Review of The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

Title/Author: The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns #2) by Rae Carson
Publisher/Date published: Greenwillow Books, September 18th 2012
How I got this book: bought it with my own cash moneys. I think I pre-ordered it about 6 months ago.

Goodreads summary: "Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy."

**WARNING: THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS***

You guys, I am afraid this will be more gushing than actual review because I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK! And I have all these feelings! And they will not be repressed!

With Humberto's brutal death Rae Carson made me do the ugly crying, shocked face NOOOO, wishing I could unread that part. I'm still kind of wishing I could unread it. And I thought I, uhm, I mean Elisa, could never love someone again. And I was DEAD WRONG! And the falling in love was glorious and exciting and sexy even when it was just HANDS BRUSHING!

Ahem.

I already loved Elisa in The Girl of Fire of Thorns, but in The Crown of Embers she goes through SO MUCH character growth again! I'm feeling like a proud momma watching her become a woman and come into her own! She's intelligent and funny and at one moment I so respected her because she cared more about possibly losing her wit than getting a new scar.
She is my kind of sarcastic funny and I giggled at this one quote:
"If a kidnapper comes at me, what am I supposed to do? Say, 'Excuse my, my lord, while I pull my enormous quarterstaff out of my bodice?'"

I love her spirit and that she's loyal to the ones she loves and gives away a piece of herself to each of them.

And Hector. Hector is not a boy but an amazing man who completely stole my heart with his fierce protectiveness and just the noble soul that he is! His sense of honour is humbling, even though it sometimes gets in the way of the kissing.

The stakes are high and the quest is epic and there's a whole world of new information to find out about the Godstone and its powers! This series is exactly what I love about fantasy! Rae Carson managed to break my heart again with that ending, but it was so mindblowingly amazing that I think I can forgive her for that. But please don't hurt Hector in The Bitter Kingdom, cause I don't think I could take it...

The wait till Fall 2013 will be excruciating.

My rating: 5+ stars