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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
weird writing style, different from previous books in the series
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
I love this series, but book 4 left me feeling a little underwhelmed. Book 5, however, overwhelmed me with how poignant and sharp and kind it is.
Trauma—how it affects us in the moment and in the long term—is what this book is sussing out. I think this book’s thesis statement comes in a conversation between Linny and Hava near the end, and it brought me to tears.
Hava, our narrator, is difficult, for others and for herself. But she is also loving and lovable, just not in the ways one usually thinks of. I loved all of the relationships here, but Bitterblue’s and Hava’s is the standout for me.
Of course there are plenty of callbacks and cameos from our old favorites (I have shipped Gideon and Bitterblue since they first appear on-page together in book 3, so I was thrilled they had the most frequent appearances, but you get a little Katsa and Fire, too). The fox storyline in book 4 really did not do much for me, but I loved its execution here.
Finally, the first three books of this series are comfort rereads for me. I think I can quote Bitterblue by paragraph in some spots. But I think this one joins book 4 in the “won’t read again, at least not anytime soon” pile, but for different reasons: Seasparrow hurt, and even though I am grateful for the experience, it’s not one I think I can bear to replicate.
Trauma—how it affects us in the moment and in the long term—is what this book is sussing out. I think this book’s thesis statement comes in a conversation between Linny and Hava near the end, and it brought me to tears.
Hava, our narrator, is difficult, for others and for herself. But she is also loving and lovable, just not in the ways one usually thinks of. I loved all of the relationships here, but Bitterblue’s and Hava’s is the standout for me.
Of course there are plenty of callbacks and cameos from our old favorites (I have shipped Gideon and Bitterblue since they first appear on-page together in book 3, so I was thrilled they had the most frequent appearances, but you get a little Katsa and Fire, too). The fox storyline in book 4 really did not do much for me, but I loved its execution here.
Finally, the first three books of this series are comfort rereads for me. I think I can quote Bitterblue by paragraph in some spots. But I think this one joins book 4 in the “won’t read again, at least not anytime soon” pile, but for different reasons: Seasparrow hurt, and even though I am grateful for the experience, it’s not one I think I can bear to replicate.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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:
Yes
Bitterblue has has a improbably unlucky time across these last two books. This is in some ways a strangely passive story on the part of Hava but nonetheless an engaging and beautiful one.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
high 3.5
im incredibly torn
i adore the first three books in the graceling realm series, theyre incredibly well written fantasy novels that deal with topics that others easily fumble. all five books deal with the struggles of being who you are vs what you think others expect of you vs what is actually expected of you, interwoven with dealing with trauma inflicted by those who shouldve protected you. but the moving of continents with Winterkeep seems to have moved the framing as well.
first with Lovisa, and now with Hava; both Winterkeep and Seasparrow feel much more.....? i dont know really. internal for sure, not subdued though, even if it feels like an edge might be missing? i can easily say i like them, but i dont know if i like them as Graceling Realm books.
Cashore still manages to do the unthinkable for me, shes never written a character ive flat out disliked and she even makes me care massively about any romance present. but at the same time i finished Seasparrow expecting more? Hava's childhood and trauma are huge and daunting, and i definitely would never expect them to be healed or even completely addressed over the course of a single book, but whereas Graceling proper felt like an adventure with a character study in the margins, Seasparrow just feels like a dissection. its still rewarding to read Hava come into herself, but the background noise is so minimal compared to past books that the silence is almost deafening
i will say though, the first two sections of the book feel too long for their own good, the last feels like its leading up to something but then reigns itself in. its not formless though, or meandering, it just went more solidly in slightly different direction than what i think of the series as being. its also not a hard or slow read, Cashore writing style has not changed really from her other books. it is what it is though: a character study
i can easily say i like Linny, and Annet, and all the other sailors introduced here, and honestly wished i couldve seen more of them
tldr i cant even formulate what i would want more of, its a perfectly fine and good book (removed from the series or not). im just at war with fitting the presentation of this book into the shape of the series in my mind
im incredibly torn
i adore the first three books in the graceling realm series, theyre incredibly well written fantasy novels that deal with topics that others easily fumble. all five books deal with the struggles of being who you are vs what you think others expect of you vs what is actually expected of you, interwoven with dealing with trauma inflicted by those who shouldve protected you. but the moving of continents with Winterkeep seems to have moved the framing as well.
first with Lovisa, and now with Hava; both Winterkeep and Seasparrow feel much more.....? i dont know really. internal for sure, not subdued though, even if it feels like an edge might be missing? i can easily say i like them, but i dont know if i like them as Graceling Realm books.
Cashore still manages to do the unthinkable for me, shes never written a character ive flat out disliked and she even makes me care massively about any romance present. but at the same time i finished Seasparrow expecting more? Hava's childhood and trauma are huge and daunting, and i definitely would never expect them to be healed or even completely addressed over the course of a single book, but whereas Graceling proper felt like an adventure with a character study in the margins, Seasparrow just feels like a dissection. its still rewarding to read Hava come into herself, but the background noise is so minimal compared to past books that the silence is almost deafening
i will say though, the first two sections of the book feel too long for their own good, the last feels like its leading up to something but then reigns itself in. its not formless though, or meandering, it just went more solidly in slightly different direction than what i think of the series as being. its also not a hard or slow read, Cashore writing style has not changed really from her other books. it is what it is though: a character study
i can easily say i like Linny, and Annet, and all the other sailors introduced here, and honestly wished i couldve seen more of them
tldr i cant even formulate what i would want more of, its a perfectly fine and good book (removed from the series or not). im just at war with fitting the presentation of this book into the shape of the series in my mind
3.5⭐ I enjoyed this book overall, especially the last 20%. I do have some issues though which dragged down the rating. This book did not need to be 600 pages long, so many sections didn't need to exist or could have been shortened. I also felt some sections were glossed over more than they should. This book tries to be too many things and I think if it focused on one it would have been fantastic, it's a sailing story, a survival story and a political intrigue story. 3 arcs in 1 book.
I enjoy Hava's story in this, she feels very relatable to me but I don't feel like she's the Hava from Winter keep. In winterkeep we are regularly told by Giddon that Hava is enigma, she is unique, he doesn't know how her brain works. I just don't think they showed so much in SeaSparrow, I kinda wish that she kept being the only character we didn't enter the mind of and that she remained mysterious and difficult.
Why can't we have a Gay main character? Hava to me was very LGBTQ+ coded, but we still have a heterosexual romance going on. (Don't get me wrong I loved it, they are adorable and the slow burn is fantastic, possibly my fave couple in the series). Linny is described as being very feminine, just make Linny a girl like come on, give me some diversity in your main couples. Your outside characters are diverse and gay. But when you won't do the same to your main characters it starts to feel performative.
Also the main plot I guessed really early in, it still gave me the feels but I wish the plot wasn't so obvious.
To end on a positive. Kristin Cashore's writing continues to get better and better with every book. It's enjoyable to read and be a part of her world and see how she develops with it and her style of writing also. I will of course read the next book in the series!
I enjoy Hava's story in this, she feels very relatable to me but I don't feel like she's the Hava from Winter keep. In winterkeep we are regularly told by Giddon that Hava is enigma, she is unique, he doesn't know how her brain works. I just don't think they showed so much in SeaSparrow, I kinda wish that she kept being the only character we didn't enter the mind of and that she remained mysterious and difficult.
Why can't we have a Gay main character? Hava to me was very LGBTQ+ coded, but we still have a heterosexual romance going on. (Don't get me wrong I loved it, they are adorable and the slow burn is fantastic, possibly my fave couple in the series). Linny is described as being very feminine, just make Linny a girl like come on, give me some diversity in your main couples. Your outside characters are diverse and gay. But when you won't do the same to your main characters it starts to feel performative.
Also the main plot I guessed really early in, it still gave me the feels but I wish the plot wasn't so obvious.
To end on a positive. Kristin Cashore's writing continues to get better and better with every book. It's enjoyable to read and be a part of her world and see how she develops with it and her style of writing also. I will of course read the next book in the series!