The Bitter Kingdom
(Girl of Fire and Thorns #3)
The champion must not fear.
The gate of darkness closes.
Elisa is a fugitive.
Her enemies have stolen the man she loves, and they await her at the gate of darkness. Her country is on the brink of civil war, with her own soldiers ordered to kill her on sight.
Her Royal Majesty, Queen Lucero-Elisa né Riqueza de Vega, bearer of the Godstone, will lead ...more
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The Bitter Kingdom is damn near perfect. Hell, it probably is perfect but since I'm too blinded by the perfection that is Hector, I'm unable to call anything else perfect in comparison to him. *swoons*
Top 5 Reasons To Read The Bitter Kingdom. (In case you needed any convincing...which you HOPEFULLY don't because if yo ...more



Hector has quickly become one of my favorite YA book boys. I'm not even sure what's so swoony about him, besides the fact that he's marvelous. If you've read the books, you know. You just know. Once he shaved that moustache, it was one big swoonfest every time he stepped into the scene.
I also really loved the new setting in this book! Girl of Fire and Thorns had a desert feel to it, and Crown of Embers had more of a tropical thing going on. But Bitter Kingdom is definitely set in a col ...more

“You look beautiful," Alodia says.
I startle at the compliment. Then I smile. "I’m beautiful to the one person who matters."
She nods. "Hector’s mouth is going to drop open when he sees you.”
“I hope so. But I meant me. I’m beautiful to me.”

This trilogy definitely holds a special place in my heart.The characters are so wonderful,especially Elisa who develops so much as a character and Hector who shows us what an unconditional love is.I've never been prouder of a book character before ...more

Very rarely do books like these end in a way that I thought was just darn perfect. Usually there is something in the ...more

I'm so happy. This series has held up so well. it is one of my favorite underrated series, with one of the best slow burn romances in it. Also, how could I ever forget Red Sparkle Stone, she is amazing.

It would destroy me to have you just a little
The Bitter Kingdom is the perfect ending to the Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy. Rae Carson has hit this one out of the park with the addition of a few new characters and the resurrection of other favorites from the first two books in th ...more

“I am queen of Joya d’Arena and bearer of a living Godstone. I kneel to no one.”
Final books are always the hardest for me to write about. It is the end, and I know that there wouldn't be any sequels and things will stay the way they ended. At some point I am relieved how everything ended but some resolutions left me disappointed.
The plot. The crown of embers ended with Elisa and Co on the run. They must save Hector, find out the truth about Godstones, and then Elisa must again prove to be the ru
...more
A fantastic ending to an amazing trilogy. Elisa's character development was phenomenal. She started out as this character with so much self doubt and fear and ended with so much confidence and bravery. Elisa is one of my favorite female heroines of all time.
I had to take away 1/2 a star because I probably should have read this sooner. It took me a little longer to reconnect with the story and the characters, but once I did I was just so engrossed.
Also, I was just freaking swooning ...more

Usual heroine:
"You steal the man I love? Well, I'm going to cry in the corner for half a book, feel sorry for myself and then just do my best and try to get to you while being stupid once in a while to make the book exciting."
Elisa:
"You steal the man I love? Ha! I will first get a backup plan for my kingdom and then follow you saving lives, yours included, being totally badass, relying on the intelligence of my beloved, and acting like a true warrior."
Seriously though. When everything is ...more

4/7/2019
Sticking with 5 stars this time around, although let's be real: a decent chunk of that is because I ship it a frightening amount.
9/2/2017
On reread, I'm bumping this up to 5 stars. The relationship is perfection. Elisa has come so far from the shrinking violet we met in the fi ...more

This is the third and final book in this series and for me the best one so far. It’s true that I’ve had a bit of a bumpy ride at times but overall I’ve really enjoyed this series.
I had several issues especially with the first book but despite the problems this series has turned out to be addictive reading. I found I just couldn’t put it down.
There’s already loads of great reviews so I’m keeping mine short and sweet.
The fact is I’ve not been very generous with my ratings because things bothered ...more

2013... I want more of my Hector now.
After reading
4.5 stars. Incredible.

Who's the damsel in destress now? ;D ...more

In Crown of Embers, we left Elisa and Hector in a dreadful situation, apart and with far too many obstacles between them, ...more

I know that it took me long to finally finish this amazing trilogy but I don't regret it one bit. It's always such bitter sweet sorrow for me when reading the final in a Fantastic read. All the characters we great. I will especially miss Storm, Elisa and Hector. These three specifically made this read a roll coaster of gratifying pleasure.
I love Carson's style of writing and the lead heroine Elisa wa ...more


I startle at the compliment. Then I smile. "I’m beautiful to the one person who matters."
She nods. "Hector’s mouth is going to drop open when he sees you.”
“I hope so. But I meant me. I’m beautiful to me.”

When I started Fire and Thorns I definitely did not expect it to become one of my favourite high fantasy series of all time, and yet here I am absolutely loving it.
The first book was enjoyable enough, it was the second two instalments that made me fall in ...more

This book can not come out any sooner can it? I NEED IT LIKE A DROWINGNG MAN NEEDS AIR! (You all know where I got that from.) I've got to wait till August?!?!?!

After Reading:
“I think sometimes when we find love we pretend it away or ignore it or tell ourselves we’re imagining it. Because it is the most painful kind of hope there is.”
This is a very “quick” and horrible a review because I have procrastinated and I never want to right a review after I’ve read ano ...more

I'm not sure this one sucked me in as much as the other audiobooks but that is definitely my fault as I found myself distracted, and rewinding, constantly. Again, m ...more

After a bit of dragginess in the middle, this book redeemed itself with a worthy confrontation with the villain, and a perfect character arc and body-acceptance arc for Elisa. This is definitely one of my favorite trilogies.

This book.
THIS BOOK.
Please note the shelf placement. That's very important. ...more

-Mostly enjoyed it, the action, characters and romance kept me hooked. However, I was disappointed that the majority of The Bitter Kingdom was basically a long journey - I hate it when a story mainly consists of a journey, I don't find it imaginative or particularly entertaining.
-One of the best aspects of the series was the character growth of the heroine, Elisa. She started off fat and useless and transformed into a confident leader. It was refreshing to read a YA heroine w ...more

I think I loved this even more than the other two because 1-Elisa is so confident and uses her intelligence as a power to scheme which is so damn magnificent! and 2- BECAUSE HECTOR HAS A POV AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH
I really enjoyed the dual perspective between Hector and Elisa, their povs perfectly compliment each other just like they do. Hector is like literally the best and I have a love/hate relationship with his tendency to sacrifice himself for Elisa. I understand, but ...more


I have so many things to say.... where do I begin???
First off I knew going into this book I wasn't going to appreciate it. I have read the 1 + 2 ones and knew why I was reading this. I was reading it to warn others. STAY AWAY!! There are so many problems and bad morals for Christian's to be reading in this, it is not good for our minds or souls. So I was prepared to read just to give a review and now that I've finished I'm more disappointed than I care to admit.
Rae Carson had g ...more

I think this was my favorite out of the whole series - maybe. I loved Elisa throughout the whole book and how she just grew more into her own character. I loved all of the friends she made along the journey too. Honestly, they were hilarious and I couldn't stop laughing so much that I was starting to cry. I seriously loved Storm throughout this book too and I was just wanting him and Elisa to get together throughout the entire book - screw Hector!
Ugh! Speaking of Hector, h ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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YA Buddy Readers'...: The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson --> starting 1 March, 2018 | 11 | 10 | Mar 13, 2018 11:35AM | |
100+ Books in 2021: Annemarie's Books for 2014 | 1 | 9 | Oct 26, 2014 08:53AM | |
David Estes Fans ...: The Bitter Kingdom Buddy Read | 16 | 24 | Jul 01, 2014 01:44AM |
In her own words, she "write[s] books about teens who must do brave ...more
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I startle at the compliment. Then I smile. "I’m beautiful to the one person who matters."
She nods. "Hector’s mouth is going to drop open when he sees you.”
“I hope so. But I meant me. I’m beautiful to me.”