Title: The Crown of Embers

Author Rae Carson

Series: Fire and Thorns #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: 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.

The Review:

Okay, prepare yourself for total fangirl book review that’s only semi-helpful. ;)

When I read Girl of Fire and Thorns, I was certain I’d found my new favorite book EVER! As you can imagine, I was reasonably terrified that this second book wasn’t going be nearly as good as the first. But you know what? It was phenomenal… and I read it way too fast.

Pretty much everything I geeked out about in my review of The Girl of Fire and Thorns carried over into this book. Even though I’m tempted to sing its praises all over again, I’ve decided to settle for a summary. Here are some of the reasons why I am LOVING this series:

• The rich character development
• The epic adventures
• The breathtaking settings
• The diverse and interesting cultures
• The addicting “can’t put it down” plot
• and The killer love-story

It has all of those things and more, and I am one book away from building a little shrine among my bookshelves for this series. That one book is book three in the trilogy (The Bitter Kingdom) and I am resisting the urge to pick it up right away – I just don’t want the story to be over yet!

I think it’s important to note that even though this book was geared towards a young adult audience, it had everything I look for in my robust high fantasy novels. This new trend of what I’m calling Teen High Fantasy is definitely my new favorite genre. All I have to say is, if there are any Throne of Glass and Graceling fans out there who haven’t tried this series yet, you are missing out!

Other books you might like:

Our YA Escape Reality Book Club has actually chosen Girl of Fire and Thorns as June’s  Selection, so if you’d like to read along or even just geek out with us, visit The Escape’s Reality Book Club Launch Post for more information on how to get involved (it’s easy).

by Niki Hawkes