Here it is.
Fire and Thorns
Rae Carson
Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Sixteen year-old Elisa was marked by birth to be God's chosen one. However, she was definitely not looking like it and no one seemed to see her like it. An arranged marriage led her to discovering that her fate was more than what she had expected.
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I picked up this book by a very sheer random process of running my finger through the book spines until I found a title intriguing enough. Apparently, this book had a longer title called "A Girl of Fire and Thorns" but my book is just titled "Fire and Thorns". The story is the same.
1. I was hooked onto the book really quickly.
When I was in the bookstore, I flipped through the first chapter and quickly found myself wanting to know more about the arranged wedding that Elisa got herself into. That was exactly what happened after I bought the book and read it properly again. Basically, I started on Saturday morning and just finished it half an hour before midnight. I did think about the book during the hours that I wasn't reading. (It took me a total of 5-6 hours or so to finish... If I'm not wrong.)
The book picked up a pretty good pace and kept at the pace throughout the entire book. I had no problems sustaining my interest over the 400 odd pages. Quite surprising, actually. It was almost too easy for me to be hooked like that. Maybe it's because it has been such a long time since I read a novel.
2. Elisa as a protagonist... together with a plethora of colourful characters.
As usual, characters make or break the story for me. You can have a cool story plot but if the characters can't deliver, the story can't shine.
Elisa is one of those unconventional heroines. Not the sort in Eon/Eona. Elisa is a fat, insecure and naive heroine who falls in love with people who give her attention because she had yearned for attention and acknowledgement all her life. She binges when she's upset and she is constantly going on about how fat she is.
I had no idea how fat she was. I mean, people were saying 'fat' in her face, she was complaining about how fat she was but it did not register in my mind. I was still thinking that she's just chubby. It was when she talked about prying breasts away in order to see her navel that I realise, "Good Lord, she is fat!" She shoves pastries in her mouth and thinks about scones. I love it.
That flaw in her was so stark, so apparent, so constant throughout the book. This really breaks all stigma about heroines needing to be beautiful and skinny. Although inexperienced, clumsy and naive, Elisa has a rather sharp acumen when it comes to reading people and gathering intelligence. She has read scriptures that makes her not only an educated princess, but one that is well-versed in war, even though she had never physically been in one.
The other characters do not pale in comparison either. Each one has some kind of quirk, a particular way of description that is so signature.
3. Twists.... Golly, I had NOT expected that!
There were SO many things that I DID NOT expect in this book. I had started the book not knowing what to expect. All my predictions came through... and then veered off into oh-my-gosh-how-did-that-happen revelations. I do not want to reveal any spoilers so I can't say more nor give examples.
I had mentioned in the Throne of Glass review that so far, the love triangles had no twists. I have to take my words back now. At the end of the book, I was quite at loss. "What now?" I ask myself.
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1. First person narrative.
I shouldn't really put this as a dislike because many, MANY young adult fiction are written in first person narrative. Eon/Eona (review here), Fifty Shades (review here), Twilight, Hunger Games and many, many chick-literature. Really, people. Is it so easy to write in the first person narrative?
Personally, it was hard for me to write in first person. I used to do it in my first serious fanfiction, which was Samurai Deeper Kyo's "KISS Me!", but when I started "I Want To Be A Turk!", something pushes me in the direction of a third person narrative. I eventually grow so used to it that now it's a little weird to write in first person. I feel that I lack perspective. Hurhur.
There aren't many stories that portrays a third person perspective, but they were all good novels. Harry Potter, Eragon, Throne of Glass (review here)...
Just saying.
2. I was apprehensive at the end.
Despite being hooked from beginning to the end, I was not blown away by the ending of the book. I did not have a strong urge to buy the sequel. In fact, I even considered borrowing from the library. Perhaps the reason was because the book ended itself quite well. There was obviously a hook for the sequel, but I'm pretty contented with how the book turned out enough to not pursue the sequel. What a weird thing to say, I know.
3. Too much reference to her Godstone.
Every few pages, Elisa HAD to refer to the mark of the chosen one, a gemstone embedded in her navel called the Godstone. She uses it for prayer, for reassurance, for warning, for clue finding... It's too much for me. It reminded me of Anastasia Steele and her limited vocabulary of "Oh my"s and "Holy cow"s. However, this may just be my personal thing, since the Godstone is the main plot trigger.
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Rating: Consider it.It's in between Consider It and Love It, but I've placed this book under "Consider It" because as compared to the other books that I've labelled "Love It", this book does not quite make the cut. However, I do value this title very highly and will consider reading the rest of the trilogy and novellas.
Pictures taken from:
Book Cover
Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.
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