A review by liralen
The Crown of Embers, by Rae Carson
4.0
It's the rare second book in a trilogy that manages to be as compelling as the first, but The Crown of Embers does it with panache. It helps, I think, that there's a separate, defined arc here—although Elisa is continuing her effort to stabilise her kingdom and secure her people's safety, she's also on a somewhat more personal quest to understand and solidify her own power.
One thing that frustrates me, though, is that the positive-body-image message of the previous book is diluted somewhat in this one. Now when Elisa describes her body, she mentions things like 'the slight softness in my lower belly' and 'the way my inner thighs just brush when I stand' (170 for both). It's unfortunate, because it sounds like she's now, by any reasonable definition, she's quite slim, but she's using these as ways that she's still 'too big'. Maybe a minor 'hmmm'. Just...hmmm.
One thing that frustrates me, though, is that the positive-body-image message of the previous book is diluted somewhat in this one. Now when Elisa describes her body, she mentions things like 'the slight softness in my lower belly' and 'the way my inner thighs just brush when I stand' (170 for both). It's unfortunate, because it sounds like she's now, by any reasonable definition, she's quite slim, but she's using these as ways that she's still 'too big'. Maybe a minor 'hmmm'. Just...hmmm.