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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Little confused, not sure where this is going but pleasantly optimistic about the journey!
WOW OH WOW!!!! What an exciting and heart twisting book. My heart went out to Elisa. I felt so bad for her and her insecurities. Then everyone she loves seems to be taken away from her, in one form or another. I am looking forward to starting book 2 NOW.
**EDIT**
Just did a reread and I totally forgot how many times she mentioned food and her weight. Eek! Yes, she’s a bigger girl. No need to beat a dead horse. But the story was still very good. And again, I am off to finish the series.
**EDIT**
Just did a reread and I totally forgot how many times she mentioned food and her weight. Eek! Yes, she’s a bigger girl. No need to beat a dead horse. But the story was still very good. And again, I am off to finish the series.
10.12.2019 || this story was pretty much everything i look for in fantasy—the main character coming into her own, a rush of love and adventure, tinged with loss, and all set in a fascinating world—and was a really strong start to the series, though, once i got to the end, i almost forgot it was a series. the ending felt almost complete. i’m interested to see what happens next.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5/5 stars
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson was a an amazing and refreshing change of pace. This book tells the story of a young, 16-year-old girl who carries the Godstone, a stone in her navel that signifies her divine calling. She has been chosen by God... for what? Princess Elisa struggles with coming to terms with who she is, why she has been chosen by God, and learns to stand her ground and be the strong woman she is meant to be. I started this book and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. Literally! I read it in one sitting, in one afternoon! Rae Carson takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster, from beginning to end. This book has it all, from battles, to prophecies, to kidnappings, to a budding romance, to KINGS, and so much more! This book tied up all of the loose ends (that I cared about) so I'm not sure what the subsequent novels are going to be about, and I'm not entirely sure if I'll read them, but this first installment blew my socks off.
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson was a an amazing and refreshing change of pace. This book tells the story of a young, 16-year-old girl who carries the Godstone, a stone in her navel that signifies her divine calling. She has been chosen by God... for what? Princess Elisa struggles with coming to terms with who she is, why she has been chosen by God, and learns to stand her ground and be the strong woman she is meant to be. I started this book and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. Literally! I read it in one sitting, in one afternoon! Rae Carson takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster, from beginning to end. This book has it all, from battles, to prophecies, to kidnappings, to a budding romance, to KINGS, and so much more! This book tied up all of the loose ends (that I cared about) so I'm not sure what the subsequent novels are going to be about, and I'm not entirely sure if I'll read them, but this first installment blew my socks off.
[bc:The Girl of Fire and Thorns|10429092|The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns, #1)|Rae Carson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1323448113s/10429092.jpg|13282366]
I liked this a lot. So many people died, Elisa grew and developed because of it and I love who she became. Elisa is an amazing main character and I cannot wait to read more about her adventures.
I did not expect the author to kill off some of the characters she did, but it creates a blank slate to start off from which I am ultimately excited about.
A lot of people liked the fact that Elisa had a bit more body weight, but I didn't like the way it was described. It was emphasized upon every single page until Elisa lost some weight. The reactions from people felt realistic, but I do feel like a lot of it was insecurity from Elisa's side and because of that she imagined everyone looking at her and judging her constantly. Most of the time, people do not care what you look like. Of course, some people make judgy, inappropriate comments but a lot of it is insecurity.
Overall, the characters were all lovable to me but I had trouble shipping Elisa with anyone. She was much better off on her own, in my opinion. I get one side of the kind of love triangle, because Elisa was obviously married off to a king but the other side of it... It felt rushed and more like instalove than anything else.
The entirety of the story and the cast of characters were strong enough for me to want to continue on with this series. I hope to see more of Cosmé in the next book, because I think she was my favourite character throughout this book.
I liked this a lot. So many people died, Elisa grew and developed because of it and I love who she became. Elisa is an amazing main character and I cannot wait to read more about her adventures.
I did not expect the author to kill off some of the characters she did, but it creates a blank slate to start off from which I am ultimately excited about.
A lot of people liked the fact that Elisa had a bit more body weight, but I didn't like the way it was described. It was emphasized upon every single page until Elisa lost some weight. The reactions from people felt realistic, but I do feel like a lot of it was insecurity from Elisa's side and because of that she imagined everyone looking at her and judging her constantly. Most of the time, people do not care what you look like. Of course, some people make judgy, inappropriate comments but a lot of it is insecurity.
Overall, the characters were all lovable to me but I had trouble shipping Elisa with anyone. She was much better off on her own, in my opinion. I get one side of the kind of love triangle, because Elisa was obviously married off to a king but the other side of it... It felt rushed and more like instalove than anything else.
The entirety of the story and the cast of characters were strong enough for me to want to continue on with this series. I hope to see more of Cosmé in the next book, because I think she was my favourite character throughout this book.
10/20. The best part of this book was definitely the worldbuilding. The Spanish-inspired fantasy world felt different and unique, and it didn't feel like a carbon copy of every other fantasy world I've read. I also enjoyed the discussion of religion and faith. You almost never see religious protagonists in fantasy stories, and I found that enhanced the story and set it apart. Sadly, everything seemed to come far too easily to the protagonist-- a lot of the major plot points in the story hinged on her thinking of ideas that frankly, someone should have thought of before. She didn't actually seem all that capable. I also felt that the romance was underdeveloped and unnecessary. All three of the important men in the book were set up as love interests for Elisa at some point. (Technically two in this book, but I could tell that the third was being set up to be a future love interest, and I checked the goodreads summary and I was right). The book also had an incredible amount of fat-shaming. I was initially happy to see a protagonist with a different body type, but she only realizes her self worth and grows into her destiny after losing a bunch of weight in a trek through the desert. No thanks.
4.5 stars
I’ve really been missing out not getting to this one earlier. This book attached to my brain and drilled in until I had to finish. It’s full of a fascinating blend of characters and I got rather attached to a number of them which ended up being to my peril.
Elisa is a 16 year old ugly duckling, married off to a neighbouring king. Elisa has something rather special about her but it that element that also puts her in danger. Her family were mean, her new husband, I didn’t care for, but her friends along the way were everything. Elisa really comes of age in this book, she flowers, asserts and believes in herself; I loved her development.
The story took me by surprise twice, once rather badly. I relish the unexpected, especially in YA fantasy that has a tendency to be formulaic. I’ll be jumping right to the next.
This was an audio listen and spending time with Jennifer Ikeda is never a hardship. Audio all the way for this series.
I’ve really been missing out not getting to this one earlier. This book attached to my brain and drilled in until I had to finish. It’s full of a fascinating blend of characters and I got rather attached to a number of them which ended up being to my peril.
Elisa is a 16 year old ugly duckling, married off to a neighbouring king. Elisa has something rather special about her but it that element that also puts her in danger. Her family were mean, her new husband, I didn’t care for, but her friends along the way were everything. Elisa really comes of age in this book, she flowers, asserts and believes in herself; I loved her development.
The story took me by surprise twice, once rather badly. I relish the unexpected, especially in YA fantasy that has a tendency to be formulaic. I’ll be jumping right to the next.
This was an audio listen and spending time with Jennifer Ikeda is never a hardship. Audio all the way for this series.