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A review by battybookworm
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Rereading these books has truly been a delight. I am now unsure if I ever actually finished it previously but either way, this book had me til the very end this time! It’s such a useful book on recovery and how one can hold onto hope after devastating happenings occur. Cashore weaves past characters in beautifully and engages each in a way that makes their character fuller and more interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
This book, like it’s predecessors, discusses very dark topics. If you’ve read Graceling and Fire, this focuses heavily on the repercussions of decisions in those novels as well as what happened and happens after King Leck’s reign. the abuse of people (particularly children) and animals as well as their deaths/bones are discussed frequently and in great detail through journal entry style or medical analysis. There’s some implication of danger towards Bitterblue as a child, but otherwise there’s no pedophelia/incest in the novel. There are many character deaths and violent scenes.