Review: The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

ISBN: 9780062026545
Page Count: 448 pages
Release Date: August 27, 2013
Series: The Girl of Fire and Thorns, #3
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See all my reviews in this series

     GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

"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."

     REVIEW:

WHAT I LIKED:

• Rae Carson's writing is 110% better in this book than it was in the first. It flows so well and kept me hooked the entire time.
• This series is very character driven and the characters all grow so much by the end of this book. I'm amazed at how different Elisa is, but she's still Elisa... does that make sense?
• The main character, Elisa, is such a strong heroine, even with having her weak points. She is the QUEEN, and she damn sure acts like it. Rule that kingdom girl!!

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

• I was expecting something awesomely epic and for the first half of the book, I was pretty bored. It just was... not great, not horrible. Just blah. And every time I though it was picking up, something would stop the progression and it'd be back to blah.
• It felt broken up - the plot I mean. It felt like several different stories all mashed into one, or several different plot points that were supposed to run one right into the other except it didnt work out that way.
• Just like in all of the books, some big revelation or action-y scene happens and then right after, it falls flat and the characters are not acting the way you'd expect. *sort-of spoiler* e.g. someone is attacking you, you go out, trick them... then tell them to leave? And they listen? Something not right here...*end sort-of spoiler*

RATING: ★★★ 1/2

I was slightly disappointed by this book after reading Crown of Embers, which I thought was the best book in this trilogy. I was expecting something beyond epic, and don't get me wrong - Carson threw me for a loop a couple of times, but I was just expecting... more. However, the book was still great, even if some of it was "off". I enjoyed seeing Elisa grow and that was one of Carson's strongest points in the series - the monumental growth of her characters. As a whole, the series was great, if not fantastic, and I will enjoy reading it again one day.