Book Review: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Bitterblue
The Seven Kingdoms #3
Author: Kristin Cashore
Reading Level: YA
Genre: High Fantasy
Release Date: May 1st 2012
Review Source: Penguin
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past. Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

(Actual Rating is 4.5 Trees)

This review is so hard for me to write. First, I’ve been waiting for this book to be released for two years and still can’t believe I’ve finally read it. And second, sooooo much happens that it’s actually hard to figure out where to start a review! Regardless, here goes, and I’m going to try my hardest to keep this spoiler free.

Bitterblue picks up 8-9 years after Graceling ends, with Bitterblue as the reigning queen of Monsea, a kingdom she still doesn’t know that well and is struggling to rule in the post-Leck era. The book centers around Bitterblue trying to solve a number of mysteries and problems that resulted from Leck’s time of rule – a time that was full of lies, confusion and violence. In order to learn more about her kingdom, Bitterblue begins sneaking out of the castle into the town and soon discovers that her advisors haven’t been telling her everything, which leads her on a search for the truth. While I felt like the start was a bit slow, by the time I got a quarter of the way through the book, I couldn’t put it down.

The writing quality in Bitterblue far exceeds that of Graceling, and the world Kristin Cashore created in the Seven Kingdoms never ceases to amaze me – I just love delving into it. Though I’ll admit that I missed having the map to flip to in the front of the book since the artwork wasn’t yet included in the ARC! Sometimes it gets tricky to remember which kingdom is located where. My one complaint in the book is that the entire story takes place in Monsea. We hear about stuff going on in the other kingdoms and some of the characters travel there, but we spend the whole book with Bitterblue, and she stays in Monsea. Which also leads to a plot point I’m slightly confused on … but I won’t go into that because I can figure out a way to discuss it without giving too much away.
And speaking of other kingdoms, Kristin does an amazing job of weaving in the Dells from Fire, which made me wish I had re-read Fire before reading Bitterblue! I probably would have caught on to some things sooner. But it was really cool to see both the worlds from the Dells and the Seven Kingdoms come together in one place.

There are ton of new characters introduced, and it took awhile to remember who was who. But there are also a ton of old characters, which helped ground the story in the world we came to know in Graceling. All of my favorites are back – Katsa, Po, Raffin, Bann, Giddon, Skye – which was a fabulous surprise. I knew Katsa and Po would be present, but I really thought it would be a quick pop in and out. But these characters are around through a majority of the book, which I just loved.

And I lied earlier – I have a second complaint. I wanted more of the love interest character! (I don’t want to say his name in an attempt to stay as spoiler-free as possible.) I know the book is about so much more than a love story, but I felt like it was always lingering there at the surface, waiting to break through, but it never quite made it. And damn it, I think Bitterblue deservers some happiness!

Overall, I don’t think I can say Bitterblue is as good as Graceling, but it’s definitely a fantastic book. And to be able to say that after building it up in my mind for two years is pretty impressive. Plus, I know for a fact that I would read anything Kristin Cashore writes.

A big thank you to Amanda from The Hob for the great review.