Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorn

The Girl of Fire and Thorn
Author:Rae Carson
Release Date: September 20, 2011
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Fire and Thorn Book #1
ISBN:   0062026488
ISBN13: 9780062026484
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Netgalley

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 needs 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.

 This was an interesting book. I really like the other version of the cover and it is what originally got me interested in reading the book (I know shocking). 

Elisa starting out was the sheltered insecure overweight daughter of a king. She knows that she is the chosen one although she really doesn't know what that involves. She starts out in the book by being married to the king of another territory and doesn't understand why it was her instead of her beautiful, more likeable sister. She travels to his territory only to find out that the king does not want anyone to know they are married so she struggles to understand what she is supposed to be doing and what her place is. She ends up being kidnapped and that is when she starts transforming into a strong confident person. 

I really enjoyed Elisa as a character. I enjoyed watching her grow and learn and turn into a strong leader. I felt the author did a fantastic job with conveying the emotions through out the book. I never found myself bored with the story, the plot was interesting and engaging. There was plenty of enjoyable supporting characters to help Elisa realize what she can be. I also liked that some of the main supporting characters ended up being lost and it wasn't the beautiful, every dream comes true happy ending that a lot of books end up being.  The world the book was set in was described well. I could picture pretty much all the places the author took us. I am definitely excited to see what happens next for Elisa. She has a difficult road to defend and I will enjoy seeing how she handles it. 

I gave it 4/5 stars