The Girl of Fire and Thorns Complete Collection

Girl of Fire and Thorns #0.5-3

by Rae Carson

All three volumes of Rae Carson's New York Times‒bestselling The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy plus the three novellas set in the same world, available together! An insecure princess with an unclear destiny becomes a secret bride, a revolutionary, a queen, and—finally—the champion her world so desperately needs in this epic fantasy series that Tamora Pierce called "engrossing" and that Veronica Roth said was "intense, unique . . . definitely recommended."

This complete collection includes the three volumes of the trilogy: book one, The Girl of Fire and Thorns; book two, The Crown of Embers; and book three, The Bitter Kingdom. It also includes the three novellas set in the world of the series: The Shadow Cats, The Shattered Mountain, and The King's Guard.

Once every century, one person is chosen for greatness. But the prophecy is vague, and Elisa has no idea why she was chosen or how she will fulfill the expectations. Her future is unknown and her potential is tremendous—even if she doesn't realize it. A sweeping fantasy series about a young woman finding her true strength, this is perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore's Graceling and George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Magic, Ebooks, Young Adult Fantasy, Faith

1566 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 26, 2014

About the author

Rae Carson was born in 1973 in California and now lives in Arizona. She developed an enthusiasm for storytelling in her earliest childhood. She studied social sciences and worked in various industries after graduating from university before she realized her dream and became a writer. The Girl of Fire and Thorns is her debut novel.

In her own words, she "write[s] books about teens who must do brave things. [Her] books tend to contain lots of adventure, a little magic and romance, and smart girls who make (mostly) smart choices. [She] especially love[s] to write about questions [she doesn't] know the answers to."

Has also published as Rae Carson Finlay.

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Girl of Fire and Thorns - 3*
The Crown of Embers - 3.5*
The Bitter Kingdom - 4*

I’ve reviewed these books individually and while I stand by my rating of each one overall this is a much better series than my ratings would suggest.

This is the story of an overweight unattractive sixteen year old girl who carries a living Godstone. She’s been kept ignorant of many things and it’s only after her marriage (on her sixteenth birthday) that she travels and becomes aware of just how much has been kept from her.

While she may not be thin and attractive she is intelligent and she learns quickly. Yes she makes mistakes (who doesn’t?) but she learns from them and moves on.

Despite the fact that there was a lot (particularly in the first book) that I didn’t like I found myself addicted to this series. I couldn’t read them fast enough.

[Lucia]

SERIES RATING AND SPOILER-FREE REVIEW:

Book 1: The Girl of Fire and Thorns - 4 STARS
Book 2: The Crown of Embers - 5 STARS
Book 3: The Bitter Kingdom - 5 STARS

How to sum up this trilogy? The Girl of Fire and Thorn has rich world-building, adventurous atmosphere and remarkable character development. Author also has great storytelling skills. It is so nice to have in detail planned out plot without any plot holes or disruptions of the flow of the story. To be honest, writing and story wise I have nothing to rebuke author for. Rae Carson made a forever her fan out of me. So what I liked the most about this series?

SLOW BURN ROMANCE

Rae Carson has just officially become my queen of slow burn romance. It's second story I have read by this author and let me tell you...I have never read about any other couple that is not a couple yet (true romance does not blossom until later in the story) but could not help myself but ship them like crazy. Mrs. Carson gives her readers minimum of romance but still keep them super excited about the relationship that is slowly shaping out through out the whole series. It's brilliant!

“For love is more beautiful than rubies, sweeter than honey, finer than the king’s wine. And no one has greater love than he who gives his own life for a friend.”

INSPIRING HEROINE

To make things even better, this trilogy introduced smart, clever and resourceful heroine that depends on her own abilities. A spirited girl whom I grew to love so dearly. A queen with tremendous responsibility whom I admired strongly. A genius strategist and badass sovereign without being a real warrior herself. I wept with her as well shared all her joy. Elisa is one of the best female heroines ever.

RELIGION IN POSITIVE LIGHT

Another important thing that I would like to mention is that faith (religion and god) plays a big role in this series. I liked that. So many modern authors are afraid to include religion in their stories. They don't want to offend anyone but they forget how powerful and special story can be with a little bit of religion and faith in it. Religion is part of many cultures all around the world so why should we rob ourselves of it in books? If diversity is the trend in YA literature, than Rae Carson hit the jackpot with strongly religious heroine in this trilogy.



MORE REVIEWS ON MY BLOG Reading Is My Breathing

[Winter Sophia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, Intense, Engaging, Compelling, Fast Paced, Heart Racing, Magical & Inspiring! An Amazing Read! I Loved It!

[Alina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finished the first book of the trilogy and I don't think I'll continue to read the other two books. Somehow the characters remained so flat, there were no emotions. For example various characters die and nobody cares about them or grieves even though they were told "I love you" in the moment of their death. Everybody just keeps going on without mentioning how they feel about the person's death. There's absolutley no chemistry between the characters who lack special personalities and characteristics that make them into individuals.
Maybe I'm to old, maybe it's just me who didn't manage to get any connection to the protagonist or any other character, or even the story itself.

[Elizabeth Dragina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Check out my review on "The Bitter Kingdom" . . . it sums my feels on all of them up. :P

[Tori Ives · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these books! I have not read the novellas that accompanied yet, but I will the next time I dive in. The story was pretty original, the characters very compelling as well as realistic. For what seems to be a YA book, the author did not spare many details of the fighting/battle scenes, not gory, but well written. There were a few plot holes, to prevent the five star rating, but they were easy to fill in with my own imagination.

I highly recommend these books to anyone looking for a strong and real heroine in a fantasy/sci-fi setting in which it is easy to get very involved.

[mith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm gonna stop at the third book since I've already read it. Of course, I loved it.

[Brooke Tipton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[S.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 stars for The Bitter Kingdom, which was a good ending to the trilogy that was genuinely fun with some excellent writing, but there's a whole thing where they go into a bunch of abandoned caves which  honestly should have been struck from the book. It had no emotion resonance or tension.

And honestly I'm still a little unclear on why, exactly, Elisa had to strong arm her sister and Cosme into declaring fealty. Because they would waste too much time arguing about what to do? That still seems like such a flimsy excuse to make yourself empress.

Anyway: 5 stars for the overall series. My least favorite book is still the first one, but the other two books are great and the novellas as equally wonderful. In my experience it's incredibly rare to come across auxiliary shorts—in this case, three novellas from three different characters that are not the series's main protagonist—that build both the world and the cast of the series up and out in such a way that couldn't be accomplished within the main series. They honestly enriched my reading experience. I definitely recommend this series.

[Jenny Danger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique heroine in this genre--she doesn't have striking beauty, or a horrid childhood backstory, special set of skills or magic. She's generally a normal person with normal insecurities who feels inadequate and overwhelmed by everything that has been thrust upon her. She's a bit of a whiner initially, but evolves as a person (how real are wont to do, when they leave a life of coddling and encounter genuine problems).

[m_miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is centered around a fantastical reinterpretation of Spanish Catholicism and medieval Mediterranean cultures; I appreciate the myths that were sewn into the fabric of the story. I loved the main character of the series, an unexpected and genuine hero; Elisa is pampered, although not spoiled, fat, and insecure, as well as intellectual, all traits that lead people to underestimate her. Although, the romantic ending felt a bit too neat for me and was a bit of a letdown somehow.

[Christina peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adventurous, lots of laughs, tears, romance.

I loved this series! Kept me hooked from page one. Adventure, heart reaching at times I cried, also I laughed, fell in love with the characters, hated a few. I definitely felt I was on the journey of discovery. Hector and the princess were a couple I was rooting for and hoped would come together and I was so happy when they did. Great story line, even for young teens.

[Shelly Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome series, it had the right amount of action, betrayal, love,sadness and the main character was so different from other books I have read you get to see her grow into the hero/queen her people needs.

[Lesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

If your looking for a book with an adventure into a different world. I would choose these. It’s very entertaining but a bit predictable. I would say PG 13. No language but the main Character falls in love.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff. YA Epic fantasy done well, with some of the more tired tropes of the genre played with or subverted. Appealing protagonist and support cast, and interesting plotting which keeps you guessing.

[Kyle Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Girl of fire and thorns!

Sacrament ,rose,royal, emby,panther,clash,mule, shadow,cat, Hector,Elisa, guard ,lord, commander, fire , lady, waiting,chains, Knightley,blast, cold.

My favorite part of the book was the good endings.

[Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follows Elisa, a princess with a Godstone, marking her as the chosen one. As she faces political intrigue and war, Elisa transforms from a sheltered girl into a strong leader, navigating challenges that test her courage and beliefs.

[H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite series' of all time. The voice is so compelling. This is one of the few books I always rave about to friends, and several of them have read, and loved, it too!

[Volpot · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. Pretty good, but ran out of steam in last book

[Allysha Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!!! I loved this series so much.

[Sabri Gomez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic series! I couldnt put them down!

[Rachel Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read these a while ago but i remembered not liking the beginning of the first book but of course i kept reading. I ended up LOVING THIS SERIES and couldn’t stop reading.

[Mari Mize · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely my comfort series, and I reread it often.

[Jaishree · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Shadow Cats - Book 0.5 - 5*

The Shattered Mountain - Book 0.6 - 5*

The Kings Guard - Book 0.7 - 5*

The Shadow Cats - Book 0.5 - 5*

Girl of Fire and Thorns - Book 1 - 3.5*

The Crown Of Embers - Book 2 - 3*

The Bitter Kingdom - Book 3 - 3*

Overall Series - 3*
Novellas - 5*

[Amanda Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I had to stew on this series for a while, beyond the typical decision of whether I should write a review or just go on to my next book.

First off, I want to say that I regret reading the prequels first. In this edition, the stories are all in chronological order, not as released. I just don't think I got the right...flavor(?) from the prequels. I wasn't in the same mindset as if I had read the first novel first. The right tone wasn't set? Hmm. I am not quite sure how say it. I guess I didn't know the characters yet and, therefore, didn't care about them as I read their mini backstories. At least not as much as if I had read them now, after reading the main books. I wish I had interspersed them like I had the Lunar series' ones.

And second, I almost didn't read this series because of specifics that are mentioned in multiple reviews. As a bigger girl, I am sensitive to how books treat weight and self-esteem issues, so when I read that people were upset about this bigger girl whose weight is her whole image of herself goes on an adventure, loses the weight, and everything is magically better in life, I just knew I was going to hate it too. It was mentioned in many reviews. So, I kept reshuffling my "to-read" list, putting this series on the back-burner. But then I reminded myself that I don't care what other people think and that I can make my own opinions and that something made me put it on my list to begin with and I should find out why. And I am so glad I did! I don't know what book those people were reading or what their issues regarding weight and self image are and how that skewed what they read, but that isn't what happened at all. Yes, she went into the desert and yes she lost weight because she wasn't eating all her sweets and had started moving, but she acknowledges that much of it is water weight and she wouldn't stay like that once she gets regular water and food in her. And it didn't. And, in fact, struggles with her "roundness" and "softness" were a theme throughout all three books. It is just part of the "finding out your inner strength is what is important" lesson that she had to learn.

And I know that other people just didn't like the focus on her self-image or weight or her obsession with food and her relationship with food at all, but I don't really know what to tell those people. That is something that is very real that some people have to deal with everyday, no matter their actual size. I, for one, related to much of it. Many of her thoughts paralleled thoughts that I have had and it was refreshing for me to read that sort of mindset in a young adult book without being THE focus of the book.

But, all that being said, I also get a tad frustrated when it takes a man's love for them to see that they are loveable, but it is a YA book and it is super hard to find a book that doesn't have a romantic element in (because, let's face it, reading about romance is fun and part of the fantasy. Most of us love those squiggly feelings in the tummy). And I think it would have been hard to have the romantic element AND the journey for self discovery without some of each being attributed to the other.

Ok, rant over. Bottom line, I enjoyed this series much more than I thought I would. It seemed as some of the best elements developed over the series, so the second was much better than the first (which may have been a stumbling block to some, I suppose). It was in a similar vein as the Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner or Woodwalker by Emily B Martin. Or maybe I am just on a twisty quest-to-distant-lands trilogy kick?

[Victoire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phenomenal series! The world building was well executed giving the reader a wide view of the vast kingdoms and the rich cultures there it was very interesting, I haven't read too many books that deal with culture or the history of the world in their books...this book also has its own religion and as a key stone to the novel it is quite thorough and definitely makes you think a bit more deeply about the story. Besides that we have an amazing cast of characters especially the main one Elisa. She is not one to fit the willowy cookie cutter heroine in fact she is to put it bluntly fat. However, (and here is where the immense character building starts) through her challenges both physical and mental her weight decreases (although she never reaches the cookie cutter shape) and she learns that she can lead and be powerful and love her self or more importantly she stops comparing herself to her older sister (tall willowy gorgeous strong heroic strategic Queen). So anyway lots of character building and what is more the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire ride with unexpected turns and heart shocking deaths (I knew some of them were coming but I was still in shock when the deed was done). My only negative comment would be that at the end of the last book there was a lots of reminding of "hey I'm a virgin you want to go?" Which is fine but it's always in the most inconvenient times in the book for example: the ship is going down, water is everywhere people are holding on for dear life and saying their last words and Elisa says "I took the lady shade (the birth control pill)." I rolled my eyes and though good for you not that you can act on it at all while you are trying to freakin survive! This happened multiple times and it just was annoying...almost like trying to clear a sidewalk and a bunch of annoying weeds keep pushing up but not going anywhere just being annoying like really can't you just wait till you get back to the castle and have your own room? Anyways besides that annoyance at the end the series was awesome and I definitely recommend lots of action (not wimpy action it's actually quite gory at some parts) romance (clean till the end) yep it was good series!

[Phuong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this 3.5 for the first book then 4 for book 2 and 3. For me this book start out a bit slow. The main character didn't grab my attention at the beginning because of her insecurity toward her physical appearance. Then every time something happen she always pray to God. If I were God I would be annoy with her at some point. However, I'm glad I didn't give up on this book because it get better through out the trilogy, and I get to see her character grow. I really likes all the secondary characters more than the heroine. I like Mara for her scarifies and bravery. To me Cosme and Adolia are most sensible and admirable characters in the book. I would love to read short story about them after the third book. The first book doesn't have much romance , but it increase as the story progress. I have to say I quite like the main lead for our heroine. In the first book I couldn't tell who would be a match for her but toward the end I had my OTP. There's definitely plenty of action in this book to keep you engage. Also the setting of this book remind of the manga REIMEI NO ARCANA ( Time Arcana). There are three (not four but the fourth one doesn't appear much) nation, two are human, and one is more elf race. Two nation has an arrange union to strengthen and bring peace to their kingdom. The way they treat the invierne is similar to how the sub-human were treated in Reimei no Aranca ( minus slavery part) as a race to frown upon. It was interesting the work Ms. Carson had created, and I wish there's was more to the story. I hope in the future I could read a prequel, or perhaps a follow-up on the side character such as Cosme, Adolia, Storm, and Red. They really remind me characters from Reime no Arcana.

[Natalie Faine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. LOVE. THIS. SERIES.

Seriously.

Have I said how much I love it, yet?

To me, this was fantasy at some of it's best and brightest. First of all: the heroine. I really liked her. She had flaws and pit-falls like every other normal person on the face of the earth. Plus, she kicks ass once she decides to look beyond herself enough to quit complaining and conquer the circumstances set before her. When she finds her own strength and empowerment, it's amazing. I love who she becomes as the story develops.

I probably can't gush enough about how much I loved the world itself that the author created. I may have loved it more than Elisa. It is SO developed and fantastic (I mean, maybe not Game of Thrones developed, but... Unless you have your own private teams to keep track of all your insane details and you take 18 years to write each book, who's comparing?) Everything about the world drew me in completely: the Spanish influence, the politics, the customs. It was superbly well-done.

Even when the plot got a little crazy, I didn't even care because it just felt right for the story that was being told. And to be honest, I loved the author's bold move to weave religion and religious custom/history into the major plot-line without having the story become solely about religion. It was a beautiful way to showcase faith, and to explore how religion affects culture and politics.

I was definitely sad about Humberto.... But also it gets redeemed, so thanks, Rae Carson.

I recommend this series to EVERYONE!!

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hesitant to read this series, after all the premise that someone has a jewel in their navel was really weird. I also don’t usually read about people who are ‘chosen’ but this series was really entertaining.
I loved the self growth that Elisa showed when she accepted her weight and everything. That she saw that things weren’t as they seemed and did something. Elisa went from an ignorant royal to someone fighting for a country that she hadn’t even been born into, and not only did she fight for the country but the people of the country especially those who were typically ignored.
The idea around the magic is pretty well developed, I really liked how the magic evolved through the series.
The other characters have a lot of personality added and their backstories are very well written in. That aspect made it truly impressive usually the secondary characters have some backstory and generally they have unique personalities but in this book they all have their backstories and completely unique personalities. It allowed me to understand why all the characters acted the way they did.
Overall this is a really good series with so many aspects that are really well developed. It is definitely a book I’d recommend.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! I loved this series! It does seem like the author, as well as the editors, were a little rushed in the last book (The Bitter Kingdom). I caught at least 8 grammatical errors, and there were a couple things that could have been written a little better, BUT they still deserve a 5 star rating for the series, and I am a PICKY rater. I thought this series might be too science fiction-y for my mood at the time, but the major currents of the book had more to do with the way the characters faced their challenges and issues, and how they grew and came to be who they ended up being when all was said and done. While reading this series, I felt more strength and courage to face my own life and issues. It made me think how I'd handle myself in the characters' positions and then I felt more assertive and sure of how I wanted to deal with my challenges and who I want to become. These books are great books, great writing, and a pleasure to read!