The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

The Girl of Fire and Thorns #3
Greenwillow Books
August 27th, 2013
YA Fantasy

ACQUIRED FROM: Public Library

SYNOPSIS

The epic conclusion to Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy.

The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny.

Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she's never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion--a champion to those who have hated her most. 

From Goodreads 

REVIEW

It is with ease that I give The Bitter Kingdom 4.5 out of 5 stars. While it might not have been my favorite of the three novels (that easily goes to part one), The Bitter Kingdom was a brilliant novel that really brought to a stunning finish everything that began in The Girl of Fire and Thorns. 

The novel was filled with beautiful imagery and wonderful drama. There was one twist after another that kept the characters moving. It seemed they never got a break until the very end. Elisa really came into her own as a person in this novel, and I absolutely loved how she finally realized that it was only important how she saw herself. She faced her feelings about her sister, her prejudices about the Inviernos, and her prejudices about herself. I loved how, in the end, she loved herself. 

Another thing I absolutely adored about this novel was the fact that we got to see some of the story from Hector's point of view. That is one of the things that will keep me coming back to this novel again and again.

The only thing about this novel that I didn't like was that the rescues sometimes seemed too quick and easy, but this was overwhelmed by the fact that something new always popped up to challenge the characters.

Overall, The Bitter Kingdom is a breathtaking story about how being special is all about how you see yourself. Rae Carson is easily a master of fantasy.