The Girl of Fire and Thorns

The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns #1) by Rae Carson, 2011. 424 pages. Published by Greenwillow. Source: Won.

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

First Sentence:

Prayer candles flicker in my bedroom.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns was one book that I could not wait to get my hands because it just sounded so good. While it sounded good, it was light-years better than I had anticipated it being.

So, what makes The Girl of Fire and Thorns stand out from all of the fantasy books I have read. Well that would have to be because Ms Carson does one knockout job of creating a well thought out world filled with complex characters that will surprise you with every turn in the plot. While I had a feeling I was going to love The Girl of Fire and Thorns, I was not sure if the world and characters could be anywhere near as good as some of my all-time favorite fantasy authors (and I'm talking about authors like Robin McKinley, Kristen Britain, and Diana Wynne Jones), but I am happy to report that the author, Ms Carson, and her debut book are definitely worthy of being counted among my favorites.

I loved how she was able to tell so many different sides to the story the took place, and that certain characters were not what they first appeared to be. Ah, the way Ms Carson had me thinking a certain that characters were not to be trusted only to have their story and motives turned on the ear. I could seriously just reread the parts were my views of certain characters changed a couple of times just because it was done so smoothly and unexpectedly that it completely took me by surprise.

When I first started The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Elisa, was not what I would call a typical heroine. While she may not have started out as one, I loved how Elisa found her inner strength and that she could in fact make a difference. I definitely liked seeing her come into the potential that she possessed and not rollover and let her life be ruled by the others.
Alejandro, he was perhaps the one character that I liked the least...out of the non bad guys.The best way I can describe him would be 'spineless'. I just could not find anything favorable about the way he treated Elisa or how he dealt with the trouble plaguing his kingdom.

While there are a ton more characters with fairly decent roles in The Girl of Fire and Thorns, I'm going to leave them out of the review simply because some of my thoughts on them turned out to be too filled with spoilers.

There's only one thing that I found a little odd while reading The Girl of Fire and Thorns that made the book just a little confusing. That would have to be the godstone, the thing that sets Elisa apart from her people and that makes her special. I guess what made the whole godstone thing weird would have to be that it was not explained all that clearly, or maybe I'm just forgetting the finer details of the origin of it. Even though the godstone things was a little weird (a stone in the navel), I still loved this book to pieces.

Final Verdict: The Girl of Fire and Thorns was brilliantly written and a must read.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns earns 5 out of 5 pineapples.