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A review by seshoptaw
The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
4.5
4.5*
The Girl of Fire and Thorns (the first book of the series) was just an o-kay read for me. I rated it a 3.5*, so while I still liked it and it was enough to keep me interested in the series as a whole, I didn’t really have a lot of faith that I would like The Crown of Embers much better than the first book. But boy am glad I continued the series!! The second installment to the series is, in my opinion, <i>so</i> much stronger than the first book and it was exactly what I had thought (and hoped) the series was going to be from the start.
Elisa went from being someone lacking in self-confidence, self-esteem, a fighting spirit, etc. in the first book and we get to watch her grow and come to find these strengths within herself over the course of the novel. But when she found those things, she wasn’t the Queen of a nation. The Crown of Embers follows Elisa as she has to navigate politics, evade assassination attempts, and figure out who she can trust (and in turn, trusting herself). The book was character-driven and Elisa grows and develops in a much different way than she had to in the first book.
Where I found the writing style lacking in The Girl of Fire and Thorns (book 1), the author seemed to really up her game in The Crown of Embers (book 2). I was transfixed by the story from start to finish and I couldn’t put this book down until I’d turned the final page. I love that I didn’t feel like the author skipped over months at a time, closely following the characters’ journeys throughout the entirety of the novel without a lot of time jumps (unlike the first book).
I had loved Elisa when she went into the desert and became a leader for her people. So when she’s stuck back at the palace, chaffing under the constant lack of privacy and the constrictive environment of the palace (vs the open desert), I feel her longing in this book and her happiness when she’s finally able to break away. Although we’re not back in Elisa’s beloved desert for any length of time, the new settings, as described by the author, were wonderful and the addition of a few new characters (along with the continuation of some old favorites – and not so favorites) was fun and exciting.
In addition, with the loss of the man Elisa had fallen in love with in the first book and the subtle hints that there may be something new that develops between her and Hector, I wasn’t sure I was going to be a fan of the romance going into book 2. Although better than a love triangle, I didn’t think I’d like Elisa developing feelings for someone else so soon after Humberto’s death. But the romance in this novel was just as great (if not even better) than the romance in the first novel. It was slow-burning and the author did a wonderful job describing a girl that started to blossom into adulthood/womanhood. I loved it.
Religious beliefs continue to play a HUGE part in the story and while I’ve read some reviews that, putting it nicely, don’t think that this is their cup of tea, I <i>completely</i> disagree with them. Again, the religion in this novel closely mirrors Christianity in a lot of respects and there are several passages that almost copy the Bible word-for-word. But there’s also a lot of deviations from Christianity and, of course, magic is also mixed in to the plot. It may not be everyone’s thing, but I’ve literally NEVER read a YA series like this and I still love and enjoy what the author has done with it so far.
Sooo….going into this book, I clearly had a lot of expectations based on my feelings after reading the first book. I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this book as much as I did and it came as a complete surprise to me. I’m sorry I compared and contrasted a little heavily in this review but The Crown of Embers was just <b>so</b> different than I expected it to be – and in all the right ways. It’s left me itching to read book 3!!
The Girl of Fire and Thorns (the first book of the series) was just an o-kay read for me. I rated it a 3.5*, so while I still liked it and it was enough to keep me interested in the series as a whole, I didn’t really have a lot of faith that I would like The Crown of Embers much better than the first book. But boy am glad I continued the series!! The second installment to the series is, in my opinion, <i>so</i> much stronger than the first book and it was exactly what I had thought (and hoped) the series was going to be from the start.
Elisa went from being someone lacking in self-confidence, self-esteem, a fighting spirit, etc. in the first book and we get to watch her grow and come to find these strengths within herself over the course of the novel. But when she found those things, she wasn’t the Queen of a nation. The Crown of Embers follows Elisa as she has to navigate politics, evade assassination attempts, and figure out who she can trust (and in turn, trusting herself). The book was character-driven and Elisa grows and develops in a much different way than she had to in the first book.
Where I found the writing style lacking in The Girl of Fire and Thorns (book 1), the author seemed to really up her game in The Crown of Embers (book 2). I was transfixed by the story from start to finish and I couldn’t put this book down until I’d turned the final page. I love that I didn’t feel like the author skipped over months at a time, closely following the characters’ journeys throughout the entirety of the novel without a lot of time jumps (unlike the first book).
I had loved Elisa when she went into the desert and became a leader for her people. So when she’s stuck back at the palace, chaffing under the constant lack of privacy and the constrictive environment of the palace (vs the open desert), I feel her longing in this book and her happiness when she’s finally able to break away. Although we’re not back in Elisa’s beloved desert for any length of time, the new settings, as described by the author, were wonderful and the addition of a few new characters (along with the continuation of some old favorites – and not so favorites) was fun and exciting.
In addition, with the loss of the man Elisa had fallen in love with in the first book and the subtle hints that there may be something new that develops between her and Hector, I wasn’t sure I was going to be a fan of the romance going into book 2. Although better than a love triangle, I didn’t think I’d like Elisa developing feelings for someone else so soon after Humberto’s death. But the romance in this novel was just as great (if not even better) than the romance in the first novel. It was slow-burning and the author did a wonderful job describing a girl that started to blossom into adulthood/womanhood. I loved it.
Religious beliefs continue to play a HUGE part in the story and while I’ve read some reviews that, putting it nicely, don’t think that this is their cup of tea, I <i>completely</i> disagree with them. Again, the religion in this novel closely mirrors Christianity in a lot of respects and there are several passages that almost copy the Bible word-for-word. But there’s also a lot of deviations from Christianity and, of course, magic is also mixed in to the plot. It may not be everyone’s thing, but I’ve literally NEVER read a YA series like this and I still love and enjoy what the author has done with it so far.
Sooo….going into this book, I clearly had a lot of expectations based on my feelings after reading the first book. I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this book as much as I did and it came as a complete surprise to me. I’m sorry I compared and contrasted a little heavily in this review but The Crown of Embers was just <b>so</b> different than I expected it to be – and in all the right ways. It’s left me itching to read book 3!!