Book: The Girl of Fire and Thorns (#1)
Author: Rae Carson
Website: http://www.raecarson.com/
Category: Young Adult - Fantasy
My thoughts ...
Short summary: Each century a person is chosen for greatness and Elisa is that chosen one. She's always been a less than ordinary princess but then on her sixteenth birthday she's forced to secretly marry a king whose country is in turmoil. Now she must face her destiny and figure out what is it she's meant to do. And she must do this before evil forces get to her first.
The good: I was pretty much hooked from page one and a lot of that had to do with the heroine. Her character evolves so much throughout the book. She starts off as this insecure girl who tends to eat her feelings (I don't think I've read a YA fantasy book that described so many meals!). Then slowly but surely she becomes the strong, self-assured woman that you, as the reader, know is there all along and you root for her every step of the way. At least I did. This book is also heavy on religion and God but with an extremely interesting take that mixes in the fantasy aspects really well. And.. there's romance! But it's subtle and there's none of that instant love nonsense I dislike. The story focuses on Elisa's journey first and foremost which I enjoyed a lot.
The bad: Nothing bad to say. Elisa evolves slowly as a character and I can see how some of her woe-is-me moments might be annoying to some readers. Personally it didn't bother me because who doesn't feel insecure at times? Plus I had a feeling her tough side would come out (and it does!). Also there was moment that had me re-reading the page twice because I wanted to yell out - no, this can't happen! (But it does and I can't elaborate because it would spoil the book.)
Do I recommend?: Yes! I've been in a rut with books lately so for me, this was like a breath of fresh air. It's a truly engaging world and story.. I definitely recommend!
Happy reading!
Oh oh oh! I've definitely been meaning to read this one. Seriously, it sounds SO GOOD.
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