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coramackenzie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
cleothegreat's review against another edition
4.0
this book was such a guilty pleasure for me that I can’t even really discuss the infamous pros & cons. the only thing I will say was ????? was there always romantic tension between bitterblue and gideon ? it’s been years since I’ve read bitterblue I can’t even remember. but I wanna say no. either way it was a sweet, richly detailed, easy read. can’t wait for the next one!
candice_92maddie's review against another edition
4.0
This book made the entire world of Graceling grow (Unexpected). New cast of Characters along with original and familiar ones. I do think I enjoyed this one almost as much as the second one (Still my favorite one). I do like the technology that was introduced in this book and watching the people grow and learn from it. hopefully the next and last book ends the series strongly!
bad_fatty's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lauracooleyjohnson's review against another edition
2.0
I recall loving the other books in this series. Maybe too much time had passed, but I didn’t love this one. The world was very different, with technology and such that previously didn’t exist, the magic of “Gracelings” didn’t feature much, and I didn’t really relate (remember?) the main characters. And maybe this was something about the e-book version I was reading, but I literally felt that paragraphs must be missing because of how jumpy the transitions were. So yeah, not great. I do think telepathic foxes and silbercows are cool.
alivaster's review against another edition
1.0
I don't really have anything good to say, so here's just the short review:
Gorgeous cover.
Great premise.
Terrible execution.
As much as I loved Graceling and Fire (probably some of my favorite books ever), Bitterblue was a letdown and this book just felt like a crash and burn. Kind of similar to how Bitterblue handled plot, characters, and flow, Winterkeep had similar problems, but was ultimately worse. The story just didn't come together, the characters didn't feel fully developed to me, and the politics that were thrown into the book weren't set up properly. Does anyone remember the climate crisis in Maximum Ride series that made us all raise eyebrows? Yeah, the politics in here also gave me the same eyebrow raise. If you want to make an impact, you need to build it up correctly and address it right, and this wasn't done here.
This book just didn't work for me.
Gorgeous cover.
Great premise.
Terrible execution.
As much as I loved Graceling and Fire (probably some of my favorite books ever), Bitterblue was a letdown and this book just felt like a crash and burn. Kind of similar to how Bitterblue handled plot, characters, and flow, Winterkeep had similar problems, but was ultimately worse. The story just didn't come together, the characters didn't feel fully developed to me, and the politics that were thrown into the book weren't set up properly. Does anyone remember the climate crisis in Maximum Ride series that made us all raise eyebrows? Yeah, the politics in here also gave me the same eyebrow raise. If you want to make an impact, you need to build it up correctly and address it right, and this wasn't done here.
This book just didn't work for me.
ellas_bookerie's review against another edition
It was just meh. I didn't like the characters and it felt way out of line from the original trilogy. Falling short for me, and too much mention of sex for a book meant for teens.
catinaflatcap's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Confinement
Moderate: Sexual content, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Sexual violence
deluciate's review against another edition
5.0
This book was gorgeous. I loved the silbercows and the foxes. I'm so pleased there has been more added to the world of Graceling, and looking forward to more.
zanda_graves's review against another edition
3.0
This book has such a slow start. I wasn’t able to get fully invested in the story until around page 200. I almost dnfed this book three different times, and the only reason I stuck it out till the end was because of my love for the first three books.
I didn’t really care for Giddon’s pov in this. What I love about the Graceling realm is that each book focuses on a strong female character who is overcoming her trauma. These women are admirable and relatable, so it was a bit of struggle to go from them to Giddon. I like Giddon well enough I guess, even with how he acted in book one in the series. I just would’ve preferred this book to focus on Lovisa’s story, because I feel like I hardly know her.
I did really enjoy the last half of this book and I was tempted to give it four stars just for that, but I cant’t get over my grievances with this story.
I didn’t really care for Giddon’s pov in this. What I love about the Graceling realm is that each book focuses on a strong female character who is overcoming her trauma. These women are admirable and relatable, so it was a bit of struggle to go from them to Giddon. I like Giddon well enough I guess, even with how he acted in book one in the series. I just would’ve preferred this book to focus on Lovisa’s story, because I feel like I hardly know her.
I did really enjoy the last half of this book and I was tempted to give it four stars just for that, but I cant’t get over my grievances with this story.