Book Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Fire and Thorns #1
Author: Rae Carson
Pages: 432 Hardcover
Reading Level: YA
Published: September 20th 2011
Review Source: Greenwillow Books
Available: Amazon / Barnes & Noble  / Indiebound

Summary: (from goodreads) 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 needs 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.

This is not a book to judge by its cover. I own a ARC so once I started reading I kept glimpsing back to the cover and wondering what the girl on the cover had to do with the story. Then I looked at the final cover and its much better to grasp with the story, still not a favorite. So believe when I say when choosing this book to read, pick it because of all the greatness it contains inside. 

It's getting harder and harder for me to write reviews for great books. All my words gets twisted in my head. The Girl of Fire and Thorns would be a book I would love to see on the big screen. There is a world here that Rae Carson created that just amazing. The details are so strikingly vivid. The characters are believable in so many ways. She didn't do them over the top. She test her characters and either they fall or make it through what Rae gives them to face. I will say Rae won me over with how her main character Elisa grew with the story. I was Elisa personal cheerleader on the sidelines routing for her the whole time. 

The Girl of Fire and Thorns is a story following Elisa. She has just turned sixteen and has been set to marry King Alejandro of Orovalle. This a a fixed marriage between her father and King Alejandro. After Elisa has been wed, she sets off to her new home with her new husband. Its not a easy trek. Then on top of that she arrives at her new kingdom and must hide the fact that she is the new queen. Then add to that mix of issues, the fact that Elisa gets kidnapped right out of her own bed. Now Elisa will truly encounter hew journey in her new life. Elisa learns and begins to mature and understand her surround sing and her captors. You might ask why everyone want Elisa, well she is the bearer of the Godstone. She is the chosen in her time. There are those who want to help and protect the bear and then their are those who want to harm or kill the bearer. So be prepared to be thrown in Elisa journey as she must defend herself and either learn her purpose or fail. 

This is the beginning of a trilogy and I'm very much excited to read the next installment in the series. The ending will be a shocker but will leave you satisfied until the next. Go out and grab your copy today, I'm sure you will enjoyed it as much as I did. I practically read it almost in one sitting.