A promising debut. "The Girl of Fire and Thorns," soars where "Graceling" tanked. The writing is good, the characters are painfully realistic, and the world fully realized. Elisa, the MC, is weak and senseless of her true gifts-which makes her scary-real. She has to change mentally and physically before her full strength emerges. I didn't always like her-but she was a welcome change from the typical needy heroine (I.e., the one who needs to 'be a man,' or gain her object of desire's attention). 
 On the romance front, it was spare and sensible-refreshing. No smoldering and swooning here, thank goodness. 
 I enjoyed the book, and look forward to the next two.