Rae Carson

{first prequel of 3 prequels +4 in Girl of Fire and Thorns series; fantasy, young adult, adventure}(2012)

I borrowed this e-book because I was hit by a BB for The Girl of Fire and Thorns but I had to wait in line for it whereas this was ready to borrow straight away; I read it quickly last night because it was due to expire and I couldn't renew it but, fortunately, it has only 78 pages (on my tablet). It seems to be set in (a parallel) South America with jungles, deserts and jaguars.

Crown Princess Juana-Alodia de Riqueza of Orovalle has decided to journey to the edge of the kingdom to show support for the wedding of the Conde who holds an important fortress there and shore up Orovalle's defences, with war threatening. She is also accompanied by her 15 year old sister, Lucero-Elisa, who seems to be the heroine of the main series, whom Alodia loves but feels is politically inept. However, when they get there after a less than comfortable journey, no one seems happy to see them. Though it is late spring and the weather has been very good, there are no crops in the fields. And a shadow cat has been heard screaming in the nights, which is enough to make the bride's superstitious father think of calling off this politically important union. When the bride's beloved niece disappears, with signs that the jaguar has taken her, Alodia decides to take action herself and win the people of Khelia's loyalty for Orovalle.

This is narrated in the first person in the present tense which, personally, I find awkward. The short length of this novella does mean that some details are skimped on; for example I thought the fight scene was too quick for me to be invested in. Other than that, I thought it was well written (though the title isn't entirely apt). And I did manage to borrow The Girl of Fire and Thorns so I will be reading that too, soon.

(May 2024)
3.5 stars… (more)

I wouldn't say this one added much that is new to the apocalypse genre, but it was an entertaining read.

Paige wakes up from being sick, discovers she's been in a coma for several days... and that she might be the last person left alive. Her entire family, neighbors, and seemingly everyone has died from a terrible illness that she has survived. With the company of her neighbor's [adorable] sheltie dog, Paige ventures out on her own to see if anything is left of humanity.

First of all, I think this is the first piece of media (aside from music), I've consumed that acknowledges the COVID 19 pandemic, and doesn't pretend we live in some alternate world where EVERYTHING IS FINE.… (more)

This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites. It's by no means one of the ~most original~ fantasies I've read, but the characters are so wonderful, and they develop in such interesting ways. I love the main character, Elisa, who has grown so much since book one.

Since the death of her husband, the king, Elisa is now fully responsible for the kingdom. Which brings me to another favorite point of this series: the politics. I didn't realize it much before reading this series, but I kind of live for complicated politics in fantasy worlds. (I mean I should've realized this after reading Game of Thrones but whatevs.)

Anyways, Elisa has to deal with the complicated politics of being a monarch. Some of the decisions she has to make are really difficult ones, but she must appear strong to her people, with assassination attempts and plots against her lurking around every corner. I liked the fact that things didn't always work out perfectly, which I think is a flaw with a lot of YA heroines.

Going back to the characters, all of them are becoming so precious to me!! I love the bond of friendship that grows between Elisa and her allies. I love how much more we learn about characters that were more secondary in book one. Plus... the romance. It's such a good, slow burn. ;)

Long story short, even though this isn't a groundbreaking fantasy world, there is so much meat to this story in other ways, that I think it's 100% worth the read.… (more)

Only two stars, but Rae Carson's writing deserves an extra one. May contain minor spoilers.

I don't know how I genuinely feel about this. . .

Rae was improved from the previous novels but only a few hairs. She was still an irritating character.

"Even though, like Rey, Leia was descended from unspeakable evil."It depends on how one sees it, Anakin wasn't evil. He was corrupted. . . So, I do not agree with you, Rey.

Ben redeemed himself completely, so it is safe to say the sequel trilogy was his story from the beginning, and having Rey as a character wouldn't have changed it.

The battles were enjoyable. Nothing else was really memorable to mention. Character growth was achieved, but I loved the tension between Ben and Rey.

The Skywalker dynasty came to an end.

Palpatine as a clone? Wow, really? How unoriginal. . . When did he clone himself? In the clone wars? Or did he keep some of the technology of the Kaminos to clone himself later? Nothing explained or given more context of.

Palpatine was the smartest man in the galaxy . . . He would have let his clone die on the Second Death Star. (Just saying.)

Thank you, Ben Solo, for redeeming your family name.

It's interesting that the sequel trilogy took a concept from the legend Canon and changed it into this sorry excuse of a trilogy.

I am sad about the six previous movie novelizations falling under Legend Canon, and these expanded novels as Canon.

Movie novelizations based on enjoyment:

Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith.
Episode 5: The Epmpire Strikes Back.
Episode 2: Attack of the Clones.
Episode 6: The Return of the Jedi.
Episode 1: The Phantom Menance.
Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker.
Episode 4: A New Hope.
Episode 8: The Last Jedi.
Episode 7: The Froce Awakens.

Now, I can broaden my universe. Hopefully, there are better novels in the Expanded Universe, which includes the new Canon novels.… (more)