Book Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Title:  The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Author:  Rae Carson
Where I got it:  From NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary:
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. 

My Thoughts:
My very first observations about the book were the title, and the cover.  I mean really, the title is pretty intriguing, dontcha think???  And the original cover I saw was really pretty - slender girl, blue dress, mysterious background...  Very nice, but it definitely needed a change because..  Well, the book isn't actually about a thin girl.  It's about Elisa, who has always been the heavier, clumsier, less politically savy princess in her family, but who was chosen for greatness on her naming day nonetheless.

She is secretly married to Alejandro on her 16th birthday - not for political alliance per se, but to try to keep her safe from those who would try to kidnap or harm her for the Godstone lodged in her belly button.  Unfortunately, she finds herself in the midst of the turmoil anyway, and has the opportunity to discover her inner strength.

I soooo enjoyed this book - I've never read anything even remotely like it, and while Elisa complained (a lot) it was more because of how she was treated as a "heavier" girl than about her own discontent.  She's not sitting there complaining that she's fat, she's totally cool with being the way she is, but she's also got a seriously smart mind and killer determination and loyalty when put to the test.  LOVE her.  The other thing I liked was that the characters and story weren't simple or straightforward.  It wasn't a clear cut depiction of someone who does a bad thing and remains the bad guy, or vice versa, there were lots of complex loyalties and reasons for the action that kept the book really interesting and definitely made it better than I expected.

This is a totally unique book with a little bit of everything - romance, magic, war....  It's got potential to be appealing to a broad spectrum of preferences, so be sure to keep an eye out for this book and get your hands on it!