Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
I’m DNF this book and therefore, this series.
1) why would you put the villains story second in a series? I don’t give two shits about this guy, knowing how horrible he is from the first book.
2) this book is about king Leck, and his story. He is an AWFUL person and this starts as a child. I listened to ~1 hour of this book, 8%, and in that time, he injured and then killed his father, and abused animals by ripping holes in their stomachs FOR FUN. This kid was like 7? Maybe younger. Wtaf.
TELL ME WHY THE FUCK I WOULD WANT TO CONTINUE reading about this shit? No. Absolutely not. I’m done.
DO NOT READ. DO NOT RECOMMEND. 0/10. Awful. Just awful.
1) why would you put the villains story second in a series? I don’t give two shits about this guy, knowing how horrible he is from the first book.
2) this book is about king Leck, and his story. He is an AWFUL person and this starts as a child. I listened to ~1 hour of this book, 8%, and in that time, he injured and then killed his father, and abused animals by ripping holes in their stomachs FOR FUN. This kid was like 7? Maybe younger. Wtaf.
TELL ME WHY THE FUCK I WOULD WANT TO CONTINUE reading about this shit? No. Absolutely not. I’m done.
DO NOT READ. DO NOT RECOMMEND. 0/10. Awful. Just awful.
Enjoyed the writing overall. The similarities to the plot of Graceling are the only thing that keeps my from giving this 5 stars.
2.5 stars. Wasn’t that engaging. Kinda boring. Didn’t feel attached to the characters. Was not expected a whole new kind of world in this neighbouring kingdom. I like the gracelings more than the monsters.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This was my favorite of the Kristin Cashore og trilogy growing up and it still is so far. I really enjoyed the way gender dynamics, desire, power, and morality are explored in various ways. I loved all the characters, even Archer, not because he's a good guy but because he's well written and complex, and because he has good qualities. I also really liked how different Fire is from Katsa. Fire is a more "soft" character on the surface, she cries a lot and is incredibly tenderhearted, and yet she still has incredible strength. Its completely different from Katsa but no less well written.
The only thing I didn't like is that at the very end a 16 year old soldier is implied to like, potentially enter a relationship with a 28(?) year old man.
The only thing I didn't like is that at the very end a 16 year old soldier is implied to like, potentially enter a relationship with a 28(?) year old man.
2/2014: re-reading the entire series <3 this book is every bit as amazing the third time through.
ETA: 6/1/2012 - re-reading after finishing BITTERBLUE (which I loved!). This one is my favorite of the three.
I LOVED this book. The pacing, plot, characters, love story, prose--perfect. I can only hope I'll see Fire and crew again in BITTERBLUE.
ETA: 6/1/2012 - re-reading after finishing BITTERBLUE (which I loved!). This one is my favorite of the three.
I LOVED this book. The pacing, plot, characters, love story, prose--perfect. I can only hope I'll see Fire and crew again in BITTERBLUE.
This book was an amazing next part to the graceling realm series but seemed a bit off brand to the other two books and the series. I am confused why this book would be stuck in the middle of the other two called graceling and bitterblue which have similar cast of characters. Although I did like the way the book ended with Archer dead because I thought it add more remorse to the already remorseful fire. Fire is so strong and maybe not as independent as Katsa or Bitterblue are. I think that fire had a more feminizing character bringing in a trio of how different women can be so complex and filled with grief.
I liked most of the auxiliary characters in this book with the exception of Archer. I did not like him and did not like the way he took advantage of Fire and treated women. I do not think that Fire's feelings for Archer at the end of the book felt warranted because their friendship, such as it was, did not feel genuine. Part of my dislike for Archer also stemmed from my feelings for Fire. I was so confused at the beginning of this book on who Fire was (the writing was NOT as good as Graceling). I felt she was extremely child-like, yet made adult decisions (like having a sexual/fwb relationship with Archer or her actions towards her father) that felt out of character. The author even seems to have felt this way stating numerous that Fire knew her arguments/thoughts/actions/opinions were childish. I did not care for her treatment of people, but was made to understand she treated people that way because of the way she had been treated. I feel like Brigan's love is wasted on her, she selfishly chose not to have children ever, and wanted to tell a 5 yr old about her menstrual cycle. I liked this book but not because of Fire or Archer, but for Brigan, Musa, Brocker, Roen, Mila, and even the "evil" characters. The story felt too big for one book and the people I was supposed to hate, I did not because I was not given a reason to. I felt the true story was with Immiker and yet so much of the story is devoted to this war, which doesn't really seem to fix anything. Overall, I missed Po and Katsa and I found Fire tiresome and Archer annoying and wanted the story to seem more real and less cerebral.
Fire had a promising start, but ultimately felt too slow and meandering. I appreciated the introspective themes and the early setup, but the rest of the book didn’t hold the same momentum. The plot centered heavily on protecting Fire rather than letting her grow or take control, and much of it was internal — emotional, hesitant, cautious. While I understand the purpose behind her struggles, the pacing dragged and made it difficult to stay fully engaged. Coming off Graceling, which had energy and drive, this was a noticeable shift in tone and style that just didn’t work as well for me. Hoping Bitterblue brings back the spark.
This was my favorite one as a kid and I really enjoyed it! The way desirability, beauty, the politics of reproduction, sexuality, trauma, etc were handled here...excellent. I loved Fire as a character because she was beautifully complex and cried a lot and did what she had to. I have a few minor issues but this was overall very good and also very nostalgic so 5 stars