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My Review:Title: The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Author: Rae Carson
Series: Girl of Fire and Thorns #1
Published by: HarperAudio
Release Date: July 24, 2012
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Jennifer Ikeda
Length: 12 hours and 10 minutes
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Source: Chirp
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2022 Audiobook Challenge, Lenoreo's 2022 Backlist Reader Challenge, Lenoreo's 2022 COYER Summer
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My rating:
Blurb:Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.
But she is also the younger of two princesses. The one who has never done anything remarkable, and can't see how she ever will.
Now, on her 16th birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.
And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior, and he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.
Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn't die young.
Most of the chosen do.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
4.5 stars — and maybe part of the reason I rate it so highly is that I wasn’t sure if I would like this book. I had it on my wishlist a long time ago b/c of a giveaway I entered, so by the time it went on sale and I got it and started reading it, I had kind of forgotten a lot of the details of the description, so everything was a surprise. I tend to shy away from historicals and from books set entirely in different worlds. For some reason I have found I need that touchstone with my reality in order to really become absorbed. I don’t know why this book was an exception, but it was…maybe b/c the descriptions of the world were not so foreign, and the use of other languages and foreign words was not enough to disinterest me. I also tend to be drawn to female main characters that are larger…I’ll admit it…as a fellow voluptuous woman, I like reading about women similarly sized. And in this case, I also enjoyed that Elisa was such a strong character. She had her doubts but she didn’t hide from it…she gave as good as she got…and she faced all situations as head on as she could, even while feeling insecure.
At the beginning of the book I was confused how to feel about Alejandro…again, I had forgotten the description, so I kind of forgot any hints of where the romantic interest would come. And I am infinitely curious where it will go in future books… Humberto just made me sigh with a smile. Really, some very awesome secondary characters…many with flaws, but that just made them more human you know? Will be fun to see what happens to all of them in the next book… I feel like I have more to say, but it was just a pleasant surprise. Rich in detail, but not too confusing with foreign ideas. Great adventures, heartwrenching situations, a heartbreaking war with refugees…rich characters. OK, I’ll just stop now….
ON REREAD:
4 stars — Well crap, I just realized I didn’t actually write my review. *sigh* I definitely still really enjoyed it, even though it’s still completely outside my wheelhouse. There were definitely moments that felt a bit slower, but once she meets Humberto, and all the Malficio stuff, it really picks up.
Elisa ends up having quite a bit of character growth in this story, though…again…that mostly comes with her change of scenery. She starts off very…not weak necessarily, but she does let life happen to her a lot more. But she has this inner strength that she just needed a reason to tap into. I really ended up liking her by the end, she really comes into her own. You can tell that there’s a lot more growth that she’s still capable of, but you can see how it’s possible for her.
I can’t decide at this point whether I want to continue on or not. It ends at an okay place — no cliffhanger or anything. And no hint of what will happen next. There was a certain plot point that I had COMPLETELY forgotten about and it took me totally off guard. I think if that hadn’t happened, I would be champing at the bit for where the story would go. But it kind of depleted my excitement a little. So I think I’ll set it aside for now and make a decision sometime later. We’ll see. If I didn’t have so much to read, I would just keep going. But when you have to make choices…
I listened to the audiobook for my reread, and really enjoyed the narrator. Her pacing was good, and I appreciated how obvious the breaks were because of her pauses. She had great voices and emotion. I would definitely listen if I decide to forge ahead.
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