Review: The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

Publication Date:  September 18th 2012
Publisher: Greenwillow
Pages:  410 pages

Series: Fire and Thorns #2

Source: Purchased

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.

This series is getting really good. I seriously had no idea Lord Hector will be such an important character. Now that I'm looking back, it really makes sense. He's noble, strong and really a caring guy. You will learn in this book how much he's given up and I'll sure you will end up liking him. One problem though how old is he exactly? From the first book I thought he's old with all the mustache, not 40 or something but mid 30 maybe. I hope I'm wrong because I don't want him to be too old you know. Besides in this book Lord Hector shaved his mustache to mark the victory but I don't think it's the case. I don't know if I'm overthinking but I think he want to look young for some reasons ;)

Elisa has grown up a lot, she is stronger and is more like a queen now =) She can make her own decision and doesn't affair to talk about sex. And I just love to see that there is someone out there who loves Elisa just the way she is. The love interest in this book is slow but really sweet, sometimes I felt really frustrated and wanted to scream "just kiss already, will ya?"

Anyway this book is more action packed than the first one: assassination attempts, royalty war,  marriage schemed. And you will go on another journey with Elisa and her friends but this time it'll leave you speechless. Oh my it had to end with a cliff hanger =/ I cannot wait for the Bitter Kingdom to find out what will happen and hope there will be a happy ending.