The Girl of Fire and Thorns (review)

4/5 Stars

I think this book was a matter of the right book at the right time. Sometimes I miss a good fantasy adventure. I wanted something like Tamora Pierce--strong female heroine, fate, gods-intervening and dreamy boys. This book had most of that (mainly it lacked in really dreamy boys. *sadface* Tamora Pierce I need you!)

There's a lot to like about this book. The book immediately thrusts you into the story. It throws you into a world of political intrigue, arranged marriages and bloody battle scenes. Lately it a lot of books seem to start slow, building to the action. Not this book! It jumped right into the story without sacrificing character development. Elisa is developed throughout the action, not before or later as an after-thought.

The premise of the Godstone had me giggling at time. Mainly because I wish God would talk to me through a belly ring (I'd get a piercing for that!). That kind of guidance would be welcomed. Though I tease, I actually liked the concept most of the time. Someone marked by God in an obvious physical way that you cannot ignore. It's just a gemstone stuck permanently in someone's navel is something that takes a little getting used to.

I liked how this novel dealt with faith. Having faith is complicated. Faithful people are often filled with doubts and even the most faithful question God. This book allows Elisa to be both human and chosen. That's refreshing. She's not the type to follow blindly or pretend to know God's will. She's confused but trying to follow her faith. The discussions surrounding faith, such a competing theologies and different understanding of passages, rang really true for me.

God's will. How many times have I heard someone declare their understanding of this thing I find so indefinable?

While I'm glad that this book had a fat Princess it seemed a bit too obsessed with its weight. For the first half of the book it seems Elisa is whining about being fat while simultaneously stuffing her face. Then the heroine really only finds her strength after she burns off the access fat in a month long walk across the desert. I think this book is trying to give overweight girls a role-model but I'm uncomfortable with the picture it presents.

Even though the book isn't perfect, its really enjoyable. For me it was a one day, non-stop read. Elisa is an unlikely heroine, not a strong warrior, but a doubtful child of Faith who second guesses herself all the time. She's realistic. A pampered princess, a little whiney, who's afraid of her great destiny, yet doesn't want to go down in the history books as a failure. This book is recommended for fans of Tamora Pierce type fantasy. It was a nice throwback, a step away from the overrun paranormal genre that seems to be choking out the fantasy books.

I had a few qualms with the ending but those involve spoilers. If you're interested I've put it behind spoiler tags on goodreads. (I wish the whole internet had spoiler tags). Goodreads review

I also want to note how happy I am that the publisher changed the cover before publication. While the cover on the left is graphically pleasing--the colors, the font, the swirly thing, it's not Elisa. It could maybe her her sister Alodia or Condessa Arina. But it's not an overweight and dark skinned princess. It's pretty but does not relate to the story. Props to the publisher for realizing their mistake and fixing it. The new cover fits the story much better.