Thursday, November 14, 2013

Review: The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns, #3)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 (GoodReads).


The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson was a satisfying conclusion to trilogy. Lets get to the review!


  • Originality: 5. I like this desert world and the magical aspects. Full on fantasy here, but it doesn't feel cribbed from George R.R. Martin or anyone else, so props to Carson!
  • Absurdity: 6. I have to say, Carson really expects you to bring your A game regarding her fantasy world-building. I felt like this book dropped you back into Elisa's world really fast, and I was confused by the vocab and who was who for a while. It came back to me, but if you like to reread books, it would help to revisit the first two before getting involved. (and as always, absurdity points for the troll-like Godstone in Elisa's belly button. YIKES).
  • Level of Paranormal Romance: 6. Hector and Elisa know what they want (hint: each other) but sometimes they refuse to communicate. Grrrrr, people! If these lovebirds had just used their words, we could have had even more great romance. But even as it is, this was a satisfying relationship to read. I will always love Humberto best, but Hector has my vote for VIP smoldering solider any day.
  • Level of Harry Potterness: 6. This is a thoughtful series. Carson presents interesting questions about body image, faith, and what it means to be an independent adult. LIKE!
Want to know more about this series? BECAUSE YOU SHOULD. That is a natural feeling about good books. See my reviews of The Girl of Fire and Thorns, book one, and The Crown of Embers, book two.

3 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this series so much! I also wish Hector and Elisa hadn't been so frustrating because I did have so much fun reading about their romance, and I wish there'd been more. Great review!

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  2. OMG Awesome review! I've read the first 2, have the Bitter Kingdom and still haven't read it yet. What am I waiting for?! I need to get on that lol! I'm so glad you loved it :)

    Crystal @ Elegantly Bound Books

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  3. This is one of many series that I seriously need to start.

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