The Bitter Kingdom (Girl of Fire and Thorns, #3)

by Rae Carson

In the final volume of Carson's trilogy, the 17-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. Riveting, surprising, and achingly romantic, Rae Carson has spun a bold and powerful conclusion to her extraordinary trilogy.

• ISBN10: 0062026569
• ISBN13: 9780062026569
• Publish Date: 26 August 2014 (first published 27 August 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[mitabird]

3.25 stars

[Cocktails and Books]

I really enjoyed the ending to this series, especially how much Elisa had grown. There were many times, throughout the first two books, when Eliza's age would show. But in this book, Elisa finally embraces everything that she had been running from: her Godstone, her feelings for Hector and her crown. It wasn't easy for her, but it showed how much she'd grown and how much she really wanted to make things better....for everyone.

I always liked the relationship between her and Hector, but it definitely took a turn in this book. They both had to learn to rely and lean on the other, rather than just outright protecting. And when they finally figured that out, you just knew this royal relationship was going to be on dynasties were built on.

A solid read and a series that shockingly held my interest. I tend to shy away from books heavy on religion, but this one worked without being too much.

[Sam@WLABB]

I really enjoyed the way Carson split this book into parts based on the mission, or stage, in Elisa's journey. With each accomplishment, Elisa comes closer to fulfilling her destiny. It was an epic journey, and in the end, Elisa discovers her true self, as well as the power she always had.

"No," I say honestly. "My true power was never in my Godstone."

The swoon factor is up in this one, and my face ached from all the smiling I did.

"I am strong enough -- man enough -- to be subject to you."

Seriously, I love Hector.

What an amazing trip Carson took me. I cannot wait to read more of her work, because she does such a stupendous job building her world and creating her characters. Bravo, Rae Carson!

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

I started this series a couple of months ago when I was reading several popular fantasy stories and this one was my favorite out of all of them. I loved the character of Elisa from the very beginning. She is beautifully written and so relatable that you can't help but adore her. In a world of Bella Swan's, it is incredibly refreshing to read a female character like Elisa (that's not a knock against Twilight; I'm just contrasting). It's appropriate that I wrapped up this series while #ReadWomen is trending, because Elisa is not the typical YA female character, mentally or physically. Her character development throughout the series is a beautiful thing to watch. I felt as if I were being vicariously empowered through her as she came into her own. Needless to say, this series satisfied all of my feminist desires for a YA character, but not in an over-the-top way. It really was beautifully done. I especially liked how the author gently wove spirituality and religion into the story line without ever singling out a particular religion. All the better to please everyone with, I suppose. There was always enough action to keep me interested, but not never too much to overwhelm me.

The narrator: This freaking narrator has the voice of an angel. Her soothing voice nearly lulled me to sleep more than once. She instantly made it onto my favorite narrators list. Without this particular narration experience, I am not sure I would have enjoyed this is story to the degree that I did.

[wyvernfriend]

Elisa chases after Hector to save him, realising that what his kidnappers really want is her. She gets to know her companions well and learns more about herself. She has to survive a lot and come to realise where her future is.

It's interesting, Elisa is so young but also determined to do her very best for her country and for her world. She wants to do right and is willing to sacrifice to do so and while she makes missteps she is also willing to make personal sacrifices to get it right.

I enjoyed reading this, along with the rest of the series.

I....I did it. I can't believe I finished it. I can't believe I'll never return to the world that gave me some of the most amazing characters (Hector = 3)! What a phenomenal ending to a phenomenal series. So wonderfully done and just...amazing. This series is simply a treasure and will remain one of my favorites for a lifetime.
Full review coming soon.

[ladygrey]

The conclusion to this trilogy was pretty good. The plot reminded me some of the first book in that it's a journey story with a good deal of traveling. Theoretically, I liked the unexpected things like her finding out her purpose because it meant all the grand sorts of things she did were because of who she was and not her Godstone, even though there's no way she could have done them without it. Not a great picture of faith, but a good thing for young girls to believe their capable of extraordinary things. But emotionally they weren't really satisfying.

I liked the romance because too often characters only get together at the very last moment and I enjoyed getting to experience Hector and Elisa struggle through so much of this with one another.

The characters overall were pretty good. I love Red and Storm.

And I liked that there was a smart and satisfying conclusion to this trilogy. Even though there isn't a lot I love in these books I like that they feel different than most YA, a little more like a classic [a:Robin McKinley|5339|Robin McKinley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1314406026p2/5339.jpg] just not quite as good.

Loved this. This was a great ending to this story.

[lizarodz]

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