ARC Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Title: The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Author: Rae Carson
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: September 20th


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. --Goodreads

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins, for the opportunity to read The Girl of Fire and Thorns. This, of course, does not influence my opinion in any way.



Once in awhile, I find that one book that practically leaves me speechless. Not because it was that good, or that bad… but simply because. I breezed through The Girl of Fire and Thorns, captivated by the world and the beautiful descriptions, the astounding characters and the flowing text.

However, there was an element that kept tripping me up in this novel. It’s not that I don’t have anything against religion, and I truly respect everyone’s beliefs (I have my own and would rather not get into that subject matter), but oftentimes it just felt too… preachy… for my tastes. I rather enjoyed the underlying story. The war, the romance, betrayal, strength and courage. And by any means, do NOT compare this to The Hunger Games. I certainly see no comparison whatsoever. They’re two completely different sub-genres to begin with, and extremely different plots. There are no comparisons to draw from unless you want to try and compare Katniss with Elisa. Then maybe I can see some similar personality traits in that area. Sorry to go off on a rant there, but I’ve been rather annoyed as of recent to see in a few reviews of comparing The Girl of Fire and Thorns to The Hunger Games.

Overall, this was an intense read that left me thinking long after I finished reading. I was troubled by the ending, but at the same time uplifted. It engaged me for hours. It filled my mind, and I’m still sitting here thinking of what I could say to give it any justice.

Sure I had my small nitpicks. But in the end, the larger part of the story… the depth and the emotion that sunk in… won out.

3.5 stars!