautifully done!
Don't even get me started on Hector...Don't even...<3 Mmmm....I want one Hector for Christmas...Anyone?
Storm was like a breathe of fresh air, frustrating and hilarious, he's my kind of character! His shadowy character was really nice to have around (cause scenes between him and Elisa were absolutely hilarious!) I'm glad he was able to redeem himself, even though he didn't get to stay up in a crummy mountaintop for thousands of years...but seriously who'd want that??? Not him XD
I was pleasantly surprised by Belen's return (and it made me miss Humberto more than I already did) and wasn't he just the bomb! Belen is sooo cool *.* Badass assassin! Woohoo! He is my second favorite male character (second after Hector, duhh!)
Tristan's part in this novel was quite intriguing for a while (Yay, Elisa made a new friend!) and then that thing with his personal (assistant???) happened...and I was like, "Whhhaattt?!?!" but then I was like ,"Ooohh, that explains a lot!" ;)
Overall, a great sequel to the first book! I hope the conclusion to this trilogy lives up to my expectations!!! Crossing my fingers!!!
10 stars out of 5! :P
Oh My God!!! What an unbelievable adventure this book was! This is book number 2 in The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy and by the time I was done with Book #1 I was already in love with this series and couldn't wait to get to the next 2 books. I had heard sooo many good things about The Crown of Embers but nothing could have prepared me for what this book actually was.
I was at the edge of my seat all 410 pages, like really no joke from page 1. TGOFT left off after the war with Invierne when Elisa successfully harnesses the power of her stone in conjunction with the other Godstones in order to defeat the animagui and save the people of Joya de Arena, unfortunately even though the were the victors and the Invierne retreated King Alejandro perished as a result of the battle. Hector in light of Alejandro's death lets Elisa know that he will be resigning and she requests for him to stay as her Royal Guard and protect his queen. Hector's acceptance was full of promise because if you ask me I had sensed Hector's interest in Elisa since the first few times they interacted when she first moved to Joya de Arena.
In the Crown of Embers things were not easy from the very beginning, Elisa finds herself trying to rebuild a Kingdom in shambles and broken after the war, they had indeed won it but there was no money to rebuild and Elisa needed to make sure she brought back hope to her people and things back to normal as soon as possible to avoid general discontent that could lead to riots and requests of abdication.
Elisa soon finds out that not only does she have the challenge of rebuilding the Kingdom but someone wants her dead and someone wants to kidnap her. The problem is that she doesn't know who it is or what they want, there is even the suspicion that the threat might be an inside job.
Every single attempt on her life was blood pumping and an amazing action scene that really left you thinking OMG! Who is gonna go next? You never knew where the next assassin was gonna jump from or the most unlikely of places where Elisa would find herself in danger.
Elisa still counted with those loyal to her, those few that she could trust her life, her nurse and guardian Ximena, Father Nicandro, her lady in waiting Mara, her heir and stepson Rosario, and her loyal (and super duper handsome), Royal Guard Hector.
Through a series of events and trying to find out who is trying to kill her, though at that point there is doubt as to whether they really want to kill her or whether they are trying to take her alive, Elisa meets Storm, an Invierne who has been living in a hidden village. He will become a big piece of this puzzle though in the beginning its unclear as to whether he really is a loyal subject to her Majesty, but Elisa has no option but to trust him (as much she can) as he seems to have many of the answers she needs in order to reach her Godstone's full potential and be of help to her Kingdom and the people of Joya de Arena.
As it is Elisa has already tasted some of the power of the stone when she finds herself in a desperate situation trying to save someone she loves dearly.
As all Queens are expected to, Elisa is soon faced with having to start considering suitors, finding a smart match that will be beneficial for the Kingdom, and this is how she meets Tristan though he soon proves not to be who she thought he was at first, but like Storm, he will be of great help when Elisa needs help to follow the path God has set out for her since she was born.
This last paragraph brings me to Hector because well I just can't leave Hector unmentioned! If you didn't pick up on the slight hints Rae dropped in TGOFT that was clearly indicating Elisa and Hector would share more than just a friendship then you weren't paying enough attention so I don't really feel like I'm spoiling you here by saying that one of my favorite moments in this book was when Elisa realizes that she is in love with Hector. The bad side of this is that she is the Queen of Joya de Arena and she must always think of her Kingdom and her people first and being in love with her Royal Guard may not be what's best for her people and she must decide for herself if she will sacrifice her happiness for the greater good.
What I liked most about Hector and Elisa was that regardless of whether they are fated to be together or not, Hector will help her see herself as the powerful queen she can be and all she has to offer not because of the stone or because of unmeasurable magic but because she was always destined to be a great Queen. So much growth for Elisa in this installment, growth and wisdom.
The ending was soooo unexpected, gut wrenching and more than anything powerful!
This sequel was jammed packed with action, intrigue, magic, betrayal, faith, friendship, sacrifice and romance (very HOT romance). The Crown of Embers is in my Best-Books-Read-in-2013 list for sure and Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza was my favorite heroine for 2013.
Oh My God!!! What an unbelievable adventure this book was! This is book number 2 in The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy and by the time I was done with Book #1 I was already in love with this series and couldn't wait to get to the next 2 books. I had heard sooo many good things about The Crown of Embers but nothing could have prepared me for what this book actually was.
I was at the edge of my seat all 410 pages, like really no joke from page 1. TGOFT left off after the war with Invierne when Elisa successfully harnesses the power of her stone in conjunction with the other Godstones in order to defeat the animagui and save the people of Joya de Arena, unfortunately even though the were the victors and the Invierne retreated King Alejandro perished as a result of the battle. Hector in light of Alejandro's death lets Elisa know that he will be resigning and she requests for him to stay as her Royal Guard and protect his queen. Hector's acceptance was full of promise because if you ask me I had sensed Hector's interest in Elisa since the first few times they interacted when she first moved to Joya de Arena.
In the Crown of Embers things were not easy from the very beginning, Elisa finds herself trying to rebuild a Kingdom in shambles and broken after the war, they had indeed won it but there was no money to rebuild and Elisa needed to make sure she brought back hope to her people and things back to normal as soon as possible to avoid general discontent that could lead to riots and requests of abdication.
Elisa soon finds out that not only does she have the challenge of rebuilding the Kingdom but someone wants her dead and someone wants to kidnap her. The problem is that she doesn't know who it is or what they want, there is even the suspicion that the threat might be an inside job.
Every single attempt on her life was blood pumping and an amazing action scene that really left you thinking OMG! Who is gonna go next? You never knew where the next assassin was gonna jump from or the most unlikely of places where Elisa would find herself in danger.
Elisa still counted with those loyal to her, those few that she could trust her life, her nurse and guardian Ximena, Father Nicandro, her lady in waiting Mara, her heir and stepson Rosario, and her loyal (and super duper handsome), Royal Guard Hector.
Through a series of events and trying to find out who is trying to kill her, though at that point there is doubt as to whether they really want to kill her or whether they are trying to take her alive, Elisa meets Storm, an Invierne who has been living in a hidden village. He will become a big piece of this puzzle though in the beginning its unclear as to whether he really is a loyal subject to her Majesty, but Elisa has no option but to trust him (as much she can) as he seems to have many of the answers she needs in order to reach her Godstone's full potential and be of help to her Kingdom and the people of Joya de Arena.
As it is Elisa has already tasted some of the power of the stone when she finds herself in a desperate situation trying to save someone she loves dearly.
As all Queens are expected to, Elisa is soon faced with having to start considering suitors, finding a smart match that will be beneficial for the Kingdom, and this is how she meets Tristan though he soon proves not to be who she thought he was at first, but like Storm, he will be of great help when Elisa needs help to follow the path God has set out for her since she was born.
This last paragraph brings me to Hector because well I just can't leave Hector unmentioned! If you didn't pick up on the slight hints Rae dropped in TGOFT that was clearly indicating Elisa and Hector would share more than just a friendship then you weren't paying enough attention so I don't really feel like I'm spoiling you here by saying that one of my favorite moments in this book was when Elisa realizes that she is in love with Hector. The bad side of this is that she is the Queen of Joya de Arena and she must always think of her Kingdom and her people first and being in love with her Royal Guard may not be what's best for her people and she must decide for herself if she will sacrifice her happiness for the greater good.
What I liked most about Hector and Elisa was that regardless of whether they are fated to be together or not, Hector will help her see herself as the powerful queen she can be and all she has to offer not because of the stone or because of unmeasurable magic but because she was always destined to be a great Queen. So much growth for Elisa in this installment, growth and wisdom.
The ending was soooo unexpected, gut wrenching and more than anything powerful!
This sequel was jammed packed with action, intrigue, magic, betrayal, faith, friendship, sacrifice and romance (very HOT romance). The Crown of Embers is in my Best-Books-Read-in-2013 list for sure and Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza was my favorite heroine for 2013.
Oh, man. I ate this book up like a warm brownie fresh from the oven. It took a while to get started, I'll admit. There was a lot of political stuff that needed to be dealt with before Elisa could really come into her own. When the story begins, Elisa is fresh from her victory over the Inviernos. She has set up a parade for her birthday and is riding out among her people. During this parade, an animagi threatens her and then martyrs himself, which causes complete chaos. And that's pretty much just the first chapter. We spend the next part of the book seeing some really excellent secondary character development. Ximena's character unfolds a lot more and Elisa's new handmaiden Mara becomes someone I'd love to have hanging out in my household. The romance between Hector and Elisa develops quite nicely throughout the course of the entire book and I love how that whole situation came about. After all this lovely development comes a journey. Elisa has to find something called the zafira which is rumored to be able to give her more power. And since she feels she is lacking in power, she wants desperately to find this place. I don't want to go into too much detail about this journey, other than that it is quite exciting. The book ends with a great cliffhanger and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. Happy reading!
I'm still really enjoying this series. But I did want to scream at Queen Elisa to do an audit because clearly stuff was fishy with her coffers and her council. This is probably a sign that I'm nearly 40 and not the target market for teen fiction.
Loved reading this book again, I forgot what happened, but yeah, so many developments, it's such a great read, must read more!
*Second read October 26th, 2013*
Such a great book, she figures out how to use her stone for positive things like healing, and she really falls in love with Hector, and there's Storm, and yeah, the ending? Must read The Bitter Kingdom now!!
*First read November 12th, 2012*
Fantastic book, loved all the plotting and scheming, and I can't wait for The Bitter Kingdom!!!
*Second read October 26th, 2013*
Such a great book, she figures out how to use her stone for positive things like healing, and she really falls in love with Hector, and there's Storm, and yeah, the ending? Must read The Bitter Kingdom now!!
*First read November 12th, 2012*
Fantastic book, loved all the plotting and scheming, and I can't wait for The Bitter Kingdom!!!
4.5 stars, rounding up.
Man, how did I forget how GOOD this series is? I definitely won't be waiting so long before I read the conclusion.
Man, how did I forget how GOOD this series is? I definitely won't be waiting so long before I read the conclusion.