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

by 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.