The girl of fire and thorns was my first try at historical fiction AND Fantasy, and i gotta admit, I like the combination! I applaud Rae Carson for choosing a non standard protagonist. Looking back, i was very shocked with the description of the protagonist.. an overweight, young princess with family issues. Good to know that in the land of princesses, not everyone isa carbon copy of cinderella or snow white. 
 Ok back to the story, got sidetracked a bit. So The Girl of Fire and Thorns. I honestly don't know the fire and thorn part, but she was The Girl with the Blue Amulet. The idea that there is a chosen one and is imprinted by having an amulet embedded in the navel grosses me out and fascinates me. At the beginning Elisa started off as a typical youngest daughter, off to be married too early (age of sixteen), and even though she's the chosen one, she doesn't know WHY or HOW she could make a difference. Then she moved away from her family and palace and into a foreign and quite hostile surroundings where she had to learn to buckle up and grow a spine. 
 This book had so much going on, so many events, and shocking discoveries, journeys, and near death experiences. I was totally invested in the characters. Which is why Rae Carson broke my heart so many times throughout the book. While this isn't what I'm typically used to, it was very refreshing and quite frankly exceeded my expectations when I first started reading it. 
 4.5/5 stars