Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

July 1, 2014     erinbook     Book review

 

Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns #2)


Release Date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
410 Pages
Received: Bought from BookOutlet
Format: Hardcover


Rating: 

















Description:  She does not know what awaits her at the enemy’s gate.

Elisa is a hero.

She led her people to victory over a terrifying, sorcerous army. Her place as the country’s ruler should be secure. But it isn’t.

Her enemies come at her like ghosts in a dream, from foreign realms and even from within her own court. And her destiny as the chosen one has not yet been fulfilled.

To conquer the power she bears, once and for all, Elisa must follow a trial of long-forgotten—and forbidden—clues, from the deep, hidden catacombs of her own city to the treacherous seas. With her go a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man whom—despite everything—she is falling in love with.

If she’s lucky, she will return from this journey. But there will be a cost.

Review: If I’ve said it once then I’ve said it a hundred times, this series is awesome. These books have wormed their way deep into my heart and set up shop there.

I thought Elisa grew a lot in the first book but she hasn’t stopped. With each new book the main character continues to learn and grow. This is what sets her apart from many females in YA right now, Elisa was neither a capable leader nor fighter at the beginning of the first book. By this second installment Elisa is becoming a stronger person and learns with each obstacle she passes.

I was so happy to see that Hector got a much more substantial part in this book, he’s one of my favorite characters. Hector is loyal and strong and there’s so much I want to know about his past. I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I’ll just say that he’s got a great part to play in this book.

As with the first book, the world building in this series continues to be fantastic. The places are interesting and rich and easily identifiable from one another. The political turmoil within the world brings to mind several other YA fantasies that I loved (and that these books share the shelf with in my person library).

This is my favorite book in the trilogy and it fully deserves the five stars I’ve given it. I recommend this series for fans of high fantasy, especially if you liked Graceling or Grave Mercy.


Have you read Crown of Embers? Tell me your opinion in the comments. 


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