SPOILERS! I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I enjoyed Graceling and Fire. While Bitterblue features a strong female lead, as did the other two, it didn't have as much of a fantasy aspect as Fire or romance as Graceling. There was a casual romance but it just didn't feel serious or like real love, it just felt like Bitterblue was being rebellious since she's the queen and therefore limited on who she can be with. I'd like to see a sequel to this where she does end up finding a real love and seeing how that relationship develops.