The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

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

by Rae Carson

"Hero. Foreigner. Queen. Elisa, at the age of seventeen, is all three. And all three draw enemies. Faced with assassins, court politics, and the threat of civil war, Elisa despairs of being the ruler her people need. Her only hope is the Godstone. She must master its power once and for all. She finds clues hidden in a long forgotten--and forbidden--scripture. Accompanied by a one-eyed warrior, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa takes a leap of faith and crosses an ocean in search of the ultimate source of the Godstone's power. But her faith has always had a price, and doing the right thing might mean giving up the power she desperately needs. And it might mean giving up the man she desperately loves. Rae Carson continues the epic story begun in The Girl of Fire and Thorns with a novel that is remarkable, adventurous, and even more romantic than the first"--

Reviewed by e_rodz_leb on

5 of 5 stars

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Wow! I love The Girl of Fire and Thorns, and as soon as I finished it, I had to purchase The Crown of Embers and I have to say that it was even better, which I would think it was almost impossible.

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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 January, 2013: Finished reading
  • 1 January, 2013: Reviewed