4.25☆

where do i start? I've loved Graceling from the first time I ever read it back in high school. I re-read it again once I started reading again in my adult life, and then eventually even read Fire. The world that Cashore builds is just beautiful and so so so interesting. I remember being so in awe with how the magic worked (like yes, I'm aware it probably exists elsewhere, but I really enjoyed the way Cashore wrote the magic). 

I've avoided Bitterblue like a plague lol (even though I have the entire series sitting on my shelves) bc tbh, I was obsessed with Katsa and Po and their story and at the time I wasn't really interested in Bitterblue's story. but boy oh boy, not only did I get to see more Katsa and Po but I actually LOVE Bitterblue LOL? she's such a vibe. her sassiness, her silliness, her dumb decisions and how much she cares about people - like literally can related even tho I'm pretty sure she's way younger. I think I was afraid at first, but I'm absolutely going to finish the series this time around b/c I am so curious about the other kingdoms in the Graceling Realm!! definitely more of a slower book, but that's most likely b/c there's still winterkeep :) 

It's also so fun seeing all the prior characters in the books >< 
also???? this was a lot darker than I expected? (topics wise!!), so please be warned.

Just finished reading the 3rd book in Kristin Cashores Graceling series. Highly highly recommend picking up this series if you haven't (or picking it up again if you have!). The story across the first 3 books has been so interesting and captivating. The writing style is beautiful and all-consuming. I especially like that every character sounds like they are in a period setting (something that I've noticed a lot of newer fantasies set in eurocentric medieval settings struggle to achieve. Everyone sounds like they're from 2024.. )

I really appreciate that this book's fantasy isn't so outrageous or complicated. It still feels grounded, with just a Touch of extraordinary. 

I also really appreciate that the romances in the books are not the Main Plot. The things happening around them and to them are the driving forces of the story, and the romance happens organically on the side.  
It makes the characters (and repeat characters in subsequent books) feel real.

The first book really surprised me with its big twist and the climactic ending. The 2nd book provides an interesting well of knowledge that becomes relevant in this book. Like a secret you, the reader, are in on and you're waiting for Bitterblue to figure it out. 

Bitterblue may be my favorite thus far, for its complexity in the truths uncovered thus far in the story. It's one big messy mystery. Even at the end, when you think you finally have all the answers, it still manages to surprise you. Emotionally charged and beautifully written, this story will stick with me for some time. 

This is a strange one to rate.

On the one hand, it took me the longest to get into out of all of the Graceling Realm books I've read so far. I didn't feel as instantly attached to Bitterblue as I did to Katsa and Fire. At times, her petulance grated on me, though I understood where it came from. I wasn't as drawn in by the side characters around her. But all of that did develop over time, and with it this really HARD but ultimately worthwhile story.

One thing that strikes me about Bitterblue is the change in theme. Graceling and Fire both followed protagonists who, because of their unique gifts, felt that they were monstrous and couldn't be trusted with other people. Over the course of their stories, they learn to embrace who they are as a person and use their gifts for good. Bitterblue, on the other hand, takes place after the death of a true monster: someone who deeply wounded the kingdom of Monsea and the whole of the Seven Kingdoms (and even the Dells, as we know). 

Monsea is trying to move on to a new day, free from Leck and all his horrors, but Bitterblue finds it difficult to lead them into that new day when her advisors are being shifty and evasive. She takes matters into her own hands and begins sneaking out to find the truth about her kingdom - and her father - for herself.

Ultimately, so much of this book is about the danger of emotional avoidance in the aftermath of something terrible. No one around Bitterblue wants to think about Leck's time as king - about the things he did to them or the things he made them do. And it's understandable. Leck was a sickly cruel person, and they're all deeply traumatized. But because of their emotional avoidance, the pain that he caused continues to fester and his former subjects continue to suffer. The longer they shy away from Leck's time in favor of "moving forward," the worse things get. The damage that Leck did must be reckoned with first. Only then can Monsea see a new day dawn.

And it's a HARD read. There's heavy content throughout the Graceling Realm series, but Bitterblue may have been the hardest. I'll definitely be adding content warnings to this review, and would caution anyone who might be triggered by that content to take care while reading this. The difficulty of the subject matter makes it all the more understandable why no one wants to talk about Leck. Whenever Bitterblue finds what she's looking for, it's never a happy discovery. But I think it was handled really well by Cashore and needed by the story as a whole. 

This book also differs from the first two novels in that it doesn't wrap up Bitterblue's story in a nice little bow. There's still a lot of work ahead of her and she's still developing those important relationships around her. Winterkeep also follows her in part, whereas by the end of both Graceling and Fire, you know you might see those characters again in the stories of others but THEIR STORY is more or less told. So you're in for a bit of a longer haul with Bitterblue, but by the end I loved her and those around her, and I didn't really mind.

I have no idea how I loved this book so much as a kid. I like Bitterblue as a character, but the story is so slow and far too long for barely anything to happen. There was also much darker content than expected. The last book was carefully to heavily imply things in regards to Leck's crimes, which I really think this book should've done instead of stating it directly. I have no idea how I sat through that as a kid when it's too much for me as an adult. I guess I probably just didn't understand the gravity of it. But yeah, that wasn't a mental picture I needed running through my head. (TW for pedophilia, torture, and suicide: the scene in question is where

Thiel reveals that he and Bitterblue's other advisors were forced by Leck to rape and cut up little girls while he watched. After saying this, Thiel throws himself off a bridge.

So yeah, that was a lot for me and I wish that information had been conveyed a little more discreetly. I think just Thiel saying "Leck made us do those crimes" would've been enough to convey the point without needing to tell me what the crimes were in that moment.) And I will be honest, this one page was enough to drop my rating of the book because it was uncomfortable for me and I don't feel like it was necessary.

Leck is quite possibly the best villain and he isn’t even alive in this book.

Very difficult to read as a trauma survivor but it’s an excellent book and I look forward to reading the next soon

Not quite as perfect as Fire, but still a solid addition to the series. Bitterblue feels like a very distinct character from Fire and, although politics and mind control are major themes in both books, they are explored in very different ways here, and I appreciated that they felt like very different stories (while still belonging in the same universe).

This was a decent book. It was a bit slow at times and difficult to stay invested but I still mostly enjoyed it. I adored the main character and loved the side characters as well. There was depth to them. They weren't merely side character existing just to exist. There was mystery (which isn't my favorite thing) that was done well. I liked learning what we did. I'm really hoping

bitterblue can make a good kingdom and set them on a good path now that she will soon have people around her that support her ideas. That wont constantly push her ideas down. That want to make the kingdom a better place.