She does not know what awaits her at the enemy’s gate.

The Crown of Embers is the sequel to the amazing The Girl of Fire and Thorns, which I’ve reviewed previously. This review will contain spoilers for the first book, so if you haven’t read it yet, please do. The first book is amazing. And if you’re wondering if the sequel lives up to its potential… yes. It does.

Once again, we follow Elisa, now the queen of Joya d’Arena. She still has low self-esteem issues (it’s hinted that, while she’s no longer obese, she’s still chubby) but she’s still this incredibly smart, strong character we’ve grown to love.

Right off the bat, as Elisa travels across the city in a celebratory parade, there’s an attack, a sign that the Invierno threat is still not gone, despite what many had thought. In order to know how she can destroy her enemies once and for all, Elisa will go in a dangerous journey, where her Godstone and her faith are her only guides. Throughout the book she grows, becoming even stronger and more determined than she was before.

Slowly, we watch Elisa fall in love with someone new, and it’s a mix between amusement and frustration—the good kind, though. I’m not going to lie, I had seen this romance coming from almost the beginning of the first book. It made sense. You’re reading about it and you already know Elisa is in love, and that the man is in love with her as well, but the characters don’t. And then Rae Carson teases you with these touches, these kisses, these scenes, and you’ll be slightly angry that nothing really happens but at the same time you’ll be glad because she’s keeping her characters true to themselves. And when Elisa finally admits her love, it’s in a dire situation and you’ll adore her even more for it.

The romance in this book was, in my opinion, far better than the one in The Girl of Fire and Thorns, and while it was a great part of the book, it was not my favourite. Elisa alone still takes the cake (pun intended, since she loves those) for being the most amazing, smart, resourceful, stubborn heroine ever. Main characters in Young Adult are becoming clichés, and she’s a breath of fresh air in that trend.

But what I admire the most about Elisa is her balance between recklessness and calculated risk. She enlists the help of unconventional allies—one of them an Invierno himself. She navigates a world of treachery and manipulation with surprising grace. And when the time comes to choose between ultimate power and her humanity, her choice will surprise you. Again, Rae Carson is true to her characters no matter what, and Elisa’s choice is a reflection of herself. I didn’t get why she did it at first, but then I realized it would have been even more outrageous if things had been different.

The writing is, like in the first book, nearly flawless. The pictures of Elisa’s surroundings are clear and the characterization is absolutely top-notch. Really, you’ll have trouble finding a Young Adult book whose writing is as clear and as intricate as this one.

The Crown of Embers is a worthy successor of its predecessor, a book I absolutely could not put down. You’ll fall even more in love with Elisa (really, I can’t stress it enough: I adore her) and, in the end, you’ll be crushed that the last book is not out yet.

Yes, it’s that good.

The Crown of Embers

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 1 edition (September 18, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062026518
• ISBN-13: 978-0062026514

I wanted to be a butterfly when I was a kid, not a fairy. There is photographic evidence from first grade, but we’re not going there today. However, I would have to say these tutorials are my favourite so far of all the ones I have looked at while researching for you all.

Twilight Fairy By Charismaster

Forest Fairy by Michellephan

True Blood Fairy by goldiestarling

Life is allowed to be a little magical. I think these would be a conversation starter at the next costume party you’re at!

For your chance to win a copy of Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres tune in to Friday Ketchup on the ParaQuest Radio Network (www.pqrn.net) Head into the Studio/Chat area Saturday 7am Brisbane AEST For those on daylight saving on the East coast it’ll be 8am AEDST  And for our listeners in the US Friday 4pm eastern 1pm pacific.

**tip** To get the show to play once you’re in the room right click on the icons to the side of the chat window, choose open link in new tab and pick a platform to listen to the show with from there.

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the ushied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Hardcover, US Edition, 343 pages Published September 18th 2012 by HarperCollins ISBN 0062114875 (ISBN13: 9780062114877)

After the Hybrid War, hybrids are considered the enemy. Each body is born with 2 separate souls. Each body’s souls have different personalities, likes, dislikes, talents and variations of how they look. When one soul is the more prominent soul using the body, you can tell by the quirks they have. For instance, they could use the other hand when they write. But they are both different people, just occupying the same body.

When you reach abound the age of five, your less dominant soul is supposed to disappear, suppressed to the point of non-existence. But not with Eva and Addie. Addie never fully pushes Eva away. Eva stays hidden in the depths of Addie’s mind and continues living along with her until they meet others that help Eva decide that she does want to live. She wants a chance to have a body and experience things on her own. But what would that mean for Addie? Too bad they don’t get a chance to find out. The group is found out and they get taken off to the hospital where people are likely not to return from. It’s a death sentence, at least for one of them, or both.

The story was borderline Sybil for teens, except we only have 2 personalities with which to contend. It makes it easier to follow, and really unique to read a story in which your main character keeps referring to herself as “we”.  The reader will really empathise with Addie and Eve. They have very conflicting feelings when it comes to ownership of the one body. To lose either one of them would literally be losing part of yourself, your other half.

Although the story had sections of anticipation and danger, there is not necessarily a lot of action to the plot. The majority of the book takes place in the hospital. We get to meet a lot of other minor characters and staff members and find out about the hospital procedures and danger in the experiments they are running. It is a more atmospheric novel with the constant feeling of danger and paranoia.

It’s an interesting start to a new series. One that I was nervous to pick up, but sure glad I did. The ending is perfect and you will want to pick up the next book.

I’ve been waiting for this book since the very first review I did for Burn Bright back in July 2010.

If you don’t feel like flipping all the way back through the reviews, I’ll link you here…

Anyway, I was really intrigued by Karen’s story The Spirit Jar in that anthology. And was a little snippy there wasn’t a full length book out there about Moth. She was a character I wanted to get to know better and by golly the wait was worth it.

I obtained my copy from Book Depository simply because the cover art was better on the UK release than it was on the Australian release. The girl who represents Moth may be a little off from the description Karen gives us, but the way her hair is mixed in at the ends with images of moths in flight, as well as the gold filigree with moth accents just straight out did it for me.

Moth (Marie O’Niel) has been a vampire for a little over a year. She’s had her life turned around and flipped on its end by the actions of Theo, her maker. Giving up almost everything of her human life has taken its toll on both the relationship she has with Theo and the O’Niel family, but things were starting to get back to something almost like ‘normal’.

Two detectives turning up on her doorstep to enquire about the mauling of one of Moth’s classmates, strips away the façade of normalcy, and it’s up to Moth to save not only her own life, but also the lives of the people she loves most in this crazy-mixed-up world.

I could rave about this book all day and write pages of fan girl squee worthy highlights. However I’ll try to keep it to the strongest positives.

Characterisation is beautifully transcribed; I can almost hear each character as I’m reading, even the smallest part resonates with a unique tone. I am pleased to say Moth is well up there with the kick ass girls of 2012.

The tension is built up quickly and released in short bursts throughout the novel. The big fight scene has only one minor flaw and it isn’t really enough to yank you out of the flow of great choreography.

For the relationship fanatics out there, we also have an unlikely pairing and it will most likely unfold in future books.

My only regret is the story is so swiftly paced that it was over in less than 48 hours. I even deliberately stopped before the big fight scene so I could savour every last chapter. I just hope Karen will be able to give Moth more page time in future. She really is a beautifully crafted hero. I must have more Moth!

Paperback, 341 pages

Published September 27th 2012 by Corgi Childrens (first published January 1st 2012)

ISBN 0552565261 (ISBN13: 9780552565264)