Waiting on Wednesday (11)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Title: The Bitter Kingdom

Author: Rae Carson

Series: Fire and Thorns #3

ISBN: 978-0062026545

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Release Date: August 27, 2013

Synopsis from Goodreads: The epic conclusion to Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy. The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny. Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she's never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion-a champion to those who have hated her most.

My Reveries and Ramblings: I can't wait to read this book. I read the first two books in the series ( The Girl of Fire and Thorns and The Crown of Embers) in 2 or 3 days. I immediately hit the "purchase" button on my kindle to buy The Bitter Kingdom, only to find out that it hadn't been released yet. I cannot even begin to describe the tantrum I threw at that point. How could this happen?! How will I survive the few weeks until it came out. (Yes, I started the series several weeks ago). But now, SIX MORE DAYS! AND I have already pre-ordered it.
If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend you do. It is epic, fantastic, and romantic. You won't regret it!

Book Review: Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Title: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Author: Rae Carson

Series: Fire and Thorns #1

ISBN: 978-0062026507

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Pub. Date: August 2012

Source: Purchased

Genre: Romance/ Fantasy/ Historical Romance/Paranormal Romance/ YA

Pages: 448
Rating: 5 Kisses

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  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. She can't see how she ever will. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs 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.

My Reveries and Ramblings: Sooooo…..I REALLY REALLY LOVED THIS BOOK!  Before reading this, I went on a romance novel binge.  I probably read at least six romance novels.  (I was at the beach…don’t judge :P) After that, I was craving to read a book with a strong kick-ass heroine.  I was so tired of reading about damsel-in-distress-I’m-so-weak women.  So picked this from my goodreads TBR list….and read….and read….and didn’t stop.

Elisa, the protagonist, is a princess who carries the godstone, a gift from God to the people of Earth to defend them against dark magic.  Elisa’s possessing of the godstone has put her in constant danger since she was a little girl.  Of course, she never knew about the danger; her family kept her sheltered.  When her father marries her off to a King from a far away land, everything changes.  

Elisa is a fantastic character.  She starts off incredibly insecure, fat, and depressed.  She is fat because she eats when upset or stressed.  This is partly why she is very insecure.  She is, however, incredibly smart.  Over the course of the book, Elisa changes.  Some of these changes come at a great cost to her.  But she perseveres.  She starts out weak, and by the end of the book, she’s so much stronger.  What I liked most about Elisa was that she was so relatable.  She was nowhere near perfect, but was a character that many teenaged girls can look up to.  Hell, I’d like to be like her.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns is really hard to review without giving spoilers.  This book does have romance in it, although you’ll be in for lots of surprises.  Every time I started to predict what would happen next or how the book would end, Ms. Carson would go “Yeaaaah no” and throw in a huge twist.  The Girl of Fire and Thorns was nothing short of gripping and epic.  It did involve religion, but it didn’t feel overwhelming.  

If you like epic stories with a strong, relatable, kick-ass heroine than you will LOVE this awesome historical fantasy book! 

Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Goodreads

Playlist:

(Click here to listen to Rae Carson's official playlist for The Girl of Fire and Thorns)

(Listen on Spotify)

Here's a fan-made book trailer: