Girl of Fire and Thorns

Linara K.S

At the beginning this was so so boring -
'cause Elisa just did what others told her to da and she always had a bad critic about herself but later on we discover alot of new aspects about her ...not to spoile or anything but this book was fantastic after like 30-ish pages I wanted to DNF it but when A friend of mine told me that it gets better I fortunately continued and I did not regret buying it

arwen

Rachel Kanyid

I was captivated from beginning to end. There were some slightly cliche moments,and parts that were a little less than believable, but otherwise, this was a wonderful book!

Kirsten Simkiss

I’d really give this book 3.5 stars, but rating it at 3 pulls the average closer to my ideal rating for this book. The book was enjoyable, but I can’t say I was totally hooked by it.

I loved that the main character was a Latina who’s hot body image issues and isn’t your standard skinny beauty like most YA novels. Elisa was a decent main character and possessed a great deal of initiative, which I appreciated. That said, I didn’t connect with her much on an emotional level. As a matter of fact, I had difficulty emotionally connecting to and caring about any of the characters. I just feel like they needed more depth to them in general. Most characters were kind of one note.

I really wish this book had a map. The world seems very complicated and it was hard to get a grasp of how far away certain places were.

I’m also not a really religious person, so to have a main character obsessed with the church since before she was born was a little hard for me to care about. God having an agenda is a little hard for me to believe in general. The premise of any YA novel typical requires some suspension of belief, but I’m not used to a monotheistic fantasy world.

All in all, a fun little read. I’m not sure I’d ever read it again, but I’ve certainly read worse books.

Shay Henrion

Livia

It's... there's not a lot I want to say about this book, it's just okay. I like the whole concept about the godstone, and Elisa definitely grows throughout the book. And Rae Carson definitely isn't scared to kill off people that you thought would be safe.

Mary Rose Luksha

Things I enjoyed about this book:
- The world building: I loved reading a YA fantasy book based on Spanish and Moorish influences, very different and cool. 

- Elisa’s character development: first person is hard to get right but I think Carson set up good development of the main character. A little whiny at first but she found her way. 

Things I did not enjoy about this book:
- The world building: To achieve world building, Carson had Elisa travel to many places, and the traveling took up a SIGNIFICANT portion of the book. Like I’m pretty sure Carson read LotR and was like “So the fellowship just walked the whole way?? Cool.” And decided that was high fantasy for YA. 

- Elisa’s character development: I get that being overweight can take a toll on many teenage girl’s self esteem, but I think Carson’s handling of Elisa losing weight was problematic. She just walked A LOT in a desert and stopped eating sweets and all of a sudden hey...not so fat. And her weight loss was coupled with believing in herself more and just...sigh. Why can’t she be fat and love it? There’s gotta be a high fantasy way of saying I’m thicc and beautiful and fuck all y’all haters, you know?

But one thing I did appreciate was that while this book is part of a series, it also felt like a standalone book which I appreciated.

Maria Banning

Leah Patton

This is going to sound like gushing.
The Girl Of Fire and Thorns has to be one of my favorite books that I've read this year. It has it all, action, plot, and characters.
The action in Fire and Thorns was so beautifully written and described that I felt as If I were in the desert, facing down the Perditos in the jungle and the Animagi in the dessert.
The plot also adds to the story, moving seamlessly from the beginning, with a wedding shrouded in mystery, to the huge problem of how to defeat the coming army though they posses every advantage. The part where Eliza capture is a little abrupt and confusing but it quickly regains its dynamics and pace.
The characters are definitely the strongest points of the book. Eliza is believable and dynamic, changing from the scared, sheltered girl she started out as, to the brave warrior she becomes. Her transformation was written very well. My favorite part of the book had to be the main question that was posed throughout the book, being what really is Gods will? Eliza's confusion on what her Purpose will be is foiled perfectly with the insistence of everyone else who claims to know His will.
Other notes about the book was the cover. As mentioned before, I am so glad they chose this one to sell. Eliza, although a beautiful girl, I'm sure :), is not thin and model-like. The cover clearly presents what's going to be inside the book, and I really like that. Eliza is definitely my favorite heroin, up in the ranks with Fire, Katsa, and Katniss, from Fire and Graceling by Kristin Cashore and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Haley Parker

While I did enjoy this book and do plan on finishing the series, I just couldn’t get into it. I liked the characters, but nothing really stood out about them or made them special. I didn’t really find anything about the plot or story that I really connected with and nothing made me fall in love with the book. I did enjoy it and it’s definitely an enjoyable read, just nothing super special.

Megan Williams

I loved the plot of this book because it is really unique and really shows that a person decides who they want to be. This book is all about a girl who doesn’t expect a lot from herself and the result of this is that people don’t believe in her. Then when put to the test she turns out to be strong and determined. I love how much changes this book is involved in. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book at first because of some of the characters and their interactions. Then the book starts becoming so much more exciting and adventurous. I absolutely fell in love with this book and this series.

Elisa is a hard character to like at first. She is kind of ungrateful and she is so submissive to the people around her. It took me a while to get to a point where I started to like her and then admire her. I loved her transition and how her life affected her. She went from weak to this strong leader that others looked up to. I loved this transition because so many books start with a strong lead and this one builds into it. 

There are so many characters that helped Elisa and some that held her back. I loved how they interacted with her and how they challenged her to be a better her. What really made this book so great was how the characters were forced into difficult situations and then grew into better people and stronger people. I loved every character and I felt that the author did an amazing job of characterizing each and every one.

Overall this book was simply amazing and I love to read it. If you have read this book be sure to check out the second book because it gets even better as the series continues. And if you haven’t read this book you should definitely put it on your TBR list!

Alexandra Mellas

Why do good stories end so soon? I can't wait for the next one the crown of embers! 

Raiding bookshelves review to come

Maria

just to note that this book is worth trying. i like its approach to mythology with quite unexpected turns. and the heroine is the one you can relate to. very human. first time in YA fantasy i saw a heroine who's fighting her weight :) i would give it 5 stars if the swoon were done better

Sahi K

This was a good book but there was something missing which stops it from being great. I found Elisa to be a relatable character with her lack of confidence, stress eating and unable to bear the burden of being the chosen one. She grows a lot through her journey to come into her own and be able to protect those she loves. I also liked that she is a sort of bookworm and uses all her knowledge to plan the best ways to attack and defend. Alejandro was so indecisive and unsure despite being the King but he is a good person and I liked that he got a chance to prove his bravery.

The strength of this book are the side characters – Ximena, Cosmé, Humberto and Hector. They are all brave and loyal and fierce and I really loved all of them. The whole concept of praying to God for everything and justifying all actions as God’s will was a little difficult to get through but I understand it’s going to be the main theme throughout this series. I just hope the next book is better and I definitely would like Elisa to overcome her grief and find her true love.

Neele Jan

Tiffanie Dang

I really loved this book! It was so refreshing to have such a believable and relatable heroine who is not the typical “beautiful and skinny” stereotype, but still have admirable traits such as intelligence and bravery. Elisa’s transformation throughout the book was done so well and Rae’s writing is so gorgeous! I read this for VCFA, but I wish I had read it two years ago when it was first recommended to me. This book surprised me in so many ways and had me laughing, crying, and all feeling all the emotions. I was hooked from the beginning and enjoyed every moment of it. I’m so excited for the next two books in the series!

Hannah

Megan

I LOVED THIS!! PROBABLY A 4.5 STARS!! i cant wait to talk to everyone about it over on Nicole's channel tonight!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-yZI...

Ashlie Reifer

Visha Jain

I really like the book. it seemed little bit like a religious fantasy and this was a negative point for me as I am not a religious person. But i would say I really enjoyed the plot and it was okay. I loved hiw our MC develops throughtout the boom but I would not say same for the side characters especially out MC potential love interests. though the main focus was not on the relationship I just felt like thise characters didn't had much of a development and I really wanted more of it. I would say that It was really a quick read and the plot was very fast-driven which really suited the plot. rae carson's writing was also really amazing and very easy to read.

Liz Griffin

Rarely have I ever been so glad to be done with a book. The main character is resentful of any other female character that she deems more beautiful (i.e. thinner), she is condescending and only kind when it suits her, and concludes “I had the power all along” when she only succeeded by being hand-held through the whole thing. I also never want to hear the words “my navel” ever again. The mythology was lazily veiled Judeo-Christian, but with magic stones because “fantasy”.

Girl of Fire and Thorns

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