THE CROWN OF EMBERS by Rae Carson

Hardcover, 410 pages

Published September 18th 2012 by Greenwillow Books

ISBN: 0062026518

Source: Audible
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

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.

My Thoughts:

I am a forgiving person and I tend to forget things that displease me. I say this because I was not a great fan of Rae Carson's debut novel, THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS, Yet I felt that I should give this series another try. So, I picked up THE CROWN OF EMBERS and became enchanted and thus devoured it in one sitting.

THE CROWN OF EMBERS picks up shortly after Elisa has taken the reigns as ruler of her country but she has little time to enjoy her new monarchy when her life is put in grave  danger. Desperate to locate those that would cause her great harm, she and a meager band of varied individuals join forces to embark on a journey that will forever change her destiny. 

I have read many novels and very few character's have stood out to me as Elisa has. Initially she seemed like such a weak character, lazy and inept. But, as this series  developed, Elisa has become a formidable force to recon with. Yes, she has a godstone that gives her the remarkable power, but ultimately it is her kind heart, quick thinking and intuition that has made her formidable. Another aspect of this novel that has made me smile is the slow burning romance between Hector and Elisa. I just cannot seem to get enough of Hector, his obvious love and admiration for Elisa just squeezes my heart and makes me sigh in breathless anticipation. All I can say is "more, please".

As I have stated initially, I was not completely on board with this series for I had my concerns with the idea of Elisa's godstone. It was an elusive concept to me and I could not relate to it although I found Rae Carson's writing to have a beautiful quality that was quite enchanting to read. Now, after I have read THE CROWN OF EMBERS I am almost (not quite there, yet) over my godstone issue and am so very pleased at how well this storyline has developed. The world that has been created for this novel is constantly surprising me with it's myriad of extraordinary characters and it's vast dangerous landscape that is ever changing. Nothing in this story is predictable as it moves with a steady pace until it's heart stopping ending....AHHHHH! The agony of it all...It only make me want the next novel immediately in my hands so that this pain in my heart can be quickly assuaged.