READING: The Girl Of Fire And Thorns by Rae Carson

The Girl Of Fire And Thorns by Rae Carson

Publication date: September 20th, 2011
Published by: Greenwillow Books
Genre: YA Fantasy, Christian
Rating: 2/5
Eligible for Debut Author Challenge 2011

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.

What I expected from Girl Of Fire And Thorns was nothing less than an exciting fantasy adventure, full of magic and woe. Unfortunately, there was no magic nor woe. Only far too many yawns :(

I think what went wrong with GOFAT was the story and the way it was told. And that was in a very boring way, let me tell you. Especially the part with Elisa's journey through the desert, oh my God! Why did it have to be so chaotic and long? I  could get to like the story eventually I think, had it been more fast paced and had more action happening.

The blue stone in Elisa's bellybutton meaning she is a gift from God-I won't even go there. I'm not religious so it sounded like a joke to me. Come to think of it, even if I was religious it would still sound like a joke.

Also at first, Elisa is portrayed like an ugly duckling of sorts. Kinda chubby and a bit on the ugly side. No problem with that whatsoever. What did bother me though was that after her dreadful desert journey she loses a lot of weight and somehow she becomes prettier and when she looks in the mirror and sees her new self, it's when she has the outmost confidence in herself that she will succeed in her mission. Because otherwise she was like "Meh". 

Are you freaking kidding me?????What was that?

Fat: king doesn't like her/no ability to do anything more than eat/basically a loser and

Skinny: king falls immediately in love with her/she achieves all her goals ??

Seriously?

Sorry, but no.

What I did like was Humberto's character. He seemed to me like the only "real" person in the book. His actions, feelings, all justified. And kudos to Carson for having the guts to write him the way she did in the end.

And just as the plot was beginning to get a little bit interesting and I'm thinking "That's how the book should start", it's over. The end.

If you're religious, you'll absolutely love The Girl Of Fire And Thorns, as it's basically  Elisa's holy mission and Elisa herself is a devoted believer. I am not religious which may have contributed to me not liking the book so much. Honestly though, I doubt it.