Book Review: The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns #2) by Rae Carson

The Crown of Embers
(Fire and Thorns #2)
by Rae Carson
September 18, 2012
Greenwillow Books
420 pages
Source: Purchased

Synopsis
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.(Taken from Goodreads.)

SPOILER ALERT!

This is the second book in a series so there WILL be spoilers for

 Book One: The Girl of Fire and Thorns. 

Seriously. Like there is a MAJOR one right in the opening paragraph.
You have been warned!

Opening Line

My entourage of guards struggles to keep pace as I fly down the corridors of my palace.

My Take On It

You guys I was such a fan of Rae Carson's 2011 debut The Girl of Fire and Thorns (read my review HERE.) It amazed me, it destroyed me, it made me feel ALL the emotions. I have been anxiously awaiting the sequel, excited because I wasn't really sure what lay ahead for Elisa (the conclusion of The Girl of Fire and Thorns was WAY open ended) and apprehensive because Carson basically tore my heart out and stomped on it when she killed off Elisa's love interest, Humberto. I wasn't sure I could handle something like that again in The Crown of Embers. As the early reviews started rolling in and I heard about a NEW love interest for Elisa I admit I was excited. But how would he, whoever he was, compare to sweet, tragic Humberto? I'm happy to say that my apprehension was unfounded. Rae Carson pulled that part of The Crown of Embers off and MORE.

Before we get to the romance, which I freely admit is my favorite part of this series, let's set the scene a bit and then talk characters. 

At the conclusion of The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Elisa, with the aid of her Godstone related abilities, successfully killed all the deadly animagus' and has driven back the Invierne army, but not before they claim the life of her husband, King Alejandro. Elisa must now step up and prove to the people of her new country that she is worthy to hold the post of queen. Working in her favor is her unwavering desire to protect her family, her country, as well as her drive to live up to her destiny as a " God's chosen one." Working against her is the fact that she is a foreigner, she is a woman (albeit one that bears the Godstone) and at just seventeen, she is vastly inexperienced. To make matters worse, an assassin is gunning for Elisa as well. And if that wasn't bad enough, Elisa's government is pressuring her to marry again believing a good political match will bolster the people's spirits. Things are a bit of mess in Brisadulce, wouldn't you agree?

Let's talk about our girl Elisa! All the things that I loved about Elisa are still present: her cleverness, her vulnerability, her strength, her courage, her ambition, and her loyalty. But this Elisa is different in one regard. She now sits as queen,  it's a role that she is gradually growing into, but not without some missteps. Elisa is definitely more ruthless in The Crown of Embers and much of the story is about her trying to strike a balance between being an effective ruler and being a compassionate ruler. Some of the decisions she made were hard to swallow, but I appreciate that Ms. Carson has portrayed the struggle that Elisa is facing in this new role. It's wonderful to witness her strength but just as wonderful to recognize that she's still just a young girl trying to do right by her people. 

And I refuse to be governed by fear. The life stretching before me is that of a queen. It's a life I chose. Fought for, even. I cannot--will not--squander it on dread.

Atta girl:) 

There are some in Elisa's surrounding court who would manipulate and betray her, but luckily she has strong allies in her corner as well. Elisa's trusted nursemaid Ximena is back, God love her. I will say that Ximena, loyal as ever, does exhibit a different side to her personality in The Crown of Embers but I'll leave it up to you to judge whether this is a good thing or not. But the first time she uttered "my sky", that endearment that I loved so much from The Girl of Fire and Thorns,  I couldn't help but smile and give a little whoop of thanks for being back in this amazing world:)

Her other major ally is Lord Hector, commander of the royal guard, and staunch supporter of Elisa. But I'm going to return to Hector in just a moment, because there is a LOT to say about HIM:)

Alejandro's son and heir Rosario returns and I enjoyed the small moments of love between he and Elisa. And Elisa finds a new friend in her maidservant Mara. Mara's role isn't large but it is important. Ximena is motherly, almost to the point of controlling, and Elisa needs a friend she can confide in. Elisa needs some girl time. Thankfully, Mara is there for her in this regard.

I greatly missed the stubborn yet loyal figure of Cosmé who now sits on the throne as ruler of Basajuan, the country Elisa allowed to secede from Joy d' Arena and form it's own union. But more on Cosmé later. 

There are also new characters introduced in The Crown of Embers. My favorites are Tristan, a suitor for Elisa's hand who becomes a trusted ally, and Storm, an Invierne defector. Now soap opera-ish name aside, I REALLY liked the character of Storm. He is brutally honest and harsh and has zero sense of sarcasm but he allows the people of Invierne, an enemy by all accounts, to become humanized. I think his role will continue to grow in the final installment of the series and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see some sort of alliance form between he and Elisa.

The story arc is still fascinating. The mystery of the Godstone and Elisa's mission in life takes a backseat to the mystery of how their world came into being. The plot thickens when Elisa discovers that her people aren't the only ones that bear Godstones and that everything she believed to be true about her world may in fact be false. Storm the Invierne plays a big role in Elisa's discoveries and I'm anxious to see how this story will play out in the final book of the series.

Okay, now to the good stuff: the ROMANCE. I know, I know, it seems like I put the romance ahead of EVERYTHING when I am reading. This is in fact...true, most of the time. And it is certainly true in the case of this series because I absolutely love the way author Rae Carson writes characters and romance. Before we move forward, here is where I stood at the conclusion of The Girl of Fire and Thorns: folks, I GRIEVED for the loss of Humberto. I kept waiting for him to come back at the end, for it all to be one big, sick joke. I was heartbroken when that didn't happen. And I wavered between being really PISSED that Rae Carson pulled this, to finally, grudgingly, admitting that it was a totally ballsy move on her part and probably made the story better in the end.

(On the same note, while I love that Carson continues to take risks in book two, she doesn't go full throttle and destroy me all over again. Thank you for showing some mercy Rae Carson.)

With these feelings firmly in hand I wondered: would I be able to handle a new romantic interest for Elisa? The answer? A resounding YES. Let me now take a moment to gush about the awesomeness that is Lord-Commander Hector of the Royal Guard. Hector is powerful, strong, BUFF, loyal, courageous, faithful, stubborn, self sacrificing, prideful, and freaking SEXY as all GET OUT. The character of Hector definitely stood out in The Girl of Fire and Thorns, not as a love interest, but as a stand up kind of guy. But he seemed much older than the other leading players of Elisa, Alejandro and Humberto. In actuality he is the same age as Alejandro, the two were childhood friends, but I think it's Hector's professionalism and maturity that made him seem older. In The Crown of Embers we are allowed a closer look into Hector's life. And by the way, thank you Rae Carson for writing Hector as 'stache-less' in The Crown of Embers, that did wonders  in the sexy-ness department:)

The love story Carson writes is the best kind: mucho slow burn that is gradual, sweet, and damn hot. Yes, there definitely are some steamy moments and the tease of even more GOOD THINGS to come. 

   He starts to back away. In desperation, I blurt, "Mara says I should take you as my lover.'"

   His indrawn breath is as sharp and hard as if I've wounded him. My face fills with heat, and I can't bear to look at his face. I'm embarrassed at my own weakness, unable to say such an important thing straight out. I want you as my lover, I should have said. But I can't bring the words to my lips, because if he says no, he'll be saying no to me, instead of merely to Mara's idea.

   But he'll have none of that. "Elisa. Are you asking?"

 Panic and hope war inside me. It's up to me, as it has always been. I can ask him or not. Asking him is terrifying. But not asking would be so much worse.

  "Yes, I'm asking. Hector, I--"

  With a swift motion, he cups the back of my head and presses his warm lips to mine. The pit of my stomach drops away as I open my mouth to his. 

Whoa.

Seriously, there is a whole lotta talk about 'taking lovers' and even birth control (way to be responsible RC!) so I have high hopes for book three, The Bitter Kingdom. HIGH. HOPES. (Please, Rae Carson?) 

Clearly I love Hector. Which was puzzling to me initially because I SO loved Humberto too! So how could I fall for Hector just as hard? Am I just fickle like that? No. I fell for Hector  in part because Rae Carson let Humberto's memory remain intact throughout this book. He may be gone but he isn't forgotten, especially to Elisa and Belén. On several occasions in The Crown of Embers the loss of Humberto is referenced even though it would have been very easy to sweep him under the rug and have Elisa casually move on. So thank you Rae Carson for doing him justice. Although Humberto's role wasn't large, he was Elisa's first love and it serves to demonstrate the difference between what she felt for him and what she is growing to feel for Hector. 

Another part of the book that I really enjoyed: The court politics in Brisadulce. Or, I should say, the way in which court politics are written. I didn't feel all mired down in heavy details and machinations like I sometimes do when reading books with court politics at play. It was just the right amount of political intrigue interspersed with action, adventure and swoony romance.

As Elisa and her entourage journey, hoping to locate a source of power that might help her become a stronger ruler, Elisa learns to channel her powers. The end of the quest was a bit anticlimatic to me but that isn't the end of the story. In fact, and I hate to be the one to break it to you, The Crown of Embers ends on a serious cliffhanger (sorry!) But at the story's closing there are hints of greatness to come. In The Bitter Kingdom, expect to see more of Queen Cosmé and more of Elisa's sister, Crown Princess Alodia, which spells more awesome moments of GIRL POWER, y'all! I cannot wait:)

In conclusion, The Crown of Embers is a spectacular sequel to The Girl of Fire and Thorns.  Rae Carson has successfully moved the plot forward; remained true to her amazing characters, and added more to boot; and has somehow managed to heal my broken heart after the tragic loss of Humberto by introducing what is sure to be an even more compelling romance. Fire and Thorns has become one of my favorite YA series. Carson is an amazing talent and I am so excited to see what she has in store for us when The Bitter Kingdom releases in 2014.

4.5/5 Stars

Check out author Rae Carson's website HERE.

Read more reviews of The Crown of Embers:
The Book Swarm
Jen Ryland/ YA Romantics
Starry Eyed Revue
Candace's Book Blog: Review and author interview
Courtney Reads A Lot
Literary Rambles
Good Book sand Good Wine: Review and author interview