Bitterblue

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
3.5/5 stars
Dial Books, 2012
539 pages
YA Fantasy

Source: Picked up from library to review

I remember when I first read Graceling and Fire. It was actually back to back over spring break in 2010 (hence the quality of the reviews-I didn't really know what I was doing!) And since then I have been eagerly anticipating another story from Cashore with my wish finally fulfilled with this release, picking up approximately nine years later with one of the important characters from Graceling.

Thus this review is really hard to write because I did not love Bitterblue the way I anticipated. I think I have narrowed it down to a couple of main reasons why.

1. One big reason was my inability to connect with the characters.  I think this might be partly intentional as the characters themselves are in deep psychological pain. It has been eight years since the death of Bitterblue's cruel father King Leck who used his Grace to manipulate everyone's minds. They aren't always in their right minds and many are haunted by the actions he made them take. Queen Bitterblue wants to be a good queen but due to her youth, she is not always able to assert herself and is often looking to her advisers for what she should do next.

2. I also had some general confusion about all of the lies, of who wanted what and who knew what when. Again this is understandable due to the havoc wreaked by Leck but it was difficult for this reader to parse all of the lies, cover-ups, and conspiracies.

3. Another big piece of the lacking was the romance. Bitterblue (another problem was that I kept wanting to call her Butterblue) wants to know more about her kingdom so she starts sneaking out at night, meeting two honorable thieves. She falls for Sapphire (whose name sounds like a girl's name) and I just did not like him. I much preferred his friend Teddy. Thus any time Bitterblue swooned for him, I questioned her judgment. Sapphire spends much of the book being a jerk-why does she like him again?

It's not all bad; there were still a lot of good points. Cashore is an amazing writer and despite the length of this book, it moves fairly quickly. It's definitely a big time commitment but there are quite a few things to really enjoy.

1. One was the character Death (rhymes with teeth) who is the court librarian, loves cats, and has the ability to remember everything he's ever read. He's a new character but one I really enjoyed meeting.

2.  There are a lot of extras in the back of the book such as maps, which help the reader keep track of where characters are located in every scene. I've read some other fantasies that did not include maps and I was grateful that this book included them.

3. There are some really cool examples of ciphering and codes in this book. I particularly loved Bitterblue's discovery of some codes from her parents. I can't share too much without spoiling something.

One note: Bitterblue is billed as a standalone on the jacket flap but I would not recommend that. I would say you'd need to read at least Graceling in order for this book to make sense and it wouldn't hurt to read Fire as well beforehand.

Fire

Fire by Kristin Cashore

461 pages

Genre: YA, fantasy

Companion novel to "Graceling"

Summary: Fire is a monster. Her father used his manipulative powers for gain, pushing their country to the brink of disaster and she is determined that she will never be like that. But how does she square her conscience as she sees was coming and deals with the consequences of her father's actions?

Why I Read: I was enjoying reading Graceling and I saw this at the library so I figured I would pick it up.

Thoughts: This book is sort of a prequel to Graceling and introduces an important character seen in that book; it takes place on the other side of the mountains. I found the first chapter less engaging than Graceling's but I continued and mostly enjoyed it. Fire is a monster which means she has fire-red hair, can read and manipulate minds, and is alternately feared and lusted after by humans. Her father destroyed their country through his control of the king and so she avoids the political intrigue. She is pretty cool although sometimes too timid; I appreciated once she became more active. One devastating scene to me was *SPOILER* when she gets frostbite and loses two fingers meaning she can't play the violin anymore (I play viola and sympathize) *END SPOILER* She also falls in love and I think I like Brigan even more than I like Po. Not entirely sure why...

Also there is a lot of sex in this book. I'm not naive, I know that happens but there's an especially promiscuous character who ends up fathering two children and just in general a lot of bed-hopping, of which I very much disapprove. That should not dissuade anyone from reading this but fair warning.

Overall: 4 out of 5. Less enjoyable than Graceling.

Cover: I like the red more than Graceling's cover but it is still not my favorite.

Other: There is a planned third book set in this world following Bitterblue from Graceling, tentatively due April 2011. I hope there will be even more but keep an eye out for updates!

Graceling

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

471 pages

Genre: YA, fantasy

Summary (from Amazon): Graceling takes readers inside the world of Katsa, a warrior-girl in her late teens with one blue eye and one green eye. This gives her haunting beauty, but also marks her as a Graceling. Gracelings are beings with special talents—swimming, storytelling, dancing. Katsa's Grace is considered more useful: her ability to fight (and kill, if she wanted to) is unequaled in the seven kingdoms. Forced to act as a henchman for a manipulative king, Katsa channels her guilt by forming a secret council of like-minded citizens who carry out secret missions to promote justice over cruelty and abuses of power.

Why I Read: This has been a very popular book in the blogsphere so I wanted to read it.

Thoughts: I fell in love with this book very quickly; after only one chapter, I knew I loved the world and wanted to find out everything. Katsa is awesome-she has such amazing power and she grows and becomes more confident of herself. I am in awe of some of the things she does in this book, although most of it is possible due to her magical power. Then there is Po, her love interest (not a spoiler-it's very obvious). He is very cool and supportive of her. He believes in her and gives her additional strength-I love him! I thought the villains were lacking-I prefer one to be confronted at the end whereas this has closer to two who are dealt with separately. There are also many pages where not much seems to happen but I found it all so enjoyable that I did not mind.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5. Great story and very engaging although I would have liked a slightly different ending.

Note: There were a few serious grammatical errors but it did not detract from my enjoyment of it.

Cover: I think the cover is very stunning although I don't know if I would have picked it based on the cover alone.

Coming tomorrow: Review of Fire, a companion novel!