Reviews

Crown of Bitter Thorn by Kay L. Moody

chelseas_reads's review against another edition

4.0

unfortunately, i felt the crown of bitter thorn was lacking compared to the previous book. this could be because i whizzed through the castle of bitter thorn, and was still on a bit of a high.

one thing i particularly hated about the crown of bitter thorn is the sisters. in the previous two books, they’re mentioned but not actually there. in crown of bitter thorn, they’re there and their annoying. this could be their age, but i found them very immature and frustrating to deal with.

brannick was also a little annoying at the start. i found him broody and whatnot. yawn.

at least the romance picked up a little bit. previously, there was mentions of liking one another but never actions that showed it. crown of bitter thorn wasn’t perfect, but it did start to show me their feelings.

overall, the storyline was good, however i felt it did drag in the middle.

luckyjinx's review against another edition

5.0

I am absolutely loving this series. I was happy to see Elora and Brannick have decided to admit the feelings they obviously have for each other. I am glad to see Elora find her way in her new skin as well, as she only gets stronger and smarter as she goes. I liked seeing more of Chloe and Grace, and the makeshift family they've formed with the Prince and his crew.
Can't wait to see how this all ends, and see Queen Alessandra taken down already!

flamelight14666's review against another edition

5.0

Really enjoyed reading it! I expected the quality of the book to be lower than the previous ones since it's the third book, but I was pleasantly surprised to find I was wrong. Really really like the way the author doesn't make the characters do anything against their nature.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

ariinu_'s review against another edition

4.0

Actual Rating: 3.5/5

that_little_drop_of_poison's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

paige_g16's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

4.0

bzliz's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

So obviously Elora was going to survive stabbing herself with the shard to become fae, otherwise this book wouldn’t exist. Our story picks up with her transformation from mortal to fae. When she finally awakes, her sisters are in the castle with her and they got up to speed on Faerie really quickly. The Bitter Thorn squad are coming up with plans to take down High Queen Alessandra but Elora has not been able to access her magic yet, leaving her vulnerable, meanwhile the High Queen is using incredible power to enchant enormous areas and this only gets more dire after Elora’s unwilling contribution via Ansel. 

Elora spends a good portion of the book grappling with her lack of access to her magic. We do get to see some personal wins though; Prince Brannick finally understands why Elora took the risk that she did and their relationship grows much stronger. 

The pace really picks up about halfway through. The climax of this installment of the series was a perfect length- just enough to keep you hooked with some successes and some setbacks but not dragging out endlessly to cause both the characters and readers misery. 

Content warning:
Violence- in the climax plus following warning
Torture/blood:

Elora is captured in High Queen Alessandra’s castle and is held captive for days while Ansel drains her blood to make powerful gems that allow the High Queen access to extraordinary power. Descriptors detail physical restraints, food and sleep deprivation, physical torture to collect Elora’s blood, and extreme fear after Alessandra agrees to allow Ansel to take Elora back to his weird torture house once she has the needed gems.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Violence, and Confinement

puzzle_ad's review

3.0

I started this book right after I finished the previous one and I don't even remember when that was but I got like 30% in and completely lost interest. I saw that storytel actually has the audiobooks so I decided it was time to finish it finally. Unfortunately, I remembered almost nothing so I was kind of lost but didn't want to start it over. I feel like this series has kinda lost its appeal to me. I still love the worldbuilding but the story itself is kinda boring to me. I still might read the last one though. 

sarahjhin's review against another edition

4.0

Having survived the transformation into a Fae, Elora awakens to find that several weeks have passed and both of her sisters adjusting to life in Faerie. But all is not well. Elora is met with reluctant acceptance of her new status as Fae and looked down at by her inability to use her magic. She decides for the time-being to swallow her pride and focus on the task at hand, stopping the now High Queen Alessandra once and for all.

I was quite surprised by "Crown of Bitter Thorn." Before I began the first chapter, I was hoping to see more of Elora's sisters because they were some of my favorite characters in the first book of the series. Their return was a superb choice by the author and helped to enrich the story overall. In addition, "Crown of Bitter Thorn" has the best character development of the series so far for all characters. It was very rewarding to see how each character had grown from the first book, and more so in this book alone. The characters face a lot of importance challenges that ultimately have consequences both good and bad.

I also liked the continuation of themes that the author has woven throughout the series. Family, love, and emotions are three that I take from the series, with emotions being the strongest of the three. Without unintentional given out any spoilers, if readers enjoyed the subplot surrounding Elora's emotions in the previous books, "Crown of Bitter Thorn" will not disappoint.

I didn't give this book 5 stars because while I saw a lot of improvement in the writing's quality, story, and characters, there is again no satisfying conclusion. After three books of the characters facing similar defeats, the momentum to continue with the series lessens. However, I enjoy the characters enough to come back for more and hope that all ends in triumph.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

itsabookthing2021's review against another edition

3.0

Thanks to Booksirens and publishers for this eARC

Crown of Bitter Thorn is the third installment in The Fae of Bitter Thorn series.
This novel follows on from book 2 and
the tension is electric in this one. Prince Brannick and his friends attempt to overthrow High Queen Alessandra.
Crown of Bitter Thorn is action packed and full of adventure, the plot has so many twists and turns. You think it's going one way and then it completely swerves in a different direction.
As with the others the world building is great and the characters keep getting better and better.
The ending - what a shocker!! I can't wait to read book 4