So at first I was really disappointed in myself that it had taken me so long to get around to reading this book. I read the first two books in the series quite a while ago. But, now having completed this book I'm actually kinda happy I unknowingly waited. If I had read this when I first added it to my TBR and the new sequels hadn't been out I would have been so bummed. There's quite a gap in publication between this book and the next in the series, but this story, while not ending on a true cliffhanger, still does feel a little incomplete. More that there's further the story can go rather than that this story itself wasn't told.

I love Bitterblue! She's such an amazing queen and she struggling so hard to face all of the horrible things that her father had done to their kingdom. Everyone around her has secrets on top of secrets and she's sure there's more to life than signing the papers her advisors put in front of her. But for every little things she learns it seems to be in direct contradiction to what she's been told by those advisors. Her strength was wonderful. Everything she learns troubles her deeply but she doesn't back away from the truth she's fighting forward trying to make things better for her people.

If I had one little complaint about this story it's with the romance. Sure Saf is an interesting character, but I never really got the attraction between them. Now knowing that there's another book that has Bitterblue at it's heart I hope she wakes up and sees how a certain displaced noble really would be wonderful for her. He's a much better choice. ;)

I loved this story and actually really enjoyed that the story was written in such a way to make the reader feel as muddled as Bitterblue does with what she does and doesn't know is memory. When an entire kingdom has had their brains messed with the truth is a hard thing to find. I liked trying to piece it all together myself.