The Crown of Embers (Girl of Fire and Thorns, #2)

by Rae Carson

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

[ladygrey]

I didn't love this one quite as much as the first. It's good, the plot unfolding in an interesting manner and progressing in a reasonable way from the last novel. The characters are good enough and well developed.

There's nothing bad to say about this story, but there's also nothing amazing to say about it. There wasn't a heart piercing turn of phrase and I didn't fall in love with any of the characters. There writing style wasn't beautiful and the plot wasn't engrossing. But it was all very good and very well executed. I feel weird saying all that, like I'm trying to find things to not like. It's just [a:Rae Carson|4074051|Rae Carson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1284052029p2/4074051.jpg] is a very talented writer and there's a lot to like, and I'm having to explain, to myself more than anything else, why I didn't give it 4 stars because there was just nothing I loved.

Except maybe the last five pages which I read a couple times. And possibly Hector's tormented perspective of power which was very interesting. And maybe Elisa's character development. I liked who she was in the last 5 pages a lot and think it bodes well for the next book.