Scan barcode
malinuknow's review against another edition
4.0
Great conclusion to the series, I liked her relationship with the captain!
brianne_k's review against another edition
5.0
Full of action, and it was amazing. this ending was pretty perfect.
Hector.. Hector forever.
Hector.. Hector forever.
roseleaf24's review against another edition
4.0
Worth the overdue fines to finally read this book! What a great end to the trilogy. I love the intertwining of destiny and identity, friendship and independence, strength and humility. Loved what happened with the relationships with Cosme and Alodia.
aepstone's review against another edition
Finally got around to rereading this trilogy/reading the final installment, and really enjoyed the ending!
abex's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
seshoptaw's review against another edition
4.0
4*
Here it is, the conclusion to the Fire and Thorns series. Now that I’ve read the final pages, I’m sad that the story is finally finished (although I think that it ended in a perfect spot). I’ve grown to love the characters in this series and I’m going to miss them.
What I have loved about all 3 of these novels is that the relationships that develop seem so very <i>real</i>. The friendships or the romances never developed too quickly in my opinion and sometimes it was a calculated risk to trust others. Additionally, not everyone is a friend to everyone else just because Elisa is (ex: Hector and Storm) and each and every relationship is battle-won by the trials and experiences they all share together. The romance between Elisa and Hector (and to a lessor degree Mara and Belen) develop because of a foundation of friendship and again, shared experiences. I never doubted the relationships and that’s not something I can always say about the books I’ve read. The author has done a wonderful job with the character development and character building throughout her series.
I also appreciate how much Elisa’s confidence in herself has continued to grow. She starts to really <i>love</i> herself and she’s come so far with that transition. She actively works to become <b>better</b> than she was yesterday. Victories are never just <i>given</i> to the characters either. For instance, I appreciate how much Elisa doesn’t just take one or two fighting/knife lessons. Again, for me, this speaks to a <i>realness</i> to the story. You have to practice to become adept at every skill and things don’t always go perfectly. Elisa faces people more proficient with knives and swords even after all of the practice and growth she’s had with fighting and weapons – and has a few very close calls because of this. She never magically becomes the best fighter that every lived after one or two lessons, which I’ve seen happen in other novels. BUT, she keeps working and using the skills she has – with her confidence growing all the time.
I also really fell in love with Storm in this book. I liked him a lot by the end of book 2 but book 3 completely solidified by opinion of him. He’s my favorite male in the book. And to make things even better, although Storm is loyal and caring to Elisa, it never crosses over into an awkward love triangle – EVER. I’m so happy about that because I think other authors might have been temped to write it that way…even IF he still fell in love with/became interested in Alodia later on
I also enjoyed getting glimpses into Hector’s POV, especially while he was captured. I love that he didn’t give up and was brilliant about making his own plan to set his captives against each other. However, most of the parts with Hector that I loved were in the first half of the book. During the second half, his character and personality seemed to dim a little bit and I became more interested in the other characters more – Storm and Elisa especially. He becomes much more of a muted secondary character and I missed getting to see him the same way during the second half.
I have a few other complaints about this novel as well. There was so much going on in this book that made it seem very rushed and anticlimactic. Elisa and the gang didn’t stop moving from page one to page 433. Because of that, I think events that should have been more impactful became much less so at times.A good example of this would be when Elisa completes her task and finds the Oasis. Although we’re assured that we may not necessarily get to see God’s will played out with this Oasis, it seemed more like an afterthought than a real addition to the story. Other than this being the cause of Elisa losing her Godstone, the author seemed to throw this whole section in as an afterthought. As another example, I felt like the scene where Waterfall gets killed was rushed and brushed under the rug as well. Yes, Storm cries a little but he bounces back awfully quick for having a sister die. But I’m going to admit that she seemed like a poor character anyway (so I didn’t really care that she died). She was an underdeveloped tour guide and I thought she was very forgettable and boring.
I also hated Elisa’s sudden loss of faith in God somewhat throughout this novel almost solely because she loses her Godstone. I find that a smidge hard to bear since her faith has been a cornerstone for her for so long and she knew that this would happen if she completed her purpose. It just makes her faith look weak and fickle. I had really liked the integration of the religious aspects throughout book 1 and 2 and watching it take a nose dive was disappointing.
The Bitter Kingdom was a good ending to the story but there did seem to be <i>something</i> missing for me. Nevertheless, I’ve still really enjoyed the series and have rated it pretty high overall.
Here it is, the conclusion to the Fire and Thorns series. Now that I’ve read the final pages, I’m sad that the story is finally finished (although I think that it ended in a perfect spot). I’ve grown to love the characters in this series and I’m going to miss them.
What I have loved about all 3 of these novels is that the relationships that develop seem so very <i>real</i>. The friendships or the romances never developed too quickly in my opinion and sometimes it was a calculated risk to trust others. Additionally, not everyone is a friend to everyone else just because Elisa is (ex: Hector and Storm) and each and every relationship is battle-won by the trials and experiences they all share together. The romance between Elisa and Hector (and to a lessor degree Mara and Belen) develop because of a foundation of friendship and again, shared experiences. I never doubted the relationships and that’s not something I can always say about the books I’ve read. The author has done a wonderful job with the character development and character building throughout her series.
I also appreciate how much Elisa’s confidence in herself has continued to grow. She starts to really <i>love</i> herself and she’s come so far with that transition. She actively works to become <b>better</b> than she was yesterday. Victories are never just <i>given</i> to the characters either. For instance, I appreciate how much Elisa doesn’t just take one or two fighting/knife lessons. Again, for me, this speaks to a <i>realness</i> to the story. You have to practice to become adept at every skill and things don’t always go perfectly. Elisa faces people more proficient with knives and swords even after all of the practice and growth she’s had with fighting and weapons – and has a few very close calls because of this. She never magically becomes the best fighter that every lived after one or two lessons, which I’ve seen happen in other novels. BUT, she keeps working and using the skills she has – with her confidence growing all the time.
I also really fell in love with Storm in this book. I liked him a lot by the end of book 2 but book 3 completely solidified by opinion of him. He’s my favorite male in the book. And to make things even better, although Storm is loyal and caring to Elisa, it never crosses over into an awkward love triangle – EVER. I’m so happy about that because I think other authors might have been temped to write it that way…
I also enjoyed getting glimpses into Hector’s POV, especially while he was captured. I love that he didn’t give up and was brilliant about making his own plan to set his captives against each other. However, most of the parts with Hector that I loved were in the first half of the book. During the second half, his character and personality seemed to dim a little bit and I became more interested in the other characters more – Storm and Elisa especially. He becomes much more of a muted secondary character and I missed getting to see him the same way during the second half.
I have a few other complaints about this novel as well. There was so much going on in this book that made it seem very rushed and anticlimactic. Elisa and the gang didn’t stop moving from page one to page 433. Because of that, I think events that should have been more impactful became much less so at times.
I also hated Elisa’s sudden loss of faith in God somewhat throughout this novel almost solely because she loses her Godstone. I find that a smidge hard to bear since her faith has been a cornerstone for her for so long and she knew that this would happen if she completed her purpose. It just makes her faith look weak and fickle. I had really liked the integration of the religious aspects throughout book 1 and 2 and watching it take a nose dive was disappointing.
The Bitter Kingdom was a good ending to the story but there did seem to be <i>something</i> missing for me. Nevertheless, I’ve still really enjoyed the series and have rated it pretty high overall.
kleakurti's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0