Bitterblue (Seven Kingdoms Trilogy #3)

My fantasy amnesia makes it very hard to remember Graceling(2008) or Fire (2009), other than that I liked them and was excited to get Bitterblue. It took me the entire Easter weekend to read this, mainly because teenagers were having Disney song fest and it was hard to concentrate, but also because I got caught up in the characters and couldn't zip through it.

Bitterblue is now 18 and trying to reclaim the kingdom her father Leck destroyed. She wants to be a fair ruler, unlike her father, and understand the workings of her kingdom so that she can help the people. She starts to sneak out at night to see what is really going on, and meets Saf and Teddy, printers and outlaws who are bent on stealing back things that were taken under Leck's rule. Katso and Po are helping Bitterblue with her work, as are a variety of advisors, including Death (pronounced Deeth), the librarian who has the Grace of reading everything superfast and remembering it all. This comes in handy when he tries to recreate all of the books that Leck destroyed, and also when Bitterblue unearths her father's disturbing journals, that turn out to be not only in ciphers (like the embroidery that her beleaguered mother left) but in another language entirely. Through Saf, Bitterblue comes to understand how poorly her kingdom is run, but also runs into some danger. None of the people she knows seem to be who they say they are, and she uncovers secrets that make her allies her enemies and vice versa.

This book stood on its own as the story of Bitterblue and the kingdom of Monsea, and if I remembered more about the other two, I would have appreciated the inclusion of Katsa and Po, and well as Fire's appearance later in the book. These still remind me very strongly of Pierce's Alanna books.

Eight years have passed since Leck's death and Bitterblue is now the Queen of Monsea, surrounded by her father's former advisers and burdened by paperwork and tasks she doesn't quite understand. She begins sneaking out of the castle and learns that her kingdom is not what she thought it was. In her explorations, she meets two thieves who will change her life forever.

Don't read further if you want to be completely unspoiled!

Bitterblue is the novel I have been anticipating most this year (and for the past three years), so I threw myself a mini parade when I learned I would get to read it early. It was worth the wait.

Kristin Cashore does something different with this novel; both FIRE and GRACELING are written from the perspective of a Graced character, someone with a special skill that sets them apart. Bitterblue is not Graced, although the majority of the people in her service are. After being so interested in these special talents, it was interesting for me to consider what it would be like to try to rule a kingdom full of Graced citizens. Short answer: it's difficult. Bitterblue is confined to the castle for most of the book, which is a change from the previous novels which change location frequently. At times, it is frustrating to wait for the Gracelings to go off on adventures and make the discoveries on Bitterblue's behalf. I wonder if Cashore did this intentionally, to make the reader empathize with the protagonist. A few of these scenes could have been edited out, without doing any damage to the book, particularly ones that lead to a reveal that anyone who has read FIRE already knows.

Fans of the series will be happy to encounter favorites like Katsa, Po, Giddon, and Fire in this novel. There's never enough Po for me! It also continues the tradition that people who love each other might not necessarily always be together. Cashore's work touches on modern topics like birth control and same-sex relationships and sets them in a fantasy world, perhaps making them easier to talk about for young readers who have questions.

Cashore has said that she has ideas for a fourth book in this series, which comes as a relief to me. This is a world where I want to continue to immerse myself. Hopefully, I won't have to wait three years before I can do it again.

I liked Graceling a lot, but didn't love it. I loved Fire and thought it was amazing. Neither of these prepared me for the absolutely mindblowing book Kristin Cashore delivered with Bitterblue. This book stole my heart on page one and even after I turned the last page, it didn't let go. Everything Cashore builds in this novel was so intricately done. I sat there in awe after I finished the book, and it lingered on my mind for many days to come. This is her best book to date.

The writing in Bitterblue is absolutely gorgeous. That has always been one of my favorite things about her books - her beautiful prose and her detailed world. The world that was established in Graceling has been built upon, and I just loved it. It's a world that I could happily read book after book in, and never tire of it. The concept of it Graces just fascinates me.

Bitterblue was a character that I liked in Graceling, and I loved seeing how she'd changed since we last saw her. Bitterblue was strong, had spunk, and an curiosity that couldn't be smothered. I loved the other characters met in Graceling who make appearances in Bitterblue have really grown as well. My biggest issue with Graceling was some characteristics about Katsa, but by this point in the story, she has matured and moved on. Kristin Cashore always has an amazing boy in her books, and while I don't know if Saf has quite lived up to my love for Brigan and Po, he comes pretty darn close. Saf was such a complex character and he was not going to let anyone tell him what to do.

Bitterblue weaves a tale that was so complicated and intense. There was this constant sense of intrigue as I was reading. The plot was ever-building, and the different storylines of the book began to intersect. I never knew what Kristin Cashore was going to throw at readers next. Yet, there were also so many moments when I had to step back and just admire the little things going on, like the compassion between characters. The relationships between the characters are all so deep and learning all their back was one of the best parts of the book. The ending was phenomenal - the thought had crossed my mind at several points throughout the book, but I was not sure what Cashore would do about that event. I loved how she tied up the story, it was perfect: full of hope.

I did not want this book to end. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore was simply a masterpiece, and was everything I had hoped for and more in the years of waiting since Fire. Kristin Cashore is simply a master of fantasy, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.