Title: The Bitter Kingdom
Author: Rae Carson
Genre: YA, High Fantasy
Release Date: August 27, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: eARC provided via edelweiss for honest review

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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.


What I have loved about this series from the very beginning was its ability to be a high fantasy young adult novel with the cliches of most stories out there today. Rea Carson is not afraid to kill off characters (very much like George R.R Martin), which is something I commend her doing, because it keeps us readers on the edge of our seats because we have no idea what she will do next. And I am happy to say that the tradition does not end with this last book in the series.

What I loved most about this conclusion was that we didn't just have Elisa's narrative but w also had Hectors. If you have read this series you will understand the brilliance of this element of the story. He is probably one of the most interesting love interests out there right ow and he does not disappoint in this book. And I really want to thank Rea Carson for giving me exactly what I had been waiting for; A window into Hectors mind.

Many questions were answered in this conclusion and i loved that certain characters grew even more through this book. For example, Mara and Belin were probably some of my favourite characters in this book because their personalities were heightened in this book which made them amazing to read. I loved their history together and their loyalty to Elisa. These two became essential to the advancement of the plot and it made me elated to see then being used so much more.

The one thing that diminished my liking of this book was the pacing. I thought that this was could have actually been two books, and that certain scenes were incredibly rushed- especially the final battle scene. In that scene I felt myself feeling the same way I felt reading the last Harry Potter book- a little disappointed and ripped off. We had been waiting through two books for this confrontation and it only lasted a chapter or two, and I was waiting for much more than I received. I felt like the actual ending did not live up to the build up from the previous two books. I just wish that there was more at stake because to me, it seemed clear what was going to happen. I guess I just wanted one last twist.

Overall I really enjoyed this last book in the Fire and Thorns trilogy and I am very happy that I stayed with the story through all of these years. It is a great series for fantasy lovers and i am telling you right now, you need to read this series, if only for Hector ;)