The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (The Girl of Fire and Thorns #1)

Fantasy: war, magic, and fate
May 25, 2015
2 min read

Despite the gemstone in her stomach that marks her as destined for greatness, Elisa hardly thinks that she's done anything impressive in her sixteen years. As a princess in the country of Orovalle, she's grown up the lesser of two sister and, or so she thinks, an embarrassment to the royal family. After an arranged marriage to the king of the neighboring country Joya D'Arena, Elisa finds herself in a court where people will do anything for power, jockeying for position as the king’s favorite. However, war is on the horizon, and when Elisa is kidnapped by rebels who think she is the only person who can help her people, she finds herself on the front lines of a war that has already started.

Elisa is both strong and very relatable. Like most teens in real life, she's insecure about her body and worried that she's not good enough. In the beginning if the story, Elisa is painfully aware that her sister is better than her. However, as the book goes on, she develops into a brave, intelligent girl who can her work her way out of any problem. Elisa is very kind, always trying to help and do her help and makes it her personal mission to become friends with her husband's young son, who is all but ignored by his father. Elisa is a total badass, and I can't wait to see how she develops!

Alejandro, Elisa's husband, seems okay at first, but later on I have second thoughts about him. When I first met him, he seemed like a friendly man, smiling and being perfectly nice to Elisa. However, after I saw that he has a mistress, my opinion of him went considerably downhill. Not cool, dude. No matter how pretty she is. You have a wife. He's also a weak ruler, indecisive and hesitant to make important decisions. Regardless of my personal opinion of him, I was impressed by how Alejandro developed as a character.

The world of The Girl of Fire and Thorns was intriguing and creative. Religion is a big subject in the book, and I like that it is involved with Elisa's life so much. It's an important not only as an aspect of culture, but also as something teens are exposed to in everyday life. In that way, it makes sense that it would be in the book. There are many different people in Carson's world, and I appreciated how much she explored it.

I was very impressed by this fantasy debut! I loved how vivid the characters felt with their realistic imperfections. The plot was exciting and kept me hooked with unexpected twists and plenty of action, along with a hint of romance, to make things interesting. I thought his was a great addition to the genre, and I would recommend this to any fan of a good fantasy novel. 4.5/5 stars.