ross91
Written on Feb 25, 2018
Princess Elisa is back! And in a tale that's bigger and badder than ever for fans of Kristin Cashore.
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 both foreign realms and 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 the trail of long-forgotten - and forbidden - clues from the deep, undiscovered catacombs of her own city to the treacherous seas. With her goes a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man who - despite everything - she is falling in love with.
If she's lucky, she will return from this journey. But there will be a cost.
- ISBN10 0575099208
- ISBN13 9780575099203
- Publish Date 12 September 2013 (first published 18 September 2012)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Gollancz
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 416
- Language English
Reviews
jesstheaudiobookworm
Written on Oct 20, 2015
Sam@WLABB
Written on Jul 18, 2015
Mackenzie
Written on Jun 5, 2015
........
I'm at a loss of words. This book was amazing. I really enjoyed the first one, but now I've fallen completely and irreversibly in love. Mrs. Carson, you sure know what you're doing.
Perhaps one of the things I love most about this series is how raw the characters are, especially Elisa. There is no holding back. There are weaknesses and flaws, but also incredible characteristics for each character. I love Elisa's lack of perfection because this makes her so much more realistic and relatable. Elisa is such a passionate, loyal, caring, intelligent, and courageous young woman, but she is also vulnerable and has to try to find balance between being a strong, ruthless ruler and a caring, compassionate one. She was thrown into this life as queen and now has to adjust. Sure she makes mistakes along the way, but she's still young and trying to find her way in a sea of uncertainty. I loved every moment of it.
And the romance! *sigh* I'll admit, I was shocked at Humberto's death in the previous book, but even though he was her love, I always had my eye on someone else. Wish granted! And boy is it delicious! Oh, Hector, you make my heart fluter! Stoic, incredibly loyal, stubborn, buff, courageous! I could go on and on! I loved how it was a slow-burn romance and how they really get to learn about each other. I absolutely loved getting to delve deeper into the mystery that is the Lord-Commander. But don't worry, there are definitely some steamy scenes in there (why does the third book have to be so far away?!?!).
The story arc is definitely worthy of interest. I couldn't turn away! The political intrigue, the questing, the new information?! So much fantasticness in so few pages! Well, 410 pages aren't too few, but I definitely wanted more (especially after an ending like that!!). Carson isn't afraid of risks and I love her for that! Nothing is perfect, but realistic.
And on a side note: I really enjoyed the new characters. The Captain seems like a great, humorous, jolly guy! And I personally look forward to learning more about Storm. I'm intrigued by his mysteriousness and believe he's got potential!
Overall:
Quite simply, I loved it. While I really enjoyed the first one, I fell head over heels for this one. It's so much more powerful and intriguing. Elisa is just an incredible young woman and the romance between her and Hector is to die for! I am eagerly awaiting the 3rd book. Here's to hoping for an ARC!
Originally found on Oh, For the Love of Books!
Amber
Written on Mar 25, 2014
This is a difficult review to write because I’m not sure what to say aside from the stuff I already covered in my review of The Girl of Fire and Thorns. The two books are equally great, and I liked them both equally. In The Crown of Embers, Elisa is facing more problems with being queen, and she has to figure out how to defend her queendom (squee) with the help of Hector (SQUEE) and her other friends in her court.
Rae Carson has done an amazing job of building upon the foundation that she created in the first book. Sometimes I find that second books in a trilogy are simply a stepping stone from book one, where the world is created, to book three, where the epic climax happens, but The Crown of Embers really impressed me because it built upon what had already happened and had been developed, and it didn’t feel stagnant or pointless.
Elisa is going through some of the best character development I have ever seen in YA. Instead of going through everything in book one, she is still growing and changing in this one. She needs to get used to her queenly ways, save people, and manage her developing feelings for Hector. She’s a flawless character in my eyes, and I love her to pieces.
You might know by now that slow burn is my favourite thing ever, whether it’s to do with romance or just the general plot, because I get excited when everything comes together and causes an explosion in the end. As long as there’s some action or twists thrown in there, slow burn is the best. And so how happy was I when Hector and Elisa started to feel the feels for each other? VERY. Elisa lost thingymabob (Humberto? I can’t remember his name, I read it months ago, leave me alone) in The Girl of Fire and Thorns, and wasn’t even into Hector at that point, but she did notice him. And then in The Crown of Embers her feelings for him start to grow and it’s fabulous because I started to like him along with her. We’re in this together, bb.
And Hector finally got rid of that disgusting wormstache, and I’m almost tempted to add another star just for that. Congrats on your good life choices, Hector.
The Crown of Embers is an excellent addition to the trilogy, and I can’t wait to continue with The Bitter Kingdom. Actually, that’s a lie, because I’ve been slightly distracted and I’m scared of how it’s going to end. I am so ready for more epic Elisa moments, though, because she is my queen.
Chelsea
Written on Jul 27, 2013
Hector is easily my favorite character and I was super glad that there was more of him in this book. I was a little nervous even starting this series because there’s a lot of religious stuff in it and I don’t really like reading about all that but this book proven me wrong. As much as I don’t like religion in books (not that there’s anything wrong with it) this book really needed it and I’m really happy with it.
Jordon
Written on Jun 4, 2013
The Crown of Embers surprised me, I loved The first book; The Girls of Fire and Thorns but I didn’t love it like I loved this. I knew this book was going to be good but I didn’t realise this book was going to be amazing. I loved it, I highly enjoyed it and now I’m pretty sure Rae Carson is one of my favourite authors.
The Crown of Embers follows Elisa as she tries to rule a country that is in ruins from the war that has just ended. I loved this book mainly because this book has a bigger picture. Elisa learns through choices and mistakes she makes, she learns by doing the wrong things but at least she’s decisive about it. I loved watching her grow throughout the book, discover herself and gain confidence. The character development that was weaved throughout the story was amazing.
The romance in this book had my own stomach flipping. Stolen glances, forbidden feelings, secret moments. The way Elisa falls in love is deep, she truly cares for the man she has fallen for yet for her country she knows it is not possible and never will be for her to be with him. The pain she suffered from the fact of this was heartbreaking, yet she would put her country first and always. I loved that about her. She was strong and even in times of fear she was still able to appear strong.
Elisa is a strong character, she steadily grows throughout the book as she learns how to be queen of a country she has only recently become a part of. She was a very well rounded, deep character and I felt for her. I was able to connect with and understand her which I always find is incredibly important. All of the characters in The Crown of Embers were well rounded, I loved that. I loved everything about this book.
Overall, there were many, many things I absolutely loved about this book and nothing that I didn’t. The Crown of Embers flew past the first book in the series and is a definite read. It’s exciting, thrilling, interesting, addicting and one of the best books I have read.
I recommend this book if you like fantasy, romance, and good character development.
Always,
Jordon
This review was originally posted on Simply Adrift
anne
Written on Jan 1, 2013
lizarodz
Written on Jan 1, 2013
The book starts about five months after the end of Girl of Fire, on Elisa’s birthday (as did the first book). She has now the heavy weight of huge kingdom to reign over and is being sabotaged. Elisa still doubts her ability as a queen and as a woman, she is trying to find a balance between what is right and wrong, and figure out who she can trust to help her rebuilt. I am so glad that she found her inner strength and found her power and sense of self-worth from within, without the crutch that the zafira.
Elisa comes to rely in her nurse/guardian Ximena, her lady-in-waiting Mara and in her Captain of the Guard Hector. Hector is amazing. He believes in Elisa as few do, is full of good advice for her and loves her so much, that it hurts to see. I’m still upset about the ending and I hope all ends well (*pretty please*)
The character development is astounding. These characters are so special, and fully fleshed out. We see some old friend from the previous books and it seems like the next one will bring even more. There are also a few new characters; more notable are Tristán and Storm (which despite all I still liked). I don’t want to give anything away, but well done Elisa! It was time to take her rightful place and be the queen she was groomed to be!
The plot is excellent, it’s full of twists and turns and action packed. The setting is so vivid and well crafted. The idea of the Godstone is so original and although the story is full of religious references, it is not preachy at all. The writing is nothing short of amazing. You can tell by my raving on and on that I simply adore this series. I cannot wait for the sequel, The Bitter Kingdom, to be published in September.
Here are some quotes:
“For love is more beautiful than rubies, sweeter than honey, finer than the king’s wine. And not one has greater love than he who gives his own life for a friend. My love is like perfume poured out…” – Elisa’s prayer
“If you were like this, with this kind of confidence, this clarity of thought, no one would dare challenge your rule” – Hector to Elisa
“His eyes are steady and frank when he says, “I don’t regret telling you what I did”
“That’s good, because you did say it, and I can’t unknown it”
“And I can’t unfeel it, he says” - Hector to Elisa
“But I’m not powerless” I continue. “ I've always had my Godstone and its minor magic… And I have me. I will be enough” – Elisa
About the cover: The only thing I don’t like is the cover, it just doesn't do anything for me.
Kelsenator
Written on Nov 5, 2012
First, I need to mention how awesome the cover is. I’m borrowing the Hardcover from the library, and the jewel is raised out of the book and it’s all very shiny and pretty. I loved the look of the first book too, but this one is even better with the colours.
The characters are awesome, I love how strong and determined Elisa is even though she sometimes is really scared or unsure and in need of someone to lean on. As the Queen, she now has to deal more with decisions than before that can have good or bad repercussions, and putting her personal wants aside. In this they urge her to find a husband, not long after her previous one died. She starts to fall for Hector (and who doesn’t love knights in armour) but there are so many doubts about feelings and she still has much to do in regards to the Godstone and what her destiny is.
This book is of course filled with adventure, cunning and devious plots. One Conde wants to overthrow her and it doesn’t help that the people are still afraid and riled up from the last attacks on the city. The only way to save everything is for her to embark on a dangerous journey to find a place of power. The journey was pretty awesome and I loved how much she learns through this whole book, and how much space is still left for her to grow even more in the next one.
If you love fantasy I definitely suggest you give this series a try, and start with the first book if you haven’t already!