** spoiler alert ** 
 DAT ENDING. Woah man. I am a mess right now. 
 It's rare in a trilogy the the second book greatly surpasses the first, but in this case, OH MY GOD THIS SERIES GOT MUCH BETTER. I've noticed the second book is usually weaker, But clearly Rae Carson did some very careful planning, and I love her for it. 
 Elisa is growing to be such a badass. Thank goodness 
 This book is basically Bitterblue, without the f**cking in a bridge tower after observing a suicide, and if Bitterblue left the castle on a epic romantic quest halfway through the book. And if Bitterblue's love interest was God's Gift to Women. 
 Hector, who I will now call GGtW, is the greatest love interest ever. I think. I'm pretty sure. He's my current favorite. This was so much better than book 1 because Humberto, while having a very sexy Spanish name, had no transition from kidnapper/love interest. He was immediately in love, and it was clunky at moments. I enjoyed the moments, but sometimes it was a little too rushed. Hector's attraction was flushed out perfectly. Like, expert execution. You see them grow as friends, honestly, the entire book is just character development and I LOVE when books do that. And the romance is so fun. A queen falling in love with her guard while he gives her self defense lessons? Nnnng. 
 I suffered a lot of weird giggle fits during their scenes. They made me so happy. Their dialogue was so tight and clever. 
 And DAT SCENE. You know. Beach scene. They were just talking and making out a little, yet to me, it was the sexiest thing in the world. No skin shown. Just talking. And the emotion loading every action. Hector is one of the most appealing love interests ever. He's never over the top with brooding, in fact, you really have to dig at him to get him to brood. He's powerful and caring and handsome and funny and sensitive and sexy and strong and AAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH WHY ISN'T HE REAL? 
 the plot.....honestly, when do I focus on the plot? Narration and characters Forever! But honestly, the tension and fear of the situation was shown perfectly. Elisa grows so much every book and She grew into such a great queen. I really like her as a character. Mara was a great side character, I liked her presence. I love Rosario, and I usually hate sidekick children. Loved Tristan. Loved Belen again. Honestly, the plot of a queen on a learning curve and has no privacy can be awful, but it wasn't here. I wanted Hector to be in every scene. He's real to me, you guys. Shut up. 
 The ending. Whoever's reading this, please peel me off the floor where 
 I am curled up sobbing. Ximena, you monster. I got the worst vibes from her the whole book. She was like a crazy mother. So glad Elisa had the balls to dismiss her. 
 Honestly, am waiting with baited breath for book 3. Hector, oh, mi amor. you were worth waiting a whole book as the one nice side character. You had your sexy day in the sun.