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So this blog has been dead, but I've recently stumbled upon some free time & I shall be rereading this series and blogging into the void about the journey bc why the hell not.

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a sketchy doodle of Elisa (complete w some really rough lighting practice)

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Hector de ventierra Is a simp pass it on

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a sketchy doodle of Elisa (complete w some really rough lighting practice)

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Elisa writes to Humberto on their love

I have no interest in loving light and soft;

I want beating hearts and no apologies,

I want to lose all fear as you hold unto me.

Kind love is good sometimes but it is not what I need.

I need dancing flames the colour of autumn leaves,

A passion that burns like the desert sun,

An adventure that ripples like it's sand

And yes I want devotion too, like the sky, bright and steady and blue.

When you worship at my altar and I learn the secrets of you.

When we meet and do not falter and you make me stronger, better, new.

But then we fizzle like a fire and burn out all our flames

And the passion never leaves me though we shall never meet again.

I thought your love would kill me

That it would be the end of my world

But instead it has burned me into an unwavering girl.

With hands so fiercly gripping as I tremble from the ghost of your hold,

And I thank you for all you gave me

And I hope that I gave just as much.

Burning, blistering, love bitten and sacred,

Thank you for a love that was rough.

-M. Belgrove

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I notice the stench first, like a privy that’s run out of mulch. The streets are crooked and narrow. Merchants’ shops and apartments tumble one upon another, like haphazard piles of children’s blocks. I eye them with distrust.

I don’t know how people can live in such a place knowing that boundless sky and open desert lie steps away. - Rae Carson, The girl of Fire and Thorns

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Thank you

So I know this fandom is ridiculously small but every once in a while I get followers & I barely even post content so I am extremely grateful... so you can comment on this post or as an ask & I'll try to either:

1) Do a poem

2) Do a quote image

Or

3) Ask my sister to make some art

Just to show my appreciation for this amazing fandom albiet small.

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The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns #3) by Rae Carson

Reread Feb 2017:

My previous review still stands. I also found a lot more to appreciate about it that I never mentioned before. The cast is mainly people of colour. Elisa’s dark skin is brought up frequently especially when it affects the story. Along with body positivity and acknowledging self worth we deal with a smart resourceful woman who’s smart confident and learns a lot about herself. She’s allowed to be feminine and badass at the same time. She’s petty but also generous and kind. She never forgets what is at stake as a queen but also takes time to be a person. There’s a mature approach to love. There is specific discussions about contraception. No love triangle. Through their travels they discuss respecting someone else’s culture when it might seem harsh and different to your own. The way religion is approached never feels overbearing or preachy. I also rarely read about girls being true friends with other girls in YA novels. Once again, totally satisfied. 5/5

Originally read May 2013:

After receiving this book from Edelweiss I read it in less than three days and that was only because I had to sleep and do some things that demanded attention. And even though I read this book several days ago, I’ve been sitting around trying to figure out exactly what I want to say. And I still haven’t figured out, but this review it as close as its going to get. I admit after I finished the last page of this book, I frantically kept flipping the page, trying to get more even though I knew that it was the end. Then I proceeded to cry for a solid five minutes. I can’t say when I got this attached to the characters and to the world that Carson built, it surely wasn’t the first book, but by the end I felt I was ending a journey with dear friends. The Bitter Kingdom was the result of a beautiful and detailed world that was built throughout the previous books. Everything made sense, it was vivid and rich and takes an active place in the plot of the book. The plot is intricate and well thought out. Rarely do I find books where I have little idea of what is to come and Carson pulled it off perfectly. It was an action packed plot with little time to breathe and it was glorious. There were times in the book where the inevitable travel through the woods took place and although while reading I just wanted them to get to their destination, in hindsight, there was not one moment that I would take out if I had the chance. And here is a plot where the characters are in charge of what’s to come rather than riding out events that happen to them. “You look beautiful,“ Alodia says. I startle at the compliment. Then I smile. "I’m beautiful to the one person who matters.” She nods. “[his] mouth will drop open when he sees you.” “I hope so. But I meant me. I’m beautiful to me.” Elisa has become one of my favourite main characters. It’s difficult to fathom the amount of growth that she’s gone through and Carson has chosen the very best ways to show it to us. I’ve become so proud of her because she been able to prove to everyone, most importantly herself that she’s worth much more than her Godstone and what everyone believed her to be. She is wholly accepting to herself and it makes me so happy to read about a girl who is so confident in her abilities and what she can offer others. Every issue that I wanted to be addressed was addressed and it was more than enough. I haven’t felt this satisfied by plot and character development in a very long time. And she’s surrounded by others who are just as important to her development. Firstly Hector, beautifully scarred and real and good Hector, the man that is so dedicated to his queen. Elisa and Hector’s relationship is so sweet and good that I never could get tired of it. He will forever be her protector, her friend and her love and he is man enough to be with a woman who has so much power over him. Their romance is drama free and so, so sweet. Then there is Mara and He Who Wafts Gently with the Wind Becomes as Mighty as the Thunderstorm (aka my hero, aka Storm) and Belen and Mula/Red Sparkle Stone and Horse. This group of people/animal are a completely adorable and amazing group that support Elisa on her quest. I could literally go on and on about how much I loved this series but I feel like I’m just saying the same thing over and over in a million different ways. 5/5

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WE HAVE FANART. Many thanks to @auroralynne who did this. She is super awesome and amazing to work with.

This is the cover for my fanfic The Queen Of the Winds

Queen Alodia de Riqueza has come back to Orovalle in hopes to spread peace between the Invierne and Orovallens. With an arranged marriage and promises for peace for the next generations, she had hoped that the only thing she had to deal with was her baby sister’s wedding and small riots scattered throughout the country. But after her sister’s wedding, she comes back to a civil war.

AO3

FF.net

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Hector and Elisa

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“Gently, I reach forward and close her eyes with my fingertips, hoping it will make her seem merely asleep. But the stillness of sleep is nothing at all like the stillness of death.”

literature posters; the girl of fire and thorns by rae carson

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Why this series is awesome

Although persons seem to not know about this series those who have had the pleasure of reading it all agree it’s great. I think mainly for the following reasons:

1) It’s main character is not just the same old teen girl. Elisa is a realistic character and a strong one, not because she’s magically strong but because she learns how to be.

2) Hector. No explanation needed. he’s Hector.

3) All the other characters, Mara, Belen, Storm, they are all fantastic and they all get their own growth in some way.

4) The adorableness that is Rosario (I’d honestly be so happy if we got a follow up series about his reign)

5)The issues of faith, race, history, power are all really interesting. 

The books make you feel like that gif above. What’s not to love about them? 

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Being in the Girl of Fire and Thorns fandom.

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The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

5 out of 5 stars

I don’t normally like fantasy, as many of you know, but this book had been sitting on my to-read list for a while because I’d heard good things. I ended up loving it so much, you guys. For starters, the characters are all dark-skinned except for the villains, who are pale! That’s so refreshing, given how common the trope of “dark skin equals badness/evil,” which is both tired and extremely harmful and problematic. Nice to see it subverted.

So this book is about Elisa, a 16-year-old princess “twice chosen by God” (as her nurse, Ximena, says) because she is both royalty and a Godstone bearer. The Godstone only appears once every century, and it marks its bearer as someone destined by God for a great act of some kind. Elisa certainly doesn’t feel destined for greatness, given that she’s always lived in the shadow of her more beautiful, wiser older sister, who will become Queen when their father dies. And it certainly doesn’t help that the beginning of the book finds Elisa being married off to King Alejandro of Joya D’Arena, a man she’s never met.

That’s all I’ll say about the plot so as not to ruin any of the fun for anyone, but I do want to hit on three things I adored about the book:

Elisa is a really great main character. Did I mention she’s fat? There is one hiccup where she seems really happy that she’s lost a lot of weight at one point, which made me wonder if it was going to send the message that “now she’s skinny and she can start being awesome and attractive.” But I ended up finishing the series (the only reason I’m not reviewing the trilogy as a whole is that I really skimmed the second and third books out of sheer impatience), and she’s mentioned as being large throughout the sequels as well. (Side note: other characters comment negatively on her size a lot, so tw for fatphobia. But Elisa grows less self-conscious about it over time and stops internalizing the negativity, so, yay!) She’s also a really good war strategist because she spends so much of her time reading military strategies. Don’t get me wrong, the other characters in the book are all really strong and well-drawn characters, too, but Elisa’s still my favorite.

The religion in the book was really fascinating to read about. There are different theories about the Godstone and its bearer, and there are even different religious sects that interpret the scriptures in different ways based on varying translations. The worldbuilding in general in this book was extremely satisfying.

It was unpredictable, and that goes a long way with me when it comes to enjoying a book. I couldn’t predict a lot of events that happened, and moreover, everything that happened kept me riveted. Circumstances were often dire and I believed that they were dire (isn’t it the worst when you just know for a fact that everyone and everything is going to be okay?). Honestly, I just love when a book surprises me.

I’d recommend this book to anyone, even if they don’t generally like fantasy. I was so pleased with the characters, the setting, the pacing, the relationships…just everything about it was so good. It’s a new favorite, seriously, and I can’t wait to read Rae Carson’s Gold Seer trilogy (Walk on Earth a Stranger is the first one).

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I think I drew Elisa (Girl of Fire and Thorns) once, eons ago, and I figured she deserves a revival in my art!