The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

This felt like bog-standard fantasy with the exception of the protagonist's magic umbilicus. Yes, see, her navel is a gem that turns hot and cold (and more, but...spoilers, I guess.) Did her umbilical artery run through it? Did it grow once her cord fell off? Is the belly button just decorative in this world? Inquiring minds got too distracted by umbilical anatomy to pay too much attention to the plot, which is good, because again, cliche fantasy + Stockholm syndrome.

OK, to add one more comment: I liked having a heroine who was larger, and the body positivity that went with it. Of course, she lost a ton of weight while being kidnapped and was thrilled with her smaller body...Rae Carson is not exactly svelte herself and this all felt like a very unhealthy weight fantasy situation.

So I don't usually read high-fantasy, but I gave this one a shot and I'm certainly glad I did. The Girl of Fire and Thorns really surprised me. Elise, the protagonist, defied the gorgeous-model-like-looks that many YA novels feature, and starts off, in fact, as a rather overweight teenager with a remarkably low self-esteem. That in itself caught my interest and following her story and watching her develop as a character was a real treat. I'll admit that some of the more fantastical elements took a little adjusting, but The Girl of Fire and Thorns surprised me with many-a-plot twist that I definitely didn't see coming (which is a rare thing, I might add) and actually got me to exclaim out loud while reading...twice.

In my book, that means I really enjoyed it, and thusly I recommend it to you.

This was a good book but there was something missing which stops it from being great. I found Elisa to be a relatable character with her lack of confidence, stress eating and unable to bear the burden of being the chosen one. She grows a lot through her journey to come into her own and be able to protect those she loves. I also liked that she is a sort of bookworm and uses all her knowledge to plan the best ways to attack and defend. Alejandro was so indecisive and unsure despite being the King but he is a good person and I liked that he got a chance to prove his bravery.

The strength of this book are the side characters – Ximena, Cosmé, Humberto and Hector. They are all brave and loyal and fierce and I really loved all of them. The whole concept of praying to God for everything and justifying all actions as God's will was a little difficult to get through but I understand it's going to be the main theme throughout this series. I just hope the next book is better and I definitely would like Elisa to overcome her grief and find her true love.