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January 12, 2012

Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson - Juhina

The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns, #1)
Title: The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns #1)
Author: Rae Carson
Publication date: September 20th, 2012
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Genre(s): Young Adult (Fantasy/Historical)
Source: Own
Format: 
Hardcover
Pages: 424

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.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns was my first try at historical fiction AND Fantasy, and i gotta admit, I like the combination! I applaud Rae Carson for choosing a non standard protagonist. Looking back, i was very shocked with the description of the protagonist.. an overweight, young princess with family issues. Good to know that in the land of princesses, not everyone is a carbon copy of cinderella or snow white. 
Ok back to the story, got sidetracked a bit. So The Girl of Fire and Thorns. I honestly don't know the fire and thorn part, but she was The Girl with the Blue Stone. The idea that there is a chosen one and is imprinted by having a stone embedded in the navel grosses me out and fascinates me. At the beginning Elisa started off as a typical youngest daughter, off to be married too early (age of sixteen), and even though she's the chosen one, she doesn't know WHY or HOW she could make a difference. Then she moved away from her family and palace and into a foreign and quite hostile surroundings where she had to learn to buckle up and grow a spine.  
This book had so much going on, so many events, and shocking discoveries, journeys, and near death experiences. I was totally invested in the characters. Which is why Rae Carson broke my heart so many times throughout the book. While this isn't what I'm typically used to, it was very refreshing and quite frankly exceeded my expectations when I first started reading it. 

A different type of tune, and I love it!


8 comments:

  1. Is this a stand alone book or a series?

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  2. @primrose ohh its part of a trilogy! i just found out :P

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  3. This was a GREAT book and I'm glad you enjoyed it, too!

    Ex Libris

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  4. Thanks for the review! I really loved the idea of this book, and am hoping to maybe read it. :)

    Alexandra~
    http://www.wordsoftheworlds.blogspot.com

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  5. I've never been interested in this book because I really dislike the cover. I'm glad you reviewed it because I actually love historical fiction/fantasy books. They are some of my faves! And I like that the princess isn't your typical blonde hair, blue eyed version. I'll have to add this to my TBR list.

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  6. This book was enjoyable enough. I just had a harder time getting into this one. I never really felt any conviction from the characters. I seem to be the minority on this though.

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  7. Yay! I'm so glad you liked it! Brilliant review, Juhina. :) I actually really love the fact that it merges more than one genre together. I can't wait to see what has in store for us in the next book! :D

    Sam @ Realm of Ficton

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  8. Yay! :) I'm glad you enjoyed it! I liked the fact that Elisa was a different kind of princess, and I also love that my heart got broken throughout the book. But while it's somewhat sad it's still hopeful. Great review!

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