Thoughts: Walk on Earth a Stranger

Walk on Earth a Stranger

by Rae Carson
Book 1 of Gold Seer Trilogy

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  3.5 Stars


I absolutely adored Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns series and so, unintentionally, I might have done a little bit of compare and contrast; and I might have over-hyped myself with the announcement and publishing of Walk on Earth a Stranger.

Officially "Historical" books aren't my typical genre and for whatever reason that is, I couldn't possibly say.  I've just never really been one to seek out historical fiction as part of my reading consumption, but every so often I run into a gem of one.  Unfortunately, I'm conflicted as to whether or not Walk on Earth a Stranger is that gem.


The Story in Brief
Walk on Earth a Stranger takes place during the gold rush to California in 1849.  Leah Westfall starts her journey from Georgia after the murder of her parents.  As she is able to divine gold like a dowsing rod is supposed to find water, she somehow figures out that her greedy, creepy Uncle Hiram was the man who murdered her parents and stole their stash of gold dust.  And since he has plans for her, she chooses to run, to catch up with her best friend, Jefferson, who has already left ahead of her, telling her that he'll meet her in Independence if she decides to go west with him.

And, of course, throughout Leah's adventure, as she travels, disguised as a boy for convenience and safety, using the name Lee McCauley, she meets many new people and makes friends and begins forming a kinship with many of them.

This little ragtag group of people, working together for a common cause is what I loved about the Fire and Thorns trilogy, as well as what I DO like about Walk on Earth a Stranger.  Especially since, in this particular book, the characters are all from such different backgrounds and would all be the last to try and make friends with the people they are traveling with.


My Overall Thoughts
The book has a very monotonous feel to it, and while I self-proclaim my love for adventures, and this book actually spent the entire time traveling, I just couldn't quite get that adventurous feel of it.  There were ups and there were downs; and there were exciting times and there were draggy times. And then there were also the "what the heck is going on here?" times.  And while overall, Walk on Earth a Stranger was quite enjoyable, it stayed at a fairly flat progression throughout--it started off quite slowly, gave us a strong turn of events, and then just kind of maintained that same, flatness throughout the rest of the book.

Aside from the traveling and the few mishaps that happen during traveling and a few scattered events here and there (that felt like a textbook check-off list of "things that could happen when traveling west in 1849"), nothing else really happened.  Even the looming base plot of "Uncle Hiram murdered my parents and wants to use me for my gold divining magic" seemed insignificant for a duration in the book.

Rae Carson is a great writer with excellent attention-to-detail.  The book is still grounded in historical facts with detail to the correctness of prejudices and behaviors with a pretty good collection of culturally diverse characters gathered together on this journey to California.  And while there are exciting moments, the book really read very much like the Oregon Trail game wherein anything and everything that could possibly happen to a troupe of travelers during those harsh times DID happen to Leah and her group: from cholera to broken axle wheels to crossing a river and losing animals... and even several deaths to boot.

Again, it was like a travel book check list of possible disasters to look out for during historical times of America.  Historically accurate, great to know about, but uninspiring and lackluster in execution.


In summary: Yes, this book was enjoyable.  No, nothing overly exciting actually jumps out at you.  Yes, there was an adventure to be had.  No, it wasn't really all that exciting and didn't quite elicit much in the "oh this is so much fun" department for me--not that harsh travels, asshole troupe leaders, and sickness and death is fun, but you know what I'm talking about adventure-wise, right?  Yes, this book had a "friends-to-love" romance implanted... and no, there were no FEELS to be had.

In fact, I don't know whether to be disappointed about the romance or to be glad that maybe there's more development to look forward to in the next book--that the romance wasn't the foremost concern of the story plot, unlike many other YAs we encounter regularly.  Because while I really dig the whole "friends-to-lovers" romantic plot device, I was having trouble accepting Jefferson and Leah as a couple if only because they rarely show any inclination towards romantic notions aside from a few words and a marriage proposal of convenience.  Sure, Leah gets a little jealous when Jefferson seems to be spending so much time with another young girl in their traveling group.  And sure, Jefferson says a few things here and there that make you wonder.

The romance just didn't feel very well developed and I sincerely hope that there's more to build on it in future books--future books I still have intentions of reading.

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This review was originally posted at Ani's Book Abyss / BookLikes in December 2015.

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More Squee! and Somewhat of a Review: The Bitter Kingdom

The Bitter Kingdom

by Rae Carson
Book 3 (final) of Fire and Thorns

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  4.5 Stars

The champion must not waver.
The champion must not fear.
The gate of darkness closes.

Elisa is a fugitive.

Her enemies have stolen the man she loves, and they await her at the gate of darkness.  Her country is on the brink of civil war, with her own soldiers ordered to kill her on sight.

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Lucero-Elisa né Riqueza de Vega, bearer of the Godstone, will lead her three loyal companions deep into the enemy's kingdom, a land of ice and snow and brutal magic, to rescue Hector and win back her throne.  Her power grows with every step, and the shocking secrets she will uncover on this, her final journey, could change the course of history.

But that is not all.  She has a larger destiny. She must become the champion the world has been waiting for.

Even of those who hate her most.

I'm really stuck on what to say about this book (this entire series, novellas included).  I really would like to just throw a bunch of squeals out there, call it "AWESOME!!!" many times over and just leave it at that, but then I'll feel like I didn't do this series any justice.  Then again, that's the only thing I can convey properly right now.

The adventure continues in The Bitter Kingdom where we left off from The Crown of Embers.  Hector has been captured in order to force Elisa to willingly travel to Invierne and sacrifice herself to save him.  During this time, Elisa's growth is almost exponential from her growth since the previous two books and she pretty much becomes "super queen extreme".  And along the way, we get more court intrigue, historical secrets revealed, war, and adventures, adventures, adventures.

And I love me some adventure!

There was plenty of adventuring from the first two books as well:

In The Girl of Fire and Thorns we spend a lot of time traveling the desert, though a lot of time was also spent at the palace.

In The Crown of Embers we spend a lot of time on the vast open waters in the south.  But of course, a little too much time had been spent with court intrigue and assassination attempts in the palace.

This time, in The Bitter Kingdom we jump into the adventure almost immediately, traveling east to Invierne and back to Basajuan with constant movement (which was pretty exciting).  Elisa and her small crew leave her country of Joya d'Arena and travel through the dangerous Free Cities, enter the wintry mountain passes to arrive at Invierne.  And then they turn back around to face the harsh snowy weather of the mountains and end up in even more dangerous mines.

There was just so much more ground covered (literally) than I would have expected.  Just the same, the story itself covered so much material that sometimes it was a little hard to keep up with.  I'm almost thinking it would have been a good idea to split the book up into two in order to touch base with everything new introduced as well as everything old that needed a proper conclusion.

Nonetheless, I loved this book and this series like a whole new obsession.

It helps a lot that I loved and admired all the characters, even the sometimes annoying (yet also amusing) Red Sparkle Stone--though I must say, she was a fairly unbelievable character who DID act a bit older than her own age and was a pretty convenient problem solving plot device.  Otherwise, I liked all the characters, especially of Elisa's group: Belén, Mara, Storm, Hector.  Little adventures like these with little groups bring about the most heart-warming camaraderie scenarios, even if they tended to get on each other's nerves, and even if Elisa was still their queen and they always had to defer to her.  They were always, first and foremost, close friends who relied on each other to survive impossible missions.

Hector and Elisa were a pretty powerful couple and I'm glad there was never any indication of a love triangle between any other character to speak of.  It was Hector and Elisa the entire time, though I'm wondering if the kingdom of Joya d'Arena may not have been that ominous third wheel in their relationship.  No insta-love and no angsty love triangles to complicate an already complicated story line--there was enough going on in Fire and Thorns already to keep Elisa busy.

Of course, romance wasn't the most forefront priority for our heroine.  Despite the fact that she's in love with Hector and would probably do anything to save him, it shows that Elisa still kept her head about her and managed to have a bigger plan to save her kingdom while rescuing her man at the same time.  Who says she couldn't do both?  It's also telling that the two of them always had the same line of thought--worried for each other's safety, but at the same time seeing the bigger picture for Joya d'Arena.

With some flaws here and there, this book isn't entirely perfect, but it's close enough.  I'm at the point where I don't even care if there were a few things that bugged me because I was utterly charmed by the characters, the world, and the story itself!  You know that hollow feeling you get after finishing a really good series with the wish that there will be more to come, but knowing that it's all over?  Yeah.  That's how I'm still feeling, hours after finishing the last book.

I want more.  More Elisa, more Hector, more Rosario, more Belén and Mara, some more of Storm, Conde Tristán, Cosmé...  I just can't get enough of these characters.  And mostly, I kind of hope another series could take place in this same world as well.

Just a small hope, hopefully.

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This review was originally posted at Ani's Book Abyss / BookLikes in August 2014.

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More of a Fangirl Squee! than a Review: The Crown of Embers

The Crown of Embers

by Rae Carson
Book 2 of Fire and Thorns

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  4.5 Stars

She does not know what awaits her at the enemy's gate.

Elisa is a hero.

She led her people to victory over a terrifying, sorcerous army.  Her place as the country's ruler should be secure.  But it isn't.

Her enemies come at her like ghosts in a dream, from foreign realms and even from within her own court.  And her destiny as the chosen one has not yet been fulfilled.

To conquer the power she bears, once and for all, Elisa must follow a trial of long-forgotten—and forbidden—clues, from the deep, hidden catacombs of her own city to the treacherous seas. With her go a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man whom—despite everything—she is falling in love with.

If she's lucky, she will return from this journey.  But there will be a cost.

I haven't been this excited in a long time!

I'm not saying that this one is so much better than the first book, because they're both equally great.  And the first half of this book that had to do with politics and such got a bit tedious even if it was necessary.  And it took a while for the adventure and the story to progress.

But I loved this book so much more that I am officially so hooked it's not even funny!  The first book was good (excellent, even), but it just didn't seem to hit that "OMG! This is awesome stuff!" level.  Don't get me wrong.  I still loved it.  But after finishing this second book, just...  Let the excitement begin!

Of course, this second book wasn't all great.  The beginning was a little haphazard and I found myself wondering when the official story would finally start.  Just a bunch of attempted assassinations and greedy lords trying to get rid of the child queen for their own gain of power and greed.  A bunch of typical court conspiracies and issues--nothing to write home about.

The latter half of the book, however, made up for everything that seemed to drag from the beginning of the book!

With some political court intrigue going on, a blooming angsty romance, old friends and new friends coming around, people vying for her throne, and a war with Invierne on the brink, I love that Elisa doesn't lose her head too much.  Sure, she strikes out on a journey with only God and faith as her back-up, but Elisa comes out of this entire journey with ten-fold development and growth, and so much more kickass than she had been before (and she was pretty kickass to begin with)!  And at the risk of giving away too much about this book, I really just LOVE the new and improved kickass Elisa who comes out of this chaotic mess of a journey!

Did I also mention that I love how Elisa's first priority isn't romance or boys?  I think I mentioned that in my review of the first book.  And food is still mentioned in much detail because it is a VERY important part of life!

Also...  little Prince Rosario!  Hugs all around!

I'm already starting the next book. I want to know where the rest of the story leads.

And yes, this review is kind of short and rough, because, really, the first half of the book DID drag quite a bit, even if it was still enjoyable, so there isn't much to say about it.  While the build-up might have been necessary, I found that I didn't care for it and was hoping to see Elisa and her entourage off on a journey soon.  And when the journey started, I got excited and the rest just rolled on from there.

So yes, I do forgive this book's monotonous beginning because of the ending's appeal.

And now, onto the next book!

I... may or may not return and refine my review a little bit, but more than likely, I'll just put in all of my opinions at the end of the series.

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This review was originally posted at Ani's Book Abyss / BookLikes in August 2014.

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Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

The Girl of Fire and Thorns

by Rae Carson
Book 1 of Fire and Thorns

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  3.5 Stars

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.

This book turned out to be highly enjoyable, and a page-turner I hadn't been expecting, but had been hopeful for nonetheless.  Sometimes there's a lot going on that is hard to keep up with, but overall, the adventure, the conflicts, and Elisa's growth is excellent.

It's great to read a YA where romance is not the forefront conflict of our heroine when a war is on the brink--she certainly has her priorities in proper line.  And it was wonderful watching her grow from feeling like a useless, ignorant princess into a real hero who has suffered the consequences of war and death.


Princess Lucera-Elisa is the chosen bearer of the Godstone, something that only happens once a century.  Except, she starts off as a useless second princess who has no interest in politics, government, or war.  Her interest seems to lie in the devout, the library, and minor useless knowledge that has the potential to become useful.

The book starts with Elisa's marriage to King Alejandro of the neighboring kingdom, and the story begins to unfold quite quickly from there.  There is danger to the Godstone bearer, there is war on the horizon, and the chosen is the one everyone believes will save the world.  But how, Elisa has yet to even fathom.

The real adventure starts when Elisa is kidnapped by a group of desperate commoners who hope she is able to bring salvation to their lives against the invading enemy; especially when they are a hill folk living a great distance from their kingdom and the king seems to have chosen to abandon them.


This story incorporates a fairly well-built religious system and world that I'm excited to learn more about.  I'm not a religious person myself, but this book (though not quite a religious one as a story), makes good use of religion as part of the world-building and culture of Joya D'Arena, Orovalle, Invierne... etc.

I love the friendships and the characters Elisa meets and makes along her journey.  However, I also wish there had been some better character interactions between Elisa and her new friends and even her old friends.  Sure, the love and the respect is there, and sometimes you can feel it.  But other times, a lot of the character interaction is kind of bland.

Also, no insta-love, even if Elisa does spend a short amount of time pining after a king who doesn't love her.  Then again, she DID have to marry him, and it would only be reasonable for her to hope that the two of them would eventually learn to love each other.  But I'm still glad that she got over her initial dreamy ideals that Alejandro would care about her romantically--I honestly didn't really care about Alejandro as a person even though you see very little of him in the story.

I even thought that Hector would become the immediate love interest up until Humberto made his appearance.  In a way, I'm kind of glad that the main romance is being stalled for later on after Elisa and Hector have more time to spend in each other's company.  And I'm glad that romance wasn't even really Elisa's main concern.

I'm a little hesitant to accept how quickly she goes from "useless princess" to "leader of a mysterious fighting faction".  Of course, I DO appreciate that, despite the fact that she sees herself as a "useless princess", her knowledge and her thought processes are anything but that of an ignorant, spoiled girl.  She is quick to admit her lack of knowledge, and quick to strike out in obtaining the knowledge she requires to make decisions.  She doesn't presume to know everything, but she also doesn't act like an ignorant fool either.  She also doesn't dilly-dally in making decisions that need immediate action.

I'm not sure how I feel about her physical changes along with her growth and development.  I like that she DOES go through a lot of change during her time away from luxury and in the face of war devastated lands and poverty in harsh environments.  And I guess it would only make sense that she loses a lot of weight during her journey across the desert with nothing but heat and simple rations of broth and LOTS and LOTS of walking.

I was just hoping the physical beauty wouldn't play such a big role in her life, whether or not she's going to be a queen.  And whether or not she's going to be a significant hero.

But I'm going to overlook that as simply a transition in the story and not let it bother me.  After all, she at least didn't become dainty and fragile and anorexic looking.  I'm going to assume she just lost enough weight to be of an average, healthy size.  And I'm going to envy the fact that she managed to keep her big boobs and shapely butt, because I know those are usually the first things to go when women are dieting...

Not that it should be an issue in a YA.  Nuh-uh.

However, I love that she still remains a heroine who loves food A LOT and doesn't care to hide it.  And she is constantly eating and thinking about food.  And she's all:  "Parties and celebrations and fashions and silk gowns?  Don't you people know there's a war coming?  Now pass me that chicken dish and let's get this war council started!"

Surely, a woman after my own heart!

The politics are scarce (not really a complaint) and things seem to fall into place too easily.  There's a lot going on that relies extremely heavily on "destiny" and "God's Will" and such stuff of higher beings, uncontrollable by a mere human.  But I'm glad that there was mention of the fact that it took Elisa's own faith in herself and her willingness to act on her own will rather than sitting around and waiting for "God's Will" to intervene, in order to make things happen.

Overall, still a great read and I'm looking forward to the next book.

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This review was originally posted at Ani's Book Abyss / BookLikes in August 2014.

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