Rae Carson

The second book in Rae Carson's award-winning The Girl of Fire and Thorns fantasy trilogy, perfect for fans of Game of Thrones and Kristin Cashore. Tamora Pierce called the first book, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, "A unique and engrossing read!" A seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny. In The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Elisa won the war. She saved her kingdom. But no one prepared her for how hard it is to recover from a battle, or to rule a people who still don't trust her. She's still fighting—against assassination attempts and more—and her enemies lie both outside her court and within it. So Elisa will cross the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. With her go a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume to Rae Carson's ambitious trilogy. Cinda Williams Chima proclaimed about the first book, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, "I LOVED this book!" and Veronica Roth agreed, saying, "Definitely recommended."

The Crown of Embers

Raven K

** spoiler alert **
           this was SO much better than the first one, in terms of almost everything. Elisa was more of a baddie in this, which kinda surprised me. And we got to see more of her and Hector 😮‍💨💙. Speaking of Hector, hopefully he gets saved in the next book 😭. I..actually enjoyed this book. Everytime I put it down, I found myself picking it back up. Let's hope the next one is as addictive.

"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"--

The crown of embers

Rachel Kanyid

Livia

3.5 rounded up to 4

Well, this is definitely better and more entertaining than the first one. And I also love the relationship blooming in this book, unlike the first one. The ending though, i'll 100% dive immediately to the next book.

Mary Rose Luksha

Same issue as the first book...most of it is walking walking walking then they get somewhere and BAM every plot point gets wrapped up in 8 pages.

Maria Banning

If Hector and Elisa don't end up married I think I will scream!

Leah Patton

** spoiler alert **
           I miss Hector!!

Haley Parker

** spoiler alert **
           I honestly only expected to like this book, as I liked the first one but it hadn’t done a ton for me. But wow, the amount that Elisa grows throughout this book made me finally fall for her as a main character and absolutely adore reading about her. I love how much confidence she’s gained in herself and the fact that she has developed a backbone and is really smart. 

I did not see her and Hector coming but I absolutely adore it! I wasn’t able to get attached to either love interest in the first book because both felt like childhood crushes and now I know the reason they did was because this was coming and wow! I already bought the next one on my kindle and will honestly start it as soon as I finish this review, despite the fact I really should sleep but who needs sleep when you have books to read.

Overall, highly recommend

Sahi K

This book was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did. After the ending of The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Elisa is a Queen trying to rule. But she is only seventeen and her age and her place of birth undermine her authority. The Lords of her Quorum try to outmaneuver her at every step, trying to prove her incompetence, coaxing her to consider appointing a regent or marry for an alliance. On the other side, there are multiple assassination attempts on her in her own capital, and the question remains if the enemies are outside or within. Amidst all this, there is also the pull towards fulfilling her destiny as God’s Chosen One. Will she be the Queen she wants to be? Will she survive? Who should she trust?

The character development of Elisa is amazing in this book. Most of the first half, lots of things are happening around her and she is young and vulnerable and not in control. The intrigue and betrayals and politics of the court stifle her confidence but she starts asserting herself once she is out of the capital. She makes plans, decides what she wants to do, proving to herself that she can be the Queen she is meant to be. Her growth is remarkable and the ending was awesome.

Hector – I didn’t see this coming. He was Elisa’s good friend in the first book but it grows into so much more. They trust each other, want to keep each other safe and respect each other immensely. I can’t speak much more without spoilers but their romance and their conversations are just intense, angsty and so full of love, it’s adorable.

I also loved Mara’s character. She and Elisa develop a great friendship and I want to appreciate how both of them discuss their personal lives and are so confident about their bodies and sexuality. I really really adore female friendships and this bond is special. Storm was a surprise. I was skeptical about him for the most part but I might just have started to like him towards the end. I hated Ximena in this book. I couldn’t believe that she refused to see Elisa as anything other than the God’s vessel here to fulfill her destiny. She really got what was coming to her.

The ending is both terrifying and exhilarating at once and I am very excited to see Elisa kick some ass in the next book and finally achieve what she deserves.

Emily C Peterson

This is possibly the best second book in a trilogy that I have ever read

b.andherbooks

Book 2 of this series made me super glad I stuck with it. Elisa is newly crowned queen, but is struggling to gain power and respect as ruler of a land she is not from. More information surfaces about her fate as the bearer of the god stone and another adventure awaits her.

The action in book 2 is much more riveting, along with the love story (much more plausible) than book 1. Gone are the terrible body issues (thankfully) although it was a bit weird they were such a focus in the first go around and now they are merely an afterthought. Ah well.

Megan

the romance in this??? sis first book was sweet this one was STEAMY!!!!! obsessed

Lacey

This is now one of my all-time favorite YA fantasy books EVER. 
  So freaking good.
 I loved Elisa, I loved Hector, I loved everything about Crown of Embers! There was never a dull moment in the book. AH! I'm still freaking out about this. Love this to death. Seriously.

And that ENDING?!? My heart just broke, and yet I was still happy (view spoiler)[about Elisa saying she's marrying Hector!! I was totally squealing at that part! (hide spoiler)]

This book is simply amazing. It's gorgeously written and the characters are just fabulous. And I have to say that I didn't love the first book as much as this one, so for those who didn't really enjoy The Girl of Fire and Thorns, you should really give Crown of Embers a chance because it will rock your socks off!

The Crown of Embers

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