If you caught even just a couple of my updates I think it would've been plainly obvious that I didn't enjoy this book. It's disappointing, really, because I think Carson was attempting to create a heroine that many girls could relate to. Elisa is overweight, unsure of herself, overshadowed by her prettier and skinnier sister, and chosen for something she's not sure she's worthy of. It sounds like the beginning of a compelling story, but ultimately Elisa only proves her worthiness by changing eve [...]

Running in a 25k marathon.In 4.8 inch heels.In the rain.With an STD.While hungover.And getting passed by a 93-year-old man,Who’s wearing a very form-fitting polyester purple-leopard-print body suit.Would have been better than this book.

I feel torn about The Girl of Fire and Thorns.On the one hand, there's not much room to accuse this book of being slow - the action is constant, zipping along from a bloody battle, to a lusty encounter (PG-13, of course), to another dramatic reveal, to a kidnapping. Elisa's life spins off in a crazy new direction that starts with her marriage to a King of a nearby country in chapter one, and the pacing never slows down after that.Elisa is a 16-year-old princess and was born the bearer of a Godst [...]

2.5 starsMy ARC has the old version of the cover and it is super pretty, the blue tones of it are gorgeous:I am glad the publishers changed it though. At the very least this book will be spared accusations of whitewashing and weightwashing. The heroine of this novel - Princess Elisa of Orovalle - describes herself as "dark," "brown" and also as "a big, bloated sausage" and "pig." Clearly, the cover doesn't quite match these adjectives.Now onto the novel itself. 16-year old princess Elisa has a g [...]

“And God raised up for Himself a champion. Yea, once in every four generations He raised him up to bear His mark.”What better way to take a break from stupid reality things like essays and demanding classes than a YA fantasy book about war, prophecy, an unlikely heroine and mouth-watering food? Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleasantly surprised!“Lucero-Elisa. Heavenly light, chosen of God. His words suffocate me as surely as his embrace. All my life, I've been reminded that I am destined for [...]

1.5 stars. All in all incredibly underwhelming and somewhat both idiotic and infuriating. Trust me, I would love to tell you that my distaste only revolves around personal matters - as a strong case of "it's not the book but me", let's say - but in all honesty, I really don't think that and the problems I had with The Girl of Fire and Thorns were way too numerous to be left ignored."You must not lose faith, child. No matter what. Do not doubt God or his choosing of you. He knows infinitely more [...]

DEAR EVERYBODY: YOU NEED TO READ THIS!!! Seriously, what Rae Carson does with this book is brilliant and extremely refreshing! Everything is so honest and genuine and I loved every moment of it.

"God's will. How many times have I heard someone declare their understanding of this thing I find so indefinable?"Sometimes it's fascinating how authors can synthesize their own books in just one sentence strategically hidden in the books themselves. Hats off. •One of the main complaints readers usually have when it comes to this book is the main character. In all honesty, Elisa may be difficult to stand, especially because, especially at the beginning, her way of thinking is strictly linked t [...]

I don't know.I liked some parts of it, but it was weird/draggy/& preachy in parts, too. Guess I'll settle on 3 stars?First off, the whole stone in the belly button thing was sort of strange& eventually (when she tried to dig it out) off-putting for me.I justewNow, supposedly, she was given the stone by God to help her do something special, but the records of the previous Stone Bearers seemed sketchy at best. Some of them accomplished something, some of them died young, and most of them f [...]

10/12/17Help, I feel… nothing.You know when you can’t say you hated or loved a book because you can't even remember what went on? That's how I feel right now. I don’t remember half the characters much less the plot because I was so bored and I’ve only finished it just a few hrs ago. 🤦‍♀️Pray you don't feel the dread of indifference, my friends because a lack of any emotion towards a book is far worse than hating it. At least then you still feel… something.However, all’s not [...]

Oh, my goodness.A heroine who actually thinks for herself?A heroine who doesn't get swayed by hot men?A heroine who overcomes her fears realistically and courageously?A heroine who is perfect in her imperfections?A heroine who is flawed yet so real?A FANTASY STORY WHERE THE ROMANCE IS ACTUALLY NOT CENTRAL???Ooh. La. Freaking. La.To say that I enjoyed this book is an understatement.It's been a while since I finished a book in one sitting. Seriously, recently, it takes me 3-5 days max to finish a [...]

3.5 starsThis book was weird. It so boring at times yet somewhat enjoyable. The only reason I was able to enjoy this was because of that romance. Seriously, what the fuck happened, I'm still screaming.Here are some reasons why I liked this book:◇We don't have a skinny MC. I love how Elisa wasn't a skinny heroine and what she looks like shouldn't matter. She was smart, brave, thought and extremely fucking annoying at times and I loved it. ◇I loved how Humberto treated her. He fell in love wit [...]

AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING.This book has a very strong female character.And guess what??SHE IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER FEMALE CHARACTERS.Probably one of the firstmaybe only books that have a girl who isn't that skinny, and perfect little 'ordinary' girl.No, this book has a wonderful girl who loves sweets AND WILL ACTUALLY EAT THEM DAILY BECUZ SHE LOVES THEM, NOT BECUZ SHE WANTS TO BECOME A SKELETON.So to all u peoples out there u is beautiful So screw body image, eat all the cake ya wantBut be [...]

I am ridiculously in love with this book. I've been gnawing at fantasies like a fiend lately and FINALLY I found this one which is a) unique, and b) feministic, and c) incredibly adorable and charming and heart warming. WELL. Apart from the moments when my heart was breaking. This author does NOT spare her characters. AHHH. WHERE EVEN TO BEGIN?!!It's an incredible rich fantasy world, which was gorgeous to eat. My only single complaint was that it was a bit hard to pin-point all the countries and [...]

This was one of those books I have a hard time rating, simply because some elements were very well done, and others very poorly done.The Girl of Fire and Thorns is the story of Elisa, princess to the country of Oravalle and bearer of the Godstone, a jewel implanted in her navel that signifies she is marked by god as one who will do a Service. Elisa has no idea what her Service will be, and can't imagine herself ever being useful to her country. She is merely the overweight, shy younger daughter [...]

I recommend this for fans of Tamora Pierce, Kristin Cashore, and my own high fantasy. This is a transformation story that teens and adults can believe in. Never condescending.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! So freaking epic! Elisa is just one of those characters you fall in love with.

I reeeeeeeeally liked this. This was such a refreshing YA fantasy I didn't realize how much I needed something like this. The premise was interesting and unique and I felt many different feels while reading this story. I would also like to note that (for me anyway) the synopsis does not do this book justice at all. I really expected this to be more of a fluff fantasy and I ended up putting it off for so long because of it. Very much looking forward to continuing!

DNF at 50%"I understand why it is better to die from my service than never complete it at all. Far, far better. Homer and Damian never profited from their acts of heroism; everyone who followed did. In the same way, I may never reap the benefits of mine, should I complete it. But that doesn't matter, because God placing his stone in my belly was never about me."I firmly believe a new genre should be carved out just for The Girl of Fire and Thorns: Religious Fantasy. Lord, is it preachy—just lo [...]

3.5 stars Crappy Review Time - This takes place in a sort of reimagined Spanish country with a big splash of desert terrain mixed in. So you've got the adobe villas along with camels and sand storms. The background is religious: every century, "God" (it seems to be a Catholic-y god, but is also kind of undefined), chooses a "bearer" to wear a magic stone in their belly button. The stone appears in infancy and is attached until death. We aren't really sure what the stone does for awhile, but it h [...]

3.5 stars SPOILER ALERTWell I don't think I've ever read a book where both the heroines love interests die who will she spend forever with now?The storyline of this book is basically about a princess trying to find out what her role is as a bearer and trying to find a way to save her country from inland enemies who want access to the port for whatever reasons and will stop at nothing to get it. It was never answered why the enemy wanted a complete collection of godstones or why they so desperate [...]

I really enjoyed this one! It didn't pull me in right away but I quite enjoyed the second half of the book! Moving along to COE right away!

WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKSThere is a special place in my heart for fantasy novels. I love getting lost in a world that exists only because one person dreamed it. There’s nothing more exciting than starting a new book that feels different from anything you’ve read before. Immediately, I knew that The Girl of Fire and Thorns was one such book. As it opens, the protagonist, Elisa, is worried about fitting into her wedding dress, and praying that her husband will be ugly because she’s so worried sh [...]

5/9/16 $2.99 on amazon hereI will preface that I was a little worried about this book when I started. It seemed like there would be some religious intonations and sometimes that can get a bit preachy and be a total turn off for me. I will say that wasn’t the case at all. The Godstone is a part of the story but Elisa is the story. I can truthfully say I never felt preached to or at.The book starts out with the wedding of a princess to a prince. But she isn’t your normal princess or heroine in [...]

DNF at 9%. I really wanted to like this book. It's just sad is I begun reading there was just something missing. I don't know what it was. I just didn't really care that much about what happened. And I know I did not read very far but I just didn't care too. It's not a terrible book persay. From where I got to it she's not particularly interesting. And maybe I can't judge because I didn't get part all but I just didn't care. It wasn't like I hated it or anything. I don't know. I definitely wante [...]

7 out of 10Ревью в моем блоге/This review on my blog Living A Thousand Lives (please use Chrome/Yandex browser or Android/IOS to see the page; otherwise, spoiler-tags I use to make my post compact may not work)Short-Soundtrack:Fyre – Away From HomeKatie Melua – The FloodLes Friction – FirewallGenre: high-fantasy, YAStuff: ugly duckling, Spanish tune, court intrigues, dessertFail: too much religion and fat-talksWOW: MC's transformation POV: 1st-person, femaleLove-Geometry: se [...]

How many fat, introverted, intellectual princesses do we have in YA fantasy lit—-or any fiction, for that matter? I appreciate that Rae Carson went to the effort of writing against type. Despite noble efforts, though, this book is just a pile of fail.What made me angry with this book? Let me count the ways:1. Fat hate: I'm sure that overweight readers (especially those who have issues with binging) will identify with Elisa, but I'm really fucking exhausted of every overweight central character [...]

I have put off this review long enough. It should be telling enough that to this day I preserve a place in my heart that severely abhors this book; it has left that much of an impact on my anger me.The reason I read this? I wanted to read a high fantasy book that would be reminiscent of Stolen Songbird, a recent favorite of mine, and wanted to relive the experience but in a different book. Actually--screw it--imma go right out and say that the sole reason I read The Girl of Fire and Thorns was b [...]

So, I wanted to like this so much more than I did, because it was recommended by a dear person who is usually right on with her recommendations for me. I was really excited about it, because I think the premise is interesting, and I wanted to see how Carson would develop this idea and her character. However, I didn't like it. Carson suffers from showing and not telling. She tells the reader everything, and this is really frustrating. She doesn't immerse you in the world, and I so badly wanted to [...]

"I loved and lost and survived. Me, not the stone in my navel."I didn't think I'd enjoy reading this book so much.The first half of the book is kind of confusing and maybe even too complex to comprehend,but the second half of the book is so good-I finally connected with the main character,Elisa,and her story.I also really liked Ximena,Cosme and Lord Hector(crushing hard on him ♥‿♥).However,I didn't expect this book to be soligious.I'm not so sure how I feel about that but if the story is g [...]