Elisa is now a queen and a hero, and somebody out there wants her dead. While she is beloved by most of her people, she's still young, foreign, female, and inexperienced, and she's still feeling her way as she tries to balance power with kindness. Also, there's a hired assassin attempting to take her out. When Elisa learns of a strong source of magic -- one that she, as bearer of the Godstone, is uniquely able to access, she sets out on a quest. She's accompanied by a small party, not all of whom can be trusted. Elisa is falling in love with one of her companions, but she is once again faced with the need to make a politically advantageous marriage. Will Elisa ever be able to follow her heart? Will she even live long enough to do so?
This second book has all of the character development and complexity that made the first book so wonderful, along with a heightened sense of adventure and a bit more romance. It's hard for me to love the second book in a series quite as much as I loved the first book, especially when the first book completely knocked my socks off, but Crown of Embers is a worthy successor to The Girl of Fire and Thorns, and I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series.
(Reviewed from a copy borrowed through my library system.)
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