Another series that I had embroiled myself into came to a conclusion with this book. Here are some things I have loved about them both, i.e., the book and the series:

Elisa is a teenage character who doesn’t wait for the action to come to her. She doesn’t whine about being misunderstood or why her crush doesn’t love her — mostly because he does but that’s majorly due to who she is as a person and not because of how pretty she is. Their relationship is one built on mutual trust and respect, which was refreshing to see in a YA novel. She cares about the others and interacts in a positive way with other female characters. She evolves just like a real person would over the course of the trilogy. When she loses what made her special, i.e., the godstone, she realizes it wasn’t the jewel but her own strength that made everything possible. Therefore, she keeps on being her awesome self!

Now here is what I didn’t like:

The godtsone that Elisa was born with is why she is directly connected to god. It is also why wars are being fought and she remains a target in all three books. Yet the circumstances that led to the stone’s falling out were highly anticlimactic and even random. What was thatabout? Why design a whole series around a concept if it didn’t even matter in the end?

Another relatively minor quibble was the reason why her sister treated Elisa like shit all their lives wouldn’t stand up to close scrutiny. When viewed in its light, Elisa’s forgiveness didn’t really make sense either.

Book: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Author: Rae Carson

Genre: Fiction/Young Adult/Fantasy/Romance

Summary: Elisa has always felt powerless, useless. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king - a king who needs her to be 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 save his people. And he looks at her in a way no man had ever looked at her before. 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. - Greenwillow Books, 2011. 

This one was disappointing. 

Boring plot.  Unlikable characters.  Awkward 1st person.  The magic system was weird, abstract, and random.  It's almost like there wasn't a story being told...things just happened.

The title of the book doesn't even have anything to do with what happens in the story.

Ugh.

There are a few things the author did very well.  For example, I can tell you exactly the body type and attractiveness of each female character.  I can tell you what, how much, and how often the main character ate.  And--most importantly--I can tell you the color of eyes, hair, and definition of the jawline of each male character.  Oh, also...apparently, when it comes to male eye color, cinnamon is a valid color choice. 

I wonder what the abbreviation for cinnamon is on a driver's license?

If the author had spent as much time on the details of the story as she did on the details of how everyone looked, this might have worked. 

But she didn't.  So it doesn't.

Content appropriate for 12+.

The Value of a Star: Ratings Explained

The Girl of Fire and Thorns, by Rae Carson

“I will look in triumph on my enemies. They will scatter to the ends of the earth, and God’s righteous right hand will endure forever.” The ball of light whirls. My body tingles with power.  “I am God’s righteous right hand! And I will. Not. Waver.” The Godstone is all around me now, swirling and beautiful and terrifying. My skin breathes in the energy of the earth, of the air around me, and feeds it to my Godstone.

Princess Elisa is destined for greatness or for a horrifying death. She is the bearer of a Godstone that miraculously appeared in her navel when she was an infant. Few bearers have lived long enough to fulfill their destiny.

Elisa is sixteen when she is married to the young and handsome King Alejandro who rules a country far from her home. She has been protected and indulged her entire life. Secrets have been kept from her. To ease the worry that plagues her, Elisa, from childhood, has used food as comfort. She is a very large young girl, a girl with little confidence as compared to her slender, beautiful older sister. The marriage is a political arrangement.

She travels to the desert country of Joya d’Arena to become its queen, but when she arrives, Alejandro keeps their marriage a secret, offering an excuse pertaining to political issues. His mistress eyes Elisa with narrow, suspicious eyes. In response, Elisa continues to feed her worry with food. She is looked upon by all with scorn for her appetite and girth.

But there is a will of iron beneath her softness and when she is kidnapped a transformation takes place as she learns not only to survive the riggers of the heartbreaking trials before her, but to love the country and its people.

Ultimately, this is a story about belief in faith and in one’s self. Many times, Elisa doubts her ability to fulfill her God given purpose, but her belief sustains her even against seemingly insurmountable odds.

The novel starts of slow but as the story unfolds what Elisa faces engages the reader and holds the reader’s attention. I read late into the night. I had to finish it. The sequels, which I intend to read as soon as possible, continue

Currently reading Girl of Fire and Thorns, and such good writing, though a little slow at times but not enough to put me off. Review coming soon.