The Crown of Embers

The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns, 2) by Rae Carson, September 18, 2012. 410 pages. Published by Greenwillow Books. Source: Birthday Gift.

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

First Sentence:

My entourage of guards struggles to keep pace as I fly down the corridors of my palace.

Excuse me while I fan-girl for a moment. *hehehe* So, The Crown of Embers is one sequel that I had been waiting ages to read...like since I turned the final page of The Girl of Fire and Thorns. I admit, while excited to read book two I was nervous as all get out since I loved the first one so much, which is why I put off reading it for seven months (hangs head).

Even though I have put off reading The Crown of Embers, I am glad to say that the first book was still quite clear in my mind, which is all because the the author's writing and world building left such an impression on me.

The Crown of Embers, while I really enjoyed the plot of this one and the overall story line, what really struck me was how good the writing was. I loved the way Ms. Carson was able to keep the story moving forward while still giving her characters time to grow into the changes from book one. I also enjoyed seeing the moment when Elisa realized who she was in love with because it was well...kind of funny and sweet since it took her by surprise.
   While I could pretty much guess who was not on her side and who was behind the attempt on her life, I really thought you

So, what are my thoughts on Elisa after her latest struggle with being the chosen one and the new queen of her deceased husbands kingdom. Well, that would be one of intrigue. I found it quite interesting to see how she handled everything, although, I felt that maybe she had done some backsliding (in the fact that she was at times less sure of herself). On a whole, I liked Elisa because by the end of the book because she just such an interesting character to read about with her stubbornness that pushes her.

Alright, so what I enjoyed most about Rae Carson's second installment in the Fire and Thorn series is the world and Ms. Carson's writing. One of the things that made Rae Carson's writing so enjoyable is that her style reminds me of some of my favorite fantasy authors (like Anne McCaffrey and Diana Wynne Jones). But what really makes her writing so good is her ability to bring the setting of the characters world to life and to bring readers right into it.

I knew I put off reading The Crown of Embers for a good reason, that being that I was afraid of sitting on a cliff-hanger ending for months on end. While the end of The Crown of Embers was only a mild cliff-hanger, I am glad that I waited till closer to the release of Bitter Kingdom to read it because I'm just not sure how I am going to manage the wait to see how things will play out for Elisa and the fate of Hector.
  So, I loved this book quite a bit, but am disappointed that I will have to wait till the end of the month to find out whether or not Elisa will be victorious.

Final Verdict: The Crown of Embers - An rich fantasy read that will have you at the edge of your seat and leave your heart racing.

The Crown of Embers earns 5 out of 5 pineapples.