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ursula_uriarte 's review for:
The Crown of Embers
by Rae Carson
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.