Red was an orphan and a slave before Empress Elisa found her, freed her, and made her her ward. Now, Red is about to be officially adopted into the royal family in front of the whole court. Red's adoption requires a council vote, but the royal family is certain that they have the votes. When something goes wrong and the adoption is rejected, Red asks instead to join the Royal Guard. Elisa and her consort Hector are scheduled to go on a journey, leaving Prince Rosario in charge. While they are away, Red begins to notice some strange things about what's happening in the palace, and in the training of the new Guard recruits. Is there a traitor lurking in the shadows?

It's been years since I read the first three books in the Fire & Thorns series, and I was concerned that I would have forgotten too much about the previous books, but this book stands on its own fairly well. Carson's writing is strong, and as with the previous books, she doesn't pull her punches. In reading about Red's experiences as the only female Guard recruit, I couldn't help think of Tamora Peirce's Song of the Lioness and Protector of the Small quartets, so if you enjoyed those stories, you might like this one. I'd recommend reading the whole series, just because they are so good, but this book could be read as a stand-alone. ( )

Elisa's story holds a special place in my heart. That trilogy (and short stories) are among my favorite fantasies as they combined everything I love about fantasy into one series.

So yes of course I was excited for this book. A revisit to characters of my heart? A broadening of a world I adore? Sign me up!

What I didn't expect was a novel that while its a wonderful sequel to Elisa's adventures is almost perfect on its own.

I won't deny that having some knowledge of the world didn't help me, nor that knowing some of the characters already didn't give me an idea of what to expect at times. Here's the thing - this is not Elisa's story. Nor Mara's or Hector's. This is squarely Red's with back up from Rosario.

This is also not a "new generation same story" situation. Red's troubles, trials and tribulations are uniquely her own. Unlike Elisa who made and found friends fairly easily, Red is despised just by being in the same room. She's not sweet tempered or patient; she's rocky and brash, having to learn how to accept help from others.

There's a mystery brewing throughout that is well sewn. Carson has always excelled at weaving necessary plot information in a genuine way. The "Then" chapters, detailing Red's life up to that fateful meeting with Elisa give us a good guide as to why she's acting as she does. Carson offers a short explanation about PTSD in her author's note as well.

They did detract from the onward motion of the plot at times. Red relays some of her history in the story itself (as context) so occassionally it felt repetitive to have read it twice.

All in all I'd love to see more of Red as she continued her journey, but I'm just happy to have this one. ( )

Definitely more of a 3.5.

I was so so excited when this book was announced because Girl of Fire and Thorns is one of my favorite YA trilogies from the earliest days of my blogging and I have a lot of nostalgia associated with it. But I did lose track of it among my numerous ARCs, other new releases and a reading slump, but I’m glad that I finally got around to it.

I can’t tell you how happy I was to be back in this world. The author does mention in an interview that this can be read as a standalone but I truly can’t comment on that, because my experience is completely tied up in the knowledge I come with while starting the book. It’s been almost three years, but I immediately felt familiar and could recollect all the important things that had happened in the trilogy as well as the important characters, so that I dove head first into this new story. I thought the author did a great job showing us how much and how little the world/court has changed over the years, giving us a sense of what happens after a rebellion ends and the rulers take major decisions.

Maybe because this is a standalone, I felt like it had lesser stakes (though it does get serious eventually) and that’s why it didn’t give me enough tension filled moments which I naturally expected. Most of the plot is the training of the Royal Guard which has some great scenes, but it felt very much like a slice of life story rather than a fantasy for a huge part of it. We also get two different timelines, with the past timeline recounting the history of the main character before we met her in The Bitter Kingdom, and while it was very helpful in giving us a better understanding of the character, I felt that it really created a disconnect and took attention away from the much more interesting present timeline.

I only remember Red as the little girl Elisa saved in the finale, and it was exciting to see more of her story. She has a lot of trauma from her childhood and I appreciated knowing that the ptsd representation in the book is modeled after the author’s own personal experiences. Red’s startle reflex and her trust issues are a major part of her as a person and they are due to her past, but she is also protective of those she loves and is such a genuine human being who wants to do good. Even when she is competing with the other recruits for her position in the Guard, she treats everyone well despite getting pushback and even helps them all in their training because she believes in them. I really liked her as a character and I thought the author depicted the nuances of her having a certain amount of privilege while also being surrounded by people who are prejudiced against her, in a very interesting manner.

I think the best part of the book are the various relationships Red has or forms with the various side characters. Though we get most amount of page time with Ivan, I also really loved the characters of Aldo, Pedrón, the Arturos, Itzal, Valentino and many of the other recruits. The trust they all develop between each other is beautiful to watch and its only because of them that the very easy and rushed climax even works, though not entirely convincingly. And it was such a joy to meet my favorite couple Elisa and Hector again along with the glimpses we get of Mara and Rosario.

I felt that the themes the author dealt with in this book were very thoughtful. The main one is obviously about a woman trying to make it in an all male profession, and it comes with the usual comments about a beautiful woman being a distraction or not being strong enough to be a guard and complete the training. But through Red, we see how competence will be rewarded eventually but the author also ensures that Red stands her ground most of the times, and doesn’t let anyone get away with making misogynistic and sexist comments. The other main theme is trust - how much trust and respect plays a main role when a group of people have to work together, despite their class differences or other prejudices.

But the one that really left an impression on me was about countries and treaties and people - how the leaders of enemy countries might come to a compromise for the sake of the betterment of their people, but it’s not easy to change the minds of the people whose minds are full of prejudice against each other. And that sometimes, the leaders just have to model inclusive behavior and keep at it, with the hope that people will realize the futility of being at odds in the long term.

To conclude, I think this is a fun addition to the original trilogy but I definitely enjoyed it more because of my love for the world. It has good characters and great friendships and I’m actually happy that none turned into a romance. You should definitely check it out if you love Girl of Fire and Thorns like me, and if you haven’t read the trilogy, please pick it up immediately because it’s absolutely wonderful. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is the fourth book in the Fire and Thorns series, but takes place many years after the third book in that series. I bought this book for Kindle.

Story (5/5): This book tells Red’s story (who I struggled to remember because the third book in this series was released in 2013). Red was a side character in the original series. I really ended up enjoying this book a ton. We go back and forth between Red’s past and present, ultimately spending more time in the present. Both timeframes were really intriguing. The story is fast-paced and full of action and politics and I really loved it!

Characters (5/5): All the characters in here are incredibly well done. I loved Red and all the other characters we met in the Royal Guard. It was also very fun to see some characters from the original trilogy the way Red sees them and to see how those characters have changed over the years. Excellent characterization throughout the whole book!

Setting (5/5): It was incredibly fun to return to this intricately built fantasy world. This really is an awesome fantasy world and I loved reading another book set in it.

Writing Style (5/5): This book just reminded me of how much I love Carson’s writing style and of what an amazing writer she is. I wish she was writing more. This book was effortless to read, completely engaging, flowed well, and was just an absolutely perfect read. I do have an ARC of her upcoming book “Any Sign of Life” to review, so I should be reading that soon.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this book and am so happy I finally sat down and read it. I love this world and these characters and Carson’s writing style is so amazing! I look forward to future books by her and strongly recommend this book to fans of the original trilogy. This book does stand well on it’s own too if you want to start with this one (of course there are spoilers for previous books in the series). ( )

This book was everything I hoped for as a fourth book in this world. I love the new cover design and the simple pace of the story. Now I just have to get all of my friends to read the first three books so they can read this one... ( )