Review: Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

Book: Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns #2)
By: Rae Carson
Published: September 18, 2012
Published by: Greenwillow books

Description: In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

My Thoughts: I absolutely loved the first books in this series, Girl of Fire and Thorns, and Crown of Embers is no different.

Elisa is being hunted, constantly publicly attacked, and also privately deceived. As expected, she is wounded both physically and emotionally and we see that the role of Queen isn't all ball gowns, gold, lavish weddings, and expensive offerings. Elisa is only seventeen and already has more to deal with than seventy year old's. She's dealing with threats to her nation, herself, and her people all while trying to decide who to trust in a sea of traitors and those that want to control her life. Meanwhile, she must determine how she can marry for the good of her people and not for herself.

We saw a lot of growth out of Elisa in the first book as she went from spoiled overweight princess with a stone in her bellybutton forced to marry a King with a mistress and child from his previous marriage, to a Godstone bearing Queen leading a desert army and defending her kingdom from sorcerers after the death of the King. Elisa grows in this book as well. We start with a widowed queen, now made to become mother of the soon to be Heir while determining how to deal with the promise of another attack from the sorcerers and this time, an attack proving to be deadly. She has multiple attacks on her life and the lives of those protecting her. She journeys to a sacred, unknown land for power and a way to help her people. There she learns things about herself, and what she needs to to do effectively lead and become a stronger leader and a better person overall.

Most middle books in trilogy's tend to feel a lot like fillers meant to do nothing but bridge the gap between the first and last books. That is not the case with Crown of Embers. It had a purpose and I enjoyed reading it.

I loved Elisa even more in this book. She had vulnerability, but also strength. Those she had around her obviously loved her. I loved Hector, the leader of her Royal Guard and the most amazing man ever. Mara was sweet and lovely and girly and so fun, and even Ximena, with her overbearing mother-like tendencies was just as annoyingly lovable. We also got to see some old faces from book one which was a wonderful treat.

This story talks about finding whats inside yourself and learning to tap into it. It's about following your heart, and doing what's best. It's also about faith and the knowledge that what doesn't kill you, almost always makes you stronger. It did end in a nearly unbearable cliffhanger but I understand it couldn't have been avoided. I cant wait to read the next book in the series, The Bitter Kingdom. There was nothing I didn't like about this book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good fantasy read with the hint of romance and Godly purpose. Crown of Embers easily earns 5 stars. The next time I get the chance to spend money on books without feeling regret, I will certainly be purchasing this and the first book for my bookshelf collection.

Random Rant Thursday

Time for a quick Rant!!!!!

See you soon!!!

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Book: Thirteen reasons Why
By: Jay Asher
Published: October 8, 2007
Published by: Razorbill

Description: Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.


On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.
Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

My Thoughts: For those of you that watched my you tube book haul, you know that I got Thirteen Reasons Why as an audiobook from the library. I don't normally read contemporary novels, so when I do, they tend to be in audiobook format. This particular story is one that I heard a lot about. I was told it was heart wrenching and deep and moving and all that. I'm not sure I totally agree, but it certainly was an interesting read.

The story follows Clay Jensen. He's a high school student who comes home and finds box of tapes for him to read. Those tapes hold a step by step account from Hanna Baker, his former classmate and crush, who killed herself. In the tapes she explains the reasons she committed suicide and the people involved in the process. The audiobook, narrated by a man and a woman to give the voices of Hanna on the tapes and Clay's thoughts, really captured the intended feelings.

Clay panics most of the story. He obviously liked Hanna despite her"reputation." and seemingly feels guilty about her death. He seems to think that people can read on his face the fact that he's listening to an account from a dead girl and just acts all around strange the entirety of the book. That being said, he seems to be your typical "nice guy" and is wondering why he's included in the tapes at all.

As for Hanna, I must say I don't respect her. The whole book is her explaining the reason she killed herself and she is, in my opinion, doing whatever she can to bring everyone else down with her. She seems to have a thin skin, is extremely naive and just basically annoyed me the entire book. I found myself wanting to go through the book and strangle her myself, before I remembered she was already dead. I mean seriously, the things that bothered her, on their own or piled together, do not warrant suicide in my opinion.

I must point out though, that this book was one big snowball effect. As I said, on their own, the events that contributed to Hanna's resolution don't warrant suicide. However, when you stack them up, one on top of the other, on top of the other, you can understand why she was so depressed. I still don't agree with the suicide, but I guess I can follow how these things affected her so deeply. It's interesting to read how everything connected and ho, one little mean/selfish thing one person does can affect that person's entire life from then on. It reminded me of when I watched time travel movies as a kid, and they said if you change just one thing in the past, the entire future is different. Likewise, a small insult, or comment in the past can affect the way people treat and view other people, and often this grows into something in the future that becomes bigger than it was.

Hanna understands that she's giving up, and near the end of the book, we realize that she's doing whatever she can to just ruin her life further, so that there's nothing left to salvage. Ultimately, her bad judgment was part of the reason she continued to ruin her life, and she expected others to see her actions and stop her. Admittedly, I can sympathize with that feeling. Often, when I was her age I remember feeling a bit like a failure, like my life was ruined, and I began to act accordingly. Many of my decisions were hurried and destructive (although no where near as serious as suicide or cutting or the like). I just didn't hold myself up to the level I should have because I didn't think I deserved it. Luckily, I grew up, and began to understand my own worth. I understood that no one can help you if you don't try to help yourself. Hanna killed herself before she could learn.

Thirteen Reasons Why was an interesting story about seizing great opportunities and chances, being a good person, understanding how things you do affect others, and understanding how the things you do affect yourself. It was about accountability and immaturity. While I was reading, I couldn't wait for it to be over, just as Clay couldn't. It kept you thinking and reflecting.

That being said, I gave this story a low rating. It really was wonderfully written and accomplished everything it sought out to do. Nonetheless, I just couldn't bring myself to give it a higher rating. My rating was merely a reflection of how I feel about Hanna, and Clay, and their view on the world. It's also low because I don't like the idea of the tapes and the blame game that ensues. I don't agree with her suicide. Nevertheless, I would without a doubt recommend this story to all middle schoolers/high schoolers. I would also recommend it to those of you who like contemporary novels that teach a bit of a lesson about life and make you reflect on your own decisions. It was a great book, though I will probably never read it again. Yes, my review is kind of all over the place, but that's how my feelings are for this book. My Rating is 3 Stars.