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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Originally posted on my blog, DJ Librarian Dishes
Princess Lucero-Elisa does not believe she is the one who should bear the Godstone, the gift bestowed upon God's chosen once every one hundred years. She's not good with royal politics, she's not graceful or lithe, and she's terrified of horses (her only true flaw in my opinion). While she believes her elder sister would be a more suitable bearer of the Godstone as well as a more suitable match for King Alejandro of her country's ally, it is Elisa who is led down the aisle in a marriage that any self-doubting sixteen-year-old girl would hesitate to enter.
These reasons are why she is one of the most amazing fantasy heroines. Elisa knows her flaws, or at least what she thinks of as flaws, and she doubts herself constantly throughout the story, but she keeps moving forward despite having these reservations about herself. One could say this is due to those around her that offer support and belief in her, but it is also Elisa's own determination to rise to the task of bearing the Godstone that makes her such a remarkable heroine.
Rae Carson created and brought to life amazing and life-like supporting characters, and I say "supporting" both in the casting sense and in what they do to help Elisa find her path to grow. Starting with Ximena and Aneaxi, Elisa's nurse and lady-in-waiting, they have been there for the princess ever since she was a baby. Then, there is the stoic Hector, King Alejandro's man-at-arms, who proved to be a great councilor to Elisa sometimes without even speaking. The desert escorts were by far some of the most earnest characters from the unreadable Cosme to her brother, Humberto, who became devoted to Elisa. The two that I'm awaiting to learn more about are Ximena and Hector, both of which give me the impression that there is far more to their story than we've heard thus far.
While The Girl of Fire and Thorns is a rather lengthy book, the story didn't feel as such. Between the transitions for Elisa going from one realm to another, the pace was energetic, and I certainly felt the energy flowing from the pages. Carson's writing has an amazing use of description without going into a tangent, and this makes the reader aware of Elisa's ability to notice the details that are often missed.
Those who are destined for greatness will not often find it while in the comforts of the familiar. No one knows that more than Lucero-Elisa, bearer of the Godstone and hope for her people. I can't wait to read the continuation of Elisa's story, so look for The Crown of Embers on September 18th!
Princess Lucero-Elisa does not believe she is the one who should bear the Godstone, the gift bestowed upon God's chosen once every one hundred years. She's not good with royal politics, she's not graceful or lithe, and she's terrified of horses (her only true flaw in my opinion). While she believes her elder sister would be a more suitable bearer of the Godstone as well as a more suitable match for King Alejandro of her country's ally, it is Elisa who is led down the aisle in a marriage that any self-doubting sixteen-year-old girl would hesitate to enter.
These reasons are why she is one of the most amazing fantasy heroines. Elisa knows her flaws, or at least what she thinks of as flaws, and she doubts herself constantly throughout the story, but she keeps moving forward despite having these reservations about herself. One could say this is due to those around her that offer support and belief in her, but it is also Elisa's own determination to rise to the task of bearing the Godstone that makes her such a remarkable heroine.
Rae Carson created and brought to life amazing and life-like supporting characters, and I say "supporting" both in the casting sense and in what they do to help Elisa find her path to grow. Starting with Ximena and Aneaxi, Elisa's nurse and lady-in-waiting, they have been there for the princess ever since she was a baby. Then, there is the stoic Hector, King Alejandro's man-at-arms, who proved to be a great councilor to Elisa sometimes without even speaking. The desert escorts were by far some of the most earnest characters from the unreadable Cosme to her brother, Humberto, who became devoted to Elisa. The two that I'm awaiting to learn more about are Ximena and Hector, both of which give me the impression that there is far more to their story than we've heard thus far.
While The Girl of Fire and Thorns is a rather lengthy book, the story didn't feel as such. Between the transitions for Elisa going from one realm to another, the pace was energetic, and I certainly felt the energy flowing from the pages. Carson's writing has an amazing use of description without going into a tangent, and this makes the reader aware of Elisa's ability to notice the details that are often missed.
Those who are destined for greatness will not often find it while in the comforts of the familiar. No one knows that more than Lucero-Elisa, bearer of the Godstone and hope for her people. I can't wait to read the continuation of Elisa's story, so look for The Crown of Embers on September 18th!
This was pretty fantastic. Great strong female protagonist who ends up saving the day all on her own. Loved it.
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
This book was pretty great. The main character was flawed, cared much too much about outer beauty but all in all grew as a person and it was a pleasure to read about it. The story was fast paced and never boring. In the first few chapters I wasn't sure if I was going to like the book but the action and storyline kept me interested. Great read :)
I didn't expect this book to be as religious as it was. I didn't really like all the praying and God stuff. But the story was interesting, the battle, the politics and the characters. I don't think I'll follow this series due to that, but it was an interesting read.
I loved the first half and then my love started to taper off. I think all of the things that made the heroine really unusual started to fade away as she became more and more "normal" for a fantasy heroine.
And the Godstone as an object just started to irk me.
Still, I'll read the next one with great interest.
And the Godstone as an object just started to irk me.
Still, I'll read the next one with great interest.
I gave up on The Girl of Fire and Thorns the first time I read it, but I wanted to give it a second chance. I quite enjoyed the story and characters so much more this time around.
The first part of the novel moved slowly. While I would feel periods of boredom, the moments of action and suspense made up for it. Elisa did get on my nerves, but I could understand where she was coming from. I loved how she grew so much from the beginning to the end.
The culture of the book is done really well. The people and their features and language are distinct and bring a certain detail to the book that sets it apart.
I am reading the second book right now and oh my is it good. So much swoon. So much danger. So much love. I need the third book stat!
The first part of the novel moved slowly. While I would feel periods of boredom, the moments of action and suspense made up for it. Elisa did get on my nerves, but I could understand where she was coming from. I loved how she grew so much from the beginning to the end.
The culture of the book is done really well. The people and their features and language are distinct and bring a certain detail to the book that sets it apart.
I am reading the second book right now and oh my is it good. So much swoon. So much danger. So much love. I need the third book stat!
I ended up reading this book in a span of a couple days because I could not put it down!
In the beginning, I actually didn't like the main character at all, and I found myself wondering whether I would be able to continue reading from her perspective for long. But the character development she undergoes is AMAZING. She starts off as someone who is very insecure and has no control of what is happening to her. Over the course of the book, she takes control of her life, and I really enjoyed reading that. She is an overweight character, and at the beginning I felt like the descriptions of binge eating were a bit too much, but they taper out as we get more into the book. Though losing some weight was part of Elisa's journey, I appreciated the fact that she doesn't become "skinny" at the end of the book, but does gain confidence in herself and her powers. I have to admit, she was a bit self-righteous at times though.
The side characters were not as fleshed out as they could have been. Alejandro and Arina could have definitely gone through a lot more character development, but it felt like them, along with most other side characters, were just there to either further the plot or further Elisa's own development. That being said though, I did love a lot of these side characters, especially Humberto, Cosme, and Ximena.
The plot was fast-paced and unpredictable, which is the sole reason I was not able to put this book down. Right as I was getting used to one setting, we were already moving on to the next. All the plot twists made sense, but I would never have expected any of them. There were some instances where I wished the plot would slow down a bit; but overall, I'm not complaining.
I'd say my biggest complaint was the "magic system." I felt like this book was too religious. All resolutions of conflict were basically Elisa praying the problems away. Can't say I was a big fan.
Overall though, I really did enjoy the book, the characters, and the plot, and I'm looking forward to the next book :)
In the beginning, I actually didn't like the main character at all, and I found myself wondering whether I would be able to continue reading from her perspective for long. But the character development she undergoes is AMAZING. She starts off as someone who is very insecure and has no control of what is happening to her. Over the course of the book, she takes control of her life, and I really enjoyed reading that. She is an overweight character, and at the beginning I felt like the descriptions of binge eating were a bit too much, but they taper out as we get more into the book. Though losing some weight was part of Elisa's journey, I appreciated the fact that she doesn't become "skinny" at the end of the book, but does gain confidence in herself and her powers. I have to admit, she was a bit self-righteous at times though.
The side characters were not as fleshed out as they could have been. Alejandro and Arina could have definitely gone through a lot more character development, but it felt like them, along with most other side characters, were just there to either further the plot or further Elisa's own development. That being said though, I did love a lot of these side characters, especially Humberto, Cosme, and Ximena.
The plot was fast-paced and unpredictable, which is the sole reason I was not able to put this book down. Right as I was getting used to one setting, we were already moving on to the next. All the plot twists made sense, but I would never have expected any of them. There were some instances where I wished the plot would slow down a bit; but overall, I'm not complaining.
I'd say my biggest complaint was the "magic system." I felt like this book was too religious. All resolutions of conflict were basically Elisa praying the problems away. Can't say I was a big fan.
Overall though, I really did enjoy the book, the characters, and the plot, and I'm looking forward to the next book :)
I think these covers are some of the ugliest I've ever seen, but then, I'd never seen the ARC cover before today. It features a pretty, skinny, white young woman. Even though Elisa is a young woman, she is NOT skinny, NOT white, and doesn't find herself attractive in the slightest.
So they changed the cover before its official publication. Except they couldn't go their normal route, could they? Who wants to read a book with a self-professed fat, non-white female on the cover? It's not like any potential readers would be anything but white and skinny, yeah? So instead they create this mess, and still managed to keep a whitened young woman on the cover instead of offending society by displaying something as offensive or non-marketable as *gasp* someone above a size four or *gasp* someone whose skin is darker than a peach crayon.
The book industry often disgusts me.
(And I think this is the first time my book rating has dropped after a reread. Why did I not realize how problematic it was until I'd read it a third time? I can take Elisa as she is and how she changes, but I was troubled by the way her weight loss was portrayed in conjunction with her growing capabilities as a woman and potential leader. A large protagonist is uncommon in any literature, but the fact that she couldn't be powerful or influential or respected until she had a "taut" stomach was merely conforming to norms, not challenging them. Also, skin doesn't disappear overnight, and neither does one's relationship with food. A lack of consistency and a flatter narrative brought my rating down to threeish stars, though I still plan on finishing the series.)
So they changed the cover before its official publication. Except they couldn't go their normal route, could they? Who wants to read a book with a self-professed fat, non-white female on the cover? It's not like any potential readers would be anything but white and skinny, yeah? So instead they create this mess, and still managed to keep a whitened young woman on the cover instead of offending society by displaying something as offensive or non-marketable as *gasp* someone above a size four or *gasp* someone whose skin is darker than a peach crayon.
The book industry often disgusts me.
(And I think this is the first time my book rating has dropped after a reread. Why did I not realize how problematic it was until I'd read it a third time? I can take Elisa as she is and how she changes, but I was troubled by the way her weight loss was portrayed in conjunction with her growing capabilities as a woman and potential leader. A large protagonist is uncommon in any literature, but the fact that she couldn't be powerful or influential or respected until she had a "taut" stomach was merely conforming to norms, not challenging them. Also, skin doesn't disappear overnight, and neither does one's relationship with food. A lack of consistency and a flatter narrative brought my rating down to threeish stars, though I still plan on finishing the series.)