The Crown of Embers

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson, 2012 Greenwillow

     The Invierno army has been defeated and Elisa-Lucero has been named queen at her husband's death. Life should be focused on returning to normal, but just as the Invierno godstone fires will not die in the city, treachery comes at Elisa from every corner of the palace.
     What the invading army searched for was power beyond imagine and with her four companions--a spy, a loyal friend, a traitor, and the man she is coming to love--Elisa will travel across the ocean to find the godstones' power source.
     Along the way her path is disrupted by a people who do not trust their foreign queen, the Inviernos who still seek her godstone, and her own army led to treason by bloodthirsty men seeking opportunity to power.
     Elisa and her company struggle to maintain their faith in each other, and in their mission, but her loyalty to a country she was not born to inspires and compels. Teen readers will enjoy Elisa's transformation from warrior girl to Queen.