Mundie Moms

Monday, July 13, 2015

Fire & Thorns Series Read-Along #ReadingRae



This week kicks off an exciting read along for one of my favorite YA series. To celebrate the upcoming release of Rae Carson's Walk On Earth a Stranger, each week myself, and four other blogger friends will be sharing on thoughts on Rae's previous books. This week kicks off the first post for THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS.

I love this book!  My thoughts on the book from back in 2011, haven't changed at all. Which is why I'm going to cheat a little bit this week, and share my review from back in 2011. My review from then, sums up my thoughts perfectly. I know I'm suppose to share my thoughts on the first 11 chapters, but I don't know if I can do that without giving things away, because when I re-read this book, I can't stop at a certain chapter. I have to read the entire thing. 

I promise that next Monday I'll stick to the schedule, and share my thoughts on the assigned chapters. In the mean time, if you haven't read this book yet, YOU ARE MISSING OUT!

THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS


Published by: Harper Teen
Released on: September 20th, 2011 TODAY
Series: Fire & Thorns #1
Add it to 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 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.

My thoughts from when I first read the book:

An enthralling debut! Rae Carson's beautiful story telling is memorizing, enticing and completely addicting. Once I started reading this enchanting story I couldn't stop. Her world building is vividly detailed, her characters well written and realistically portrayed and her storyline is engrossing. The Girl of Fire & Thorns is a fabulous blend of fantasy, adventure, love, friendship, magic, war and so much more. 

I don't even know where to begin my review. There are so many things that I loved about this book and I was totally blown away with it. Really this book is a complete package of awesomeness. Everything about this book drew me in and made me feel like I was apart of the story, and I credit that to Rae's writing talent. Rae drew me in emotionally and mentally, because she's not afraid to test her characters. She gives them grief, heartache, love, terror, confusion, pain, doubt, and she's not afraid to make them hurt and suffer. Through that, I was able to relate to them more and see the changes and the growth the characters make through out the story. For me, Elisa was the character who stole the show. 

Elisa is an amazingly, well written character. I love that I was able to relate to her and feel the emotions she felt. I admire her and her strength and courage she has through out the story. I know I'm being vague on certain events that shape her character and who she becomes, but I really don't want to spoil her story for anyone. Elisa is a true heroine! Her character arc is one of the best ones I've read this year. Can I just say that I love that Rae created a character who isn't the skinny, drop dead gorgeous girl. Not saying Elisa isn't beautiful, but I love that despite everything going on around her, deep down she's really just a normal girl who isn't worried about her waste line and enjoys eating a delicious pasty every now and then.

With the rich mythology, history and well done religious undertones, Rae was able to introduce a great cast of secondary characters. Some characters I loved, some I despised, some shocked me and I liked the like Elisa, Rae kept me on my toes with trying to figure out who's a friend and who's the enemy. I enjoyed the twists that are thrown into the story, and romance that's present through out. Really I should say love that's through out the story, because there's varies element of love that are touched on with a couple different guys. One of the relationships that I adored was the love and respect that Elisa and Alejandro have for each other. I won't say anymore about them other than their relationship is really unique and I enjoyed watching how it blossomed. 

This is one of those books that never gave me a moment to sit back and wonder what the heck was going on. It's constantly moving and I felt like I was watching a movie with the way everything unfolded. The storyline is well paced, full of action and it held my attention the entire time. It's one of those books that as soon as I finished it, I wanted to re-read it, and I'm still thinking about it long after I've read it. It's definitely a WOW book for me and one I highly recommend picking up. I am so thrilled to know this is only the first book in what I think will be a very popular trilogy.

You can read my full review here.

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES



ABOUT RAE CARSON


I write books about teens who must do brave things. I'm originally from California, but I now live in Arizona with my husband, who is the smartest and therefore sexiest man I know. My books tend to contain lots of adventure, a little magic and romance, and smart girls who make (mostly) smart choices. I especially love to write about questions I don't know the answers to.

JOIN THE FUN

We'd love to have you join us! Now through the end of September, on select Mondays myself, and four other blogger friends will be sharing on thoughts on each of Rae's book. If you’d like to follow along, stop by any of the blogs listed below, to participate. 


Check out our read along schedule
I'll be updating links for each post below. Select on the specific date to be taking to the post *links will be updated as posts are made. 

THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS

THE CROWN OF EMBERS

  • August 17th | Chapters 1 through 10
  • August 24th | Chapters 11 through 20
  • August 31st | Chapters 21 through 30

THE BITTER KINGDOM

  • September 7th | Chapters 1 through 14
  • September 14th | Chapters 15 through 28
  • September 21st | Chapters 29 through 42

WALK ON EARTH A STRANGER

  • September 22nd | Release Day Celebration Blast

ENTER TO WIN
Thank you to Fiktshun, we've got a sweet giveaway~ find out how you can enter to win below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


2 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing about this Katie. <3 I'm not ready to re-read these books yet, hah :) But loved them oh so much. Gorgeous post :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mostly I love Elisa, she's such an amazing character and I seriously think she's the first one I've ever read that wasn't skinny. I also love the world that Carson built.

    ReplyDelete

Labels