Showing posts with label Rae Carson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rae Carson. Show all posts

March 20, 2017

Review: Like a River Glorious by Rae Carson


Title: Like a River Glorious (The Gold Seer Trilogy #2)
Author: Rae Carson
Publisher: Greenwillow
Release date: September 27th 2016
Source: Edelweiss
Format: eARC

Rating: 4/5

Buy on Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

You can read my review of Walk on Earth a Stranger - here
After a harrowing journey across the country, Leah Westfall and her friends have finally arrived in California and are ready to make their fortunes in the Gold Rush. Lee has a special advantage over the other new arrivals in California—she has the ability to sense gold, a secret known only by her handsome best friend Jefferson and her murdering uncle Hiram.

Lee and her friends have the chance to be the most prosperous settlers in California, but Hiram hasn’t given up trying to control Lee and her power. Sabotage and kidnapping are the least of what he’ll do to make sure Lee is his own. His mine is the deepest and darkest in the territory, and there Lee learns the full extent of her magical gift, the worst of her uncle, and the true strength of her friendships. To save everyone, she vows to destroy her uncle and the empire he is building—even at the cost of her own freedom.

The second epic historical fantasy in the Gold Seer trilogy by Rae Carson, the acclaimed author of The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

Like a River Glorious is the second book in the saga The Gold Seer, the first book tells the story of Leah / Lee Westfall, she has the gift of feeling or finding gold, something that if discovered can be dangerous for her since she lives in 1849, in the middle of the gold rush, so in the first book she disguises herself as a man to escape her uncle who wants to use her for her gift. The same uncle Hiram that murdered Leah's parents, intending to stay with her and take advantage of her gift.

In this sequel, Leah lives in a settlement in California with the families she met on her trip from Georgia to California, in addition to her best friend and love interest Jefferson McCauley, they already know that she's a girl and with them they form a community in a place that Leah chose with her gift which is rich in gold, but despite having spent months since Leah saw her uncle Hiram, he has not forgotten her, for when he finds her, he will do everything in his power to have her at his side, regardless of whom he should step on to get her.

In this book we see Leah and her group of friends go through hardship, hard work and heartbreak that they must do to create their new community as well as some losses of some of their friends due to the greed of others, making Leah´s new adventure really difficult and she will suffer in order to live a life as an independent woman.

Like a River Glorious is a good sequel, a bit more raw than the previous one in relation to the way people of color, Native Americans and Chinese were treated in the time of the gold rush in California, as well as the prevailing rule of the strongest is the one who lives and the weak die. I can not wait to read the next book in this trilogy.

September 18, 2015

Review: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson


Title: Walk on Earth a Stranger (The Gold Seer Trilogy #1) 
Author: Rae Carson
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release date: September 22nd 2015
Source: Edelweiss
Format: eARC

Rating: 4/5

Buy onAmazon | B&N | BookDepository
The first book in a new trilogy from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Rae Carson. A young woman with the magical ability to sense the presence of gold must flee her home, taking her on a sweeping and dangerous journey across Gold Rush–era America.

Lee Westfall has a secret. She can sense the presence of gold in the world around her. Veins deep beneath the earth, pebbles in the river, nuggets dug up from the forest floor. The buzz of gold means warmth and life and home—until everything is ripped away by a man who wants to control her. Left with nothing, Lee disguises herself as a boy and takes to the trail across the country. Gold was discovered in California, and where else could such a magical girl find herself, find safety? Rae Carson, author of the acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, dazzles with this new fantasy that subverts both our own history and familiar fantasy tropes.

Walk on Earth a Stranger, the first book in this new trilogy, introduces—as only Rae Carson can—a strong heroine, a perilous road, a fantastical twist, and a slow-burning romance. Includes a map and author’s note on historical research. 

From Rae Carson I´ve read her Fire and Thorns trilogy which I loved, so I could not wait to read another book from her and although this is different sub genre, I must say that I really enjoyed it and is a very good first book of a series/trilogy.

Walk on Earth a Stranger is a historical-paranormal novel that takes place during the gold rush of 1849 in the United States and follows the path of Leah "Lee" Westfall, a 15 years old girl at the beginning of the story. Leah is the daughter of a gold prospector nicknamed Lucky, because he has always been lucky find a good amount of gold on his property in Dahlonega, Georgia, but what nobody knows (only Leah's parents know) is that she has a "gift" for sensing/detecting gold and can easily find it.

And at the beginning of the story the people of Dahlonega receive the news that gold have been discovered in California so this cause buzz by residents of the town because they are debating with the possibility of making the trip to California and settle there. And due to an event that happens to Leah´s family, she decides to escape and make the perilous journey to California, and she decides to dress as a boy, because of all the dangers that she could face, in addition to not be right for a lady making the trip without a chaperon. So Leah (or Lee when she´s dressed as a boy) with some money embarks on a dangerous journey to California which will take several months by horse and boat, plus she´ll get a job assisting families during the travel to California. And during this trip Lee hopes to find her best friend Jefferson McCauley, whom traveled to California days before her.

Walk on Earth a Stranger is primarily a historical novel, as the paranormal element is minor, is in this installment only used to indicate that Leah is special and that in the environment where she lives, it could be dangerous if someone finds out about her secret. I really enjoyed it!

Book trailer

August 30, 2013

Review: The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson


Title: The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns #3)
Author: Rae Carson
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release date: August 27th 2013
Source: Edelweiss
Format: egalley

Rating: 5/5

Buy onAmazon | B&N | BookDepository

You can read my review of The Girl of Fire and Thorns - here & The Crown of Embers - here
The epic conclusion to Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy. The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny.

Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she's never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion-a champion to those who have hated her most.

This book was amazing! I LOVE IT ! This is one of the best epic fantasy trilogy /series I've read.

After the cliffhanger ending of the previous book, I could not wait to read this book and find out what would happened to the characters , I was biting my nails because I wanted to know what would happen to Hector and I thank the author because she include several chapters from Hector point of view, I was dying to know what was happening to him!.

In The Bitter Kingdom, Elisa has a new challenge, she must travel to the kingdom of Invierne on a rescue mission with her faithful friends and a new friend who is acting as a guide. And during her journey she continues to practice with the magic of her Godstone, trying to discover new powers and practicing self- defense. But in her mission she will discover something about her Godstone and her enemy, that can help her or destroy her.

The main characters of this book are Elisa and Hector, they´re great heroes. Queen Elisa is a 17 year-old girl, she´s the bearer of the Godstone, and in this book she discover a little more about it and she can do defensive magic with it, but she doesn´t rely only on the magic of the stone, she also learns to fight with daggers and self-defense... she is a strong and intelligent heroine. And Hector, he´s an amazing hero, he´s strong, loyal to death, honorable, intelligent, skilled with swords and daggers.

The secondary characters are very likable; Mara , Belén and Storm are my favorites and the latter was a big surprise because in him Elisa found a great ally and friend.

The Bitter Kingdom is the perfect ending to this wonderful trilogy. Overall, this book was EPIC !, with more romance than its predecessors, more action, adventure, suspense and more intrigue. I highly recommend this trilogy! Is a MUST READ.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange of an honest review.

August 23, 2013

Review: The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson


Title: The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns #2)
Author: Rae Carson 
Publisher: September 18th 2012
Release date: Greenwillow Books

Rating: 5/5

Buy onAmazon | B&N | BookDepository

You can read my review of The Girl of Fire and Thorns - here
In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

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.

After reading The Girl of Fire and Thorns I couldn´t wait to read the second book of this great trilogy and although the previous book doesn´t have a cliffhanger, I wanted to know what would happen to Elisa now that she is the queen and see where her godstone would take her, because as the bearer of the godstone she needs to do an act of service on his behalf.

In The Crown of Embers, Elisa has no respite, because now as the queen of a nation that is not where she was born, there are people who do not want her in power for not being a native of Joya d'Arena and they consider her just a kid because she is 17 years-old. Besides her enemies The Inviernos, to whom she defeat in the previous book choose a different tactic to take over her kingdom and Elisa herself. So in this book Elisa not only has to fight against foreign enemies (The Inviernos), but she will also have to fight against enemies from her own kingdom and all this between attempts on her life, keeping her people happy, etc.. And with all these problems she manages to fall in love again, but she might not have her happily ever after because she must not follow her heart but her head; she must form an alliance with someone who suits her reign.

In this book we learn more about characters we saw very little in the previous book, as Hector, Mara and Belén, of these my favorite character is Hector, I love him! he´s very loyal, honorable, intelligent, strong and literally will give his life for his queen. He´s everything you expect from a true hero. I'm Team Hector! And we also meet new characters like Storm and this book I don´t know what to think of him.

This book is even better than its predecessor, has a lot more action, romance (yes!), intrigue, betrayal, suspense and has a super-mega cliffhanger. And I cannot wait to read the next and final book of this amazing trilogy. This book is a stunning epic fantasy novel and I highly recommend it.

July 26, 2013

Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson


Title: The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns #1)
Author: Rae Carson
Publisher: Greenwillow
Release date: September 20th 2011

Rating: 4.5/5

Buy onAmazon | B&N | BookDepository
Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

I haven´t read a lot of epic fantasy books, I usually read more contemporary, paranormal and dystopian novels, so I don´t have much experience with this genre, so the stories I've read so far they seem original to me.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns has been on my shelf for more than two years, but it didn´t appeal to me until I saw that the last book of the trilogy was going to be published next month and I've seen some very good reviews with good rating ..... that´s why I decided to read it and I loved it!

The Girl of Fire and Thorns tells the story of princess Elisa, a girl who is the bearer of the godstone, this is an honor that only happens every 100 years and the bearer has to perform a service of heroism. And the day she turns 16 years old, she marries King Alejandro de la Vega, a widower who is very handsome. But what Elisa does not know is that being a bearer of the Godstone will take her on a journey where there will be danger, she will find love, make friends and at the end she will no longer be the same.

The story is told from the point of view of Elisa, a girl who at the beginning of the story is very insecure and has overweight, but as the story progresses she starts to be a little more sure of herself and begins taking decisions that affect her life and the lives of those who seek her help.

Overall, it´s a very good epic fantasy book and I recommend it for those who like this genre; it has some romance, action and intrigue. And what I liked the most was how Elisa changes over the course of her journey and at the end she´s a great heroine, independent, strong and determined.

March 8, 2012

Covers Revealed

These are some of the covers that were revealed recently.

Title: Quintana of Charyn (Lumatere Chronicles #3)
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publisher: Viking Australia
Release date: October de 2012. Australia.
Add it to Goodreads


Title: Beautiful Redemption (Caster Chronicles #4)
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release date: October 23, 2012.
Add it on Goodreads


Title: The Essence (The Pledge #2)
Author: Kimberly Derting
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Release date: January 1, 2013
Add it on Goodreads


Title: The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns #2)
Author: Rae Carson
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release date: September 18, 2012
Add it on Goodreads
  

Title: Promised (Birthmarked #3)
Author: Caragh O´Brien
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Release date: October 2, 2012
Add it on Goodreads


Title: Rift (Nightshade prequel #1)
Author: Andrea Cremer
Publisher: Philomel
Release date: August 7, 2012.
Add it on Goodreads

Really beautiful covers; which one is your favorite?