Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

76 reviews

totallyshelfaware's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual violence, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Animal cruelty, and Suicide

Moderate: Animal death, Self harm, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, and Body horror

sonshinelibrarian's review against another edition

5.0

Ugh. This book. It is SO dark and so good. I loved Bitterblue in Graceling, so I was so excited to have her be the main character of her own book and she did not disappoint. I also loved seeing some of the other characters again. But dealing with the after effects of a ruler like Leck would be utterly devastating and this book does not shy away from those things at all, but it doesn't do it for no purpose. I loved the overarching theme about dealing with trauma and how to move forward while realizing that you have to acknowledge the past. 

This is definitely one of those kinds of books that could be difficult and even triggering for some people to read, so while this is definitely my favorite of the three so far, take your own past experiences into consideration when deciding whether to read this book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty

emmeline_ahh's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Self harm

mommyidun's review against another edition

challenging hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Self harm

cepbreed's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Shocking. I read this book with my mind spinning and mouth agape. I was intimidated by the length but now can understand the necessity of those pages. I do not want to say too much for the sake of anyone who dislikes spoilers, but the hours it takes to finish this book are well worth it. Cashore seemed to me like a mediocre author upon my introduction to the series but with each book I am further proved wrong. The complexity of this narrative is astounding. I came to really love Bitterblue and my love for other previously established characters grew more. I have to be honest and say that I really hold no love for Saf.

In fact I was waiting on Bitterblue and Giddon to fall in love, yes the age difference is one thing but I thought the way they connected was much more meaningful. Alas, I need to be satisfied with their camaraderie and that singular forehead kiss.

Leck can rot in hell.

 Song:

• Writer In the Dark - Lorde 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Torture, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Gore, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Body horror, Child abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Confinement and War

oneeyedjess's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, War, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence

bchallis's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Rape, Self harm, and Suicide

beebeewin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Review from 2024: I was originally not a fan of this novel as at the beginning it is very slow. Kristin Cashore does take a lot of time to build the isolation of our lead character and her growth into being a queen, but I feel like that dragged a little. Also, I think the romance at the beginning takes away from the really dark and intense topics Cashore was trying to discuss. I think the love interest,

Sapphire

, is an interesting character but I feel it would almost be better to not have the romance blossom until the end.  I think the ending is truly where this book shined. As I discussed in my 2012 review, the ending is a little bit more nebulous than the other books in this series, but that is the beauty. There is so much Bitterblue is dealing with as a character, and it would be disingenuous to pretend that it was all resolved by this end of the novel. Instead, Cashore beautifully shows the process it would take for a kingdom and individuals to be rebuilt. The emotional resonance is felt, and especially the way

Fire is tied into the story is so fucking perfect. We know Fire had a similar complicated relationship with her father, which makes their conversations and relationship so poetic.

I also now how the ability to say there are sequels so this ending feels less definite and more of a new beginning with Leck firmly in the past, as it feels like the arc of his role in this story will fade into memory with this story. The expansion of the world excites me and I am ready to read the next novel. 

Review from 2012: 4 stars I really liked this book but for some reason I feel the story is uncompleted! This is the last book in the trilogy and in a way I feel lost. More so then at the end of the previous two books. I hope maybe another book will be written but I doubt it. This book was well written and suspenseful. There were so many mysteries solved and crimes committed. I loved how entirely everything was interconnected. So many surprises. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and all the characters in it!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Self harm, and Suicide

Moderate: Rape

merenguita's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

IT'S AMAZING! 
I think it's almost as good as graceling. It's beautiful to be able to encounter some of the same characters you loved on the first book years later and also get to know them once again. 
It's a very fast pased book and pretty easy to read, i honestly would recomend it if you are in a readers block. 
I would recomend to check out the trigger warnings because there are some really horrific and graphic scenes. 
It was also refreshing to see some diversity in the cast, without it being the center of their character development.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide, Self harm, Torture, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia

therobinjoyce's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? No

4.0

A great continuation to the Graceling series by Kristin Cashore. I’ll admit, it was a lot harder to get into than Graceling but not as much so as Fire.

It was fantastic to be reunited with Bitterblue, Po, Katsa, Giddon, Raffin, Helda, and to also get a glimpse into some of the characters we got to know throughout Fire once more.

It was a fantastic YA fantasy and this one was filled with far more political intrigue and court politics but it was amazingly done and we still had a harrowing and gritty adventure through this fantasy realm once more. 

Bitterblue’s character has matured so much as have some of the others, but it was wonderful to follow her as an adolescent making her mark on her world and trying to rule. The whole cast of new characters that were introduced were also great and I loved so many of them. 

Just a fantastic follow up to the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Torture, Gaslighting, Blood, Self harm, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Pedophilia

Minor: Kidnapping