Oh my goodness! I was hesitant to pick up this series again but a year after reading The Girl of Fire and Thorns and I'm still hearing rave reviews about the series so I figured I'd give it a shot. And I'm so glad I did! I had tremendous fun reading this and I can't wait to read the next one. Okay to start; I loved Elisa. I mean I always loved her but she was so amazing in this. I love reading her become more confident and bad ass. Like in the scene where Hector offers to carry her and she thinks about feigning tiredness until she goes "Wait no. I won't pretend to be weak for anyone." Just great. And while I do miss Humberto a little, I LOVE HECTOR OMG! He is kind, smart, caring, protective and will LITERALLY throw himself in front of Elisa to save her! Not to mention he HOT! lol I ship it. I really like Mara too. I think she's sweet. I also like Belén and Tristán. They're good secondary characters. The Conde Eduardo is annoying and I can't wait till new Elisa kicks his ass! Who I really hate though is Ximena! She is so annoying!! I remember her being sweet but now she is always raining on Elisa's parade and trying to break up Helisa. I almost idied when she tried to get him to marry her sister. Ugh no. I like Storm though. Especially after the run in with zafira. Which btw kind of annoyed me. Like I enjoyed the adventure for it all that jazz. Like Excuse me Elisa but people have died! Take the power! People did not sacrifice their lives so you could figure out that you didn't new the magic to be Queen!! But I still love her. I don't know about this Franco though. He seems cray!! And OMG Hector is being taken away! NOOOO! I can't! At least they didn't leave us hanging too badly. We FINALLY got and admition of love and we are one our way to save him! Another hit for Ms. Carson. I love fantasy books that give you what want with seriously developed and believable characters and a plot that is rather unpredictable. Here again we follow Elisa in he reign as queen after destroying a few infernios. She now goes on a quest with her trusted team which include Hector *yum yum*, the ever insufferable nurse Ximena, her lady in waiting and several other guards and crew to discover and fulfill her destiny at the enemy's gate. Her journey is fraught with disaster, death, loss and sprinkled with a little romance. Elisa grew so much from a shy young princess to a domineering stoic queen in this sequel. She took charge of her kingdom and became assertive in matters of diplomacy which she never possessed before. The story itself was action packed and suspenseful and even had me laughing at some points despite the seriousness of the plot. The religious overtones in this book also added a unique and pleasant touch to the story and our main character.Recommend for readers of fantasy adults and youngsters alike.
What do You think about The Crown Of Embers (2012)?
The bitter kingdom is going to be epic. I can sense it!
—bjhays
I need to read the next one. I really love this series.
—slwarren
