Girl of Fire and Thorns (3) - The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson
The final of the trilogy: The Bitter Kingdom (In French Le Royaume des Larmes)! I read it in English where it contained 433 pages. Originally published 2013.
With Hector abducted and her kingdom fighting in a war both out- and inside it's borders, against friends, family and outside enemies, Elisa starts her voyage to the land of the animagi: Invierne. Aided by her best friends Mara, Belén, the animagus Storm and the little slave girl Red she conquers, fights and used magic to rescue what she loves most: Her fiancé and her kingdom. But what good is her magic, when she looses it?
I liked the first part of the series much better.
It's so obvious what happens next, it’s almost boring.
And even though Storm and Red rock ("I'm Her Majesty's loyal subject" and "Mara, Belén, I'm slave to the queen!") the rest of the characters were so-lala.
Thankfully, Elisa didn’t have to find herself again – we had that twice now – but takes what belongs to her. I like how she plays Alodia and Cosmé, it’s funny – but the rest?
Waterfall may be quiet, but she doesn't fit in the "all quiet waters are deep" category.
Hector gets a lot less interesting than in the 2nd part of series, even though we've got his point of view in this book as well. And for such an independent person, he doesn’t care that Elisa took a decision about his future away from him, just like that.
Belén and Mara are... well. They love each other and care for each other, but Mara doesn't trust him with her heart, even though they seem to sleep with each other and he'd obviously do anything for her. This seems a little out of character for Mara.
But what really sucks is that this threat of the story just hangs unfinished in the air when the book ends. As well as several other threads: What happens with the oasis?
Spoiler:
Will Cosmé ever be happy again? How are Storm and Alodia doing together?
And will Rosario in the end be king or not? Actually, the only threads that are finished are the ones of Elisa and Hector as a couple and of Joya d'Arena - and the Godstone. You finish the book with the feeling the series is not over at all! This is frustrating! All in all, I' really disappointed in this book.
In brief:
One star for the ideas, one for style, minus one for the ending.
Prequel: