Review: Bitterblue - Kristin Cashore

Warning: Bitterblue is the Third book in the Graceling Realm Series. Please note that spoilers for the previous books are described here.

Bitterblue is Queen, but her Kingdom is a wreck. The people are still affected and oppressed by Leck's reign, even though it ended years ago. Bitterblue, not content with being cooped up in her office and fed paperwork, decides to take things into her own hands by exploring her city in disguise. What she discovers is that the lies and secrets of King Leck run deeper than she ever thought they could, and they are all caught up in a web of death, books and ciphers that began with her father's fixation on another land.

As always, Cashores world-building is flawless. The story transports you into the Graceling realm to Bitterblue City until your are stealing into the night with the Queen yourself. Of course, the ideas for gracelings and monsters are already fully established thanks to the first two books, but it is very easy to go back to that world, even if you have not read the previous books recently.

The character arc for Bitterblue is stunning; full of emotion, determination and realisations. Bitterblue struggles with finding out the truth about her father and the atrocities that he committed during his reign, and has to deal her own emotions as well as those of everyone affected by him. As she comes to realise the full extent of what he has done to her Kingdom, she also has to deal with the pressure to put things right again. Honestly, the range of emotions and difficult situations to be dealt with in this book is extraordinary. Bitterblue is a great protagonist, and I love the way that she is so well-rounded, full of compassion but succumbs to anger and fear just as easily. However, I was slightly disappointed by some other familiar faces, as they tended to flit in and out of the book regularly. In fact, only Po really became integral to the plot in any way.

The theme of grief and healing was very important in this book, and I love the way the author dealt with it in that although some parts were distressing, the way that Bitterblue reacts to it is very human and very understandable. It will resonate with a lot of readers on a very raw level.

As much as the book was a good read, and the ending was satisfying, there was something missing for me. The pace of the book seemed to crawl and although a lot was happening, it didn't keep my eyes open at night. The idea of ciphers was clever and well-researched, but the reading of it, and in fact the reading about Bitterblue's time in the library made for dull reading for me.

As much as I liked knowing that Bitterblue makes a great Queen, the book didn't wow me the way its predecessors did and I could have gone without reading it. Still, this is a good read for anyone who enjoys fantasy and the Graceling Realm series. Fire still remains my favourite book of the series.

Bitterblue on Goodreads

Kyra_x

Review: Poison Study - Maria V. Snyder

After having this book and its sequels sat on my shelf for quite a while, I finally got around to reading them. I've been wanting to read something by Maria V. Snyder for a long time because I love the sound of her books. Reminiscent of Trudi Canavan, or perhaps Kristin Cashore both of whom I have read numerous times, her books centre on fantastical lands with magic at their core.

Poison Study is the first installment of the story of Yelena. We find her cowering in a dungeon with only the rats for company. She is taken away and offered a choice - she can be executed for murder, or she can be the Commander of Ixia's new food taster. She wants to survive, but how long will it last? Yelena must study poisons and people to learn what could kill her and who to trust. She soon realises that she has magical powers, which could also lead to her death, as using magic in Ixia is forbidden.

I loved the story. It was mostly set in the 'palace', where the King once lived and the Commander now lives. In that way I'd liken it to Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. It's about a woman seeking information and survival, but it's also about slow-building love, friendship and betrayal.

Yelena herself was perfect. She has an excellent character arc and reasons for her flaws which stem from past experiences. She has a deep power underneath it all that I think most people would empathise with. Underneath her flaws and insecurities there's a strong woman.

Valek is the man who gave her the option of being a food taster. He is complex and thoughtful, yet strong and immensely skilled. As a head of security and master assassin he has had to be pretty ruthless, but he has his reasons. I always liked him even when Yelena didn't. He's a very interesting character and his loyalty to the commander knows no bounds.

Then there's the baddie. Well, one of them. Brazell is a powerful man whose son Yelena killed. He is out for revenge and won't stop until he gets what he wants. He's a nasty piece of work, and that's all I shall say on the subject. The less said about him the better.

Snyder's writing is beautiful. It flows well and had me enraptured from the first page. She has structured it very nicely with well-paced action and interesting slower parts. The only thing I would say is that the ending felt a little rushed, with a bit too much information all at once. I would have liked to see a scene play out with Brazell.

Other than that the ending went much the way I thought it would have, which left me satisfied however I would have preferred more of a twist.

In all I think it's a very well rounded first novel for Snyder and I can only see her getting better with every book she writes. I very much look forward to grabbing the next in this series from my shelf to find out what happens next in Yelena's life.

Stacey_x

Wednesday Wishlist #2

Hello and welcome to my second wishlist! I'm carrying on with my unfinished series today, so we shall kick-start it off with;

Hero - Alethea Kontis


I absolutely adored Enchanted, with the way that the fairy-tales were so cleverly intertwined and the brilliant heroine. This time we take a trip aboard a pirate ship with Saturday, whose exploits we only had a glimpse of in the first book. I'm looking forward to some swashbuckling adventures in this one (er, sorry for the cliche but sometimes it can't be helped). Also, I'm beginning to notice that most of the items on my wishlists have an awful lot of pretty detailing and pretty dresses. I do apologise to those who are against such girlieness.

Cress - Marissa Meyer

Who doesn't love the Lunar Chronicles? Cinder and Scarlett are captivating, and the way that Meyer has invented a detailed futuristic setting for each of her fairy-tale characters is incredible. The series is a wonderful invention and it really make me want to start writing my own fairy-tale retelling. I can't wait to meet Cress properly and hear more about her story. Oh and check out the stunning cover design.


Bitterblue - Kristin Cashore

I read Graceling utterly years ago, and I loved it, but really it was Fire that set my heart alight. Fire was everything a book should be, and she was the protagonist I loved the most (at the time anyway). I think I'll need to re-read the first two for Bitterblue, but I've been told very,very good things about it.


Have you read them yet? What did you think? Please let me know in the comments section.