The Girl of Fire and Thorns, by Rae Carson, was not something I expected to like. I picked it up on a whim, but as soon as I finished I requested the second book from my library. I loved this book.
Carson starts out with the younger-princess-with-special-powers-saves-the-nation scheme, but completely makes it her own. For one, Elisa, our heroine, is fat. Huge. The book opens with her arranged marriage, and the dress is far too tight and makes her feel like a sausage. When she hugs her father, she knows he cannot feel her ribs. When she looks down, she cannot see her bellybutton. So internally I went Ooooooo.... and curled up to keep reading.
Elisa, the younger of two princesses, feels she is completely unremarkable, except for the Godstone (see: special powers) in her navel that appeared at her christening. Her older sister is charming and wise, a suitable heir to their kingdom. Yet, Elisa is the one who is married off in the first twelve pages. Later, she figures that she is the counter offer, and was only accepted because her husband Alejandro needed her father's military aid.
Elisa, however, has courage that unfolds throughout the book, from saving her husband's life, to eventually saving the nation. She does not enjoy a loving, or otherwise, relationship (read: no relation at all) with her handsome but indecisive husband. But that's okay, because Carson takes a swing at us in the latter half of the first part that veers the story from ugly-girl-gets-loved-for-herself, to I-didn't-see-that-coming.
On pain of spilling too much, I'm keeping it, I'd read it again, even though one of my favorite characters doesn't quite make it (it's refreshing to see villains who don't dither and just kill), and I'm looking forward to more from this author.
Blue
Carson starts out with the younger-princess-with-special-powers-saves-the-nation scheme, but completely makes it her own. For one, Elisa, our heroine, is fat. Huge. The book opens with her arranged marriage, and the dress is far too tight and makes her feel like a sausage. When she hugs her father, she knows he cannot feel her ribs. When she looks down, she cannot see her bellybutton. So internally I went Ooooooo.... and curled up to keep reading.
Elisa, the younger of two princesses, feels she is completely unremarkable, except for the Godstone (see: special powers) in her navel that appeared at her christening. Her older sister is charming and wise, a suitable heir to their kingdom. Yet, Elisa is the one who is married off in the first twelve pages. Later, she figures that she is the counter offer, and was only accepted because her husband Alejandro needed her father's military aid.
Elisa, however, has courage that unfolds throughout the book, from saving her husband's life, to eventually saving the nation. She does not enjoy a loving, or otherwise, relationship (read: no relation at all) with her handsome but indecisive husband. But that's okay, because Carson takes a swing at us in the latter half of the first part that veers the story from ugly-girl-gets-loved-for-herself, to I-didn't-see-that-coming.
On pain of spilling too much, I'm keeping it, I'd read it again, even though one of my favorite characters doesn't quite make it (it's refreshing to see villains who don't dither and just kill), and I'm looking forward to more from this author.
Blue
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