Bitterblue

Bitterblue is the third novel in the Graceling Realm series. Years after the young princess and her kingdom were freed from the cruel King Leck, she rules Monsea as queen, and the realm is finally calm. Leck's rule, however, has left a lasting mark. Since his death, a council of advisers has governed on her behalf and favors a plan that pardons everyone who carried out Leck's atrocities and buries the memory of his reign. Bitterblue, however, slips out of the palace in disguise, alone, to wander the city streets. Doing so, she comes to see that the country has lived under the grip of a madman for decades, and that moving forward means looking back.

When two thieves enter her life, her world shifts. They have sworn to steal only from those who have already been robbed, and they possess knowledge of what really happened during Leck's reign. One of them has an unidentified Grace, a special ability, and he may also capture her heart.