Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication date: September 2011
ISBN: 9780062026484
Source: e-book provided by NetGalley
Elisa has always been told she'll do something remarkable - after all, she was chosen by God to bear the Godstone. But, as the younger daughter of a distant king and feeling wholly inferior and useless compared with her older sister, Elisa is not sure if she'll ever do anything. When she's married off to a foreign king, one who only wants her for her Godstone, her life is about to change forever. Will she be able to discover what her purpose is before her life is ripped away forever?
Things I Liked:
I really liked the world Carson created here. What I think sort of fed that love, at least initially, is that it felt like The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley, a favorite book of mine. But this book was great on its own. I loved Elisa. She was a real person to me, with weaknesses and doubts and I love how she dealt with her body image - most of the time, she didn't care what people thought of her. It hurt, the things people said, but it didn't consume her. I liked the original cover they had for the book, but not after I'd read the book. So glad they got rid of the one with the thin model on it. The love interest in the book also was unique and didn't feel like the same thing I've been reading - it was so different from what I expected. This was a really well created and interesting story, not the mention I loved that God and religion were just a part of the world, a part of Elisa. It was a positive and also balanced portrayal of religious people. For coherent thoughts on that, check out Kiersten White's post.
Things I Didn't Like:
I was a little disappointed at how quickly things were resolved at the end. It really came down to the wire and I thought maybe it was going to have a sequel to wrap up this story (and thank heavens, if there is a sequel, there wasn't a cliffhanger). It just seemed a bit rushed at the end. Still, it was satisfying and not completely perfect, just the way endings should be.
Read-alikes:
The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
I think one or two mild words
mrg-factor: none
v-factor: ->->
there is fighting and death, some a bit gruesome
Overall rating: *****
Anybody else read and loved this? Or not loved it?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
Posts
I'm so excited for this one. I'm glad to hear you liked it. The only other review I've read said the religion thing sort of bothered them.
ReplyDeleteJenny, I can see why someone would say the religion bothered them. It is constant throughout. But, I've not read many books that do it in such a balanced way.
ReplyDeleteI like the way religion was portrayed here. It was interesting instead of preachy. I agree, the ending did feel a little rushed, but there will be sequels and I'm glad that things were at least wrapped up here.
ReplyDeleteSmall review, yeah! Sequels! I'm happy to read more and not be dying to know what happens next.
ReplyDelete