[ This is book three of The Girl of Fire and Thorns series.
First book review and second book review.]

Title: The Bitter Kingdom
Author: Rae Carson
Published by: Greenwillow Books
Book Publication Date: August 26, 2014
Pages: 448 pages
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Grade: 90%
Rating: ★★★★★
Buy the Book: Here

Summary:

The New York Times‒best-selling series!

"Carson joins the ranks of writers like Kristin Cashore, Megan Whalen Turner, and Tamora Pierce as one of YA's best writers of high fantasy."—Locus

In the deeply satisfying conclusion to the bestselling Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen Elisa travels 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.

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Thoughts: 

Well, ladies and gents, Elisa in this book, finally becomes a woman.... Yes, yes there is sex in this book, but it is very mild and can easily be skipped if that isn't your cup of tea or someone of the younger audience read the first two books and wants to read the last book. The author does not go into great detail, only shows the reader how intense Elisa and Hector feel for each other and then she cuts scene. I, again, was disappointed with some parts of the book, it was rather boring at one part during a storm, and one thing seemed unrealistic.

I want to share a quote; this is my favorite because it involves Elisa's hatred for Horses. When I read it, I honestly had to hold the tears back I was laughing so hard. Check it out:

The cave’s opening is low and crooked and dark and Horse balks. I give her a kiss on the nose and say in soothing tones, “Are you the stupidest horse who ever lived? Yes, you are!” Her ears perked forward, her nostrils flare, and she follows me inside.

-(Chapter 24, page 233 of the Kindle Version)

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Grading

(you can find my rubric here)

Character Development:

Grade:4/5 = 20 pts

Very much like the first book, she did beautifully in some parts while it severely lacked in others. I loved, loved, loved Lucero's character; beautifully created and carved while being totally relatable. However, this is the only book where I think Elisa's character was lacking believability. I feel she was developed nicely, but there was one thing I don't think is believable. I don't want to spoil too much about this book, but there is a part in the book where she convinces her sister and Cosmé to give her power in exchange for her help.

I'm sorry, but what?

I don't believe that is something that Elisa would do in a situation like this. However, I could be wrong. It could very well be something Elisa would do, but if it was then I have truly misjudged her character to begin with.

Tone / Writing style:

Grade: 4/5 = 10 pts

I am giving this a 4 out of 5 for this book because she introduced something she hasn't before. Change in Point of view. The first couple of times she changed POV to Hector's I couldn't see the difference in mindset between Hector and Elisa. If you ever want to change POV you always need to change the mindset because everyone thinks and does things differently.

I'm not saying Hector's actions weren't his own, I am saying the way he thought about certain things made it hard to tell that chapter apart from Elisa's point of view (like for example, I would put the book down for a few minutes and when I went back to it, it would take me a paragraph or  two to figure it was Hector and not Elisa based on the different setting both characters were in). Rae Carson finally got the hang of it after a couple of those changes in POV but then slipped again in the last time she introduced Hector as the POV. Other than that, everything else was beautifully done.

Plot:

Grade: 5/5 = 15 pts

I'm not going to go into great detail like I have with the previous two books simply since there is too much going on. However, I will highlight a few of my favorite parts.

Mule / Red. Red is a slave girl who is a half breed and said to be about nine years old. I love that she is smart yet innocent. It reminds you how much youth is lost in wars. We first discover Red in an Inn just outside of enemy lines. She adores Elisa after she pays for her to escape Red's Master. Then later on in the book, she helps Elisa's party navigate the mines and get into the castle after it had been taken over by the General.

Lucero is my favorite part of the book. Carson really knows her stuff when she wrote Lucero's story. We find out the previous bearer never died but was instead captured and used as the Inviernos' source of power against his will. He was forced into shackles and never fed or given water to keep him on the brink of death. God's power is what was keeping poor Lucero alive since he never completed his purpose. When Elisa goes into Invierno to talk to them about what they wanted with her, she meets Lucero and his first words to Elisa were: "Are you here to take my place?" He said this with such hope in his eyes.

When I was reading this chapter, my heart broke. Can you imagine forced to the brink of death so you couldn't fight back then kept there for a lifetime while being tortured every day for something you had no say over? I see why he tried to use Elisa to kill all the Inviernos.

Theme(s):

Grade: 5/5 = 10 pts

I think the most predominant theme of this book is Power. Power over the people, wanting to have the power over Elisa, the power over Lucero (and Lucero's raw power), Elisa's power over Hector, etc. Everyone has power over someone in this book, and it is interesting. I feel this is eye opening. Never really thought about it until this book that everyone has one up on someone else even if you don't even realize it at first.

Unpredictability:

Grade: 5/5 = 10 pts

Food For Thought:

Grade: 5/5 = 10 pts

Lucero is the food for thought. I feel that Elisa saw herself in him. I saw Elisa in him. If she weren't a Queen she most definitely would have been him. This got me thinking. I predicted in my review of the first book that Elisa would die in some form. I feel this is where her naivety died completely. This impacted my life because it made me realize without friends and connections you are in the hole along with him. You have no one to turn to, to ask for help nor anyone there to ask for guidance.

This also impacted my life because it made me realize without friends and connections you are in the hole along with him. You have no one to turn to, to ask for help nor anyone there to ask for guidance. You are being leeched off of by our society and government with taxes and or doing a high-risk job for minimum wage. That in itself, is utterly terrifying.

Ending:

Grade: 5/5 = 10 pts

This ending was sweet and complete, deserving full points. Great job on ending a fantastic trilogy on a beautiful note. This series will be one to remember.

Setting:

Grade: 5/5 = 5pts

Again with the beautiful settings! Rae Carson's settings were ALWAYS a strong point in her books.