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imds's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Vomit, Child abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Child death, Trafficking, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Drug use, Pregnancy, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
3.5
I still think that Graceling and Fire are two of Cashore's best works, and I haven't felt that from these recent installments in the Graceling universe. Don't get me wrong, I love this world and I think it's fascinating. We get back to some of the politics towards the end of this book, which is when I think Cashore is at her strongest. Political intrigue, great characters. That's the magic for her.
Hava, the main character in this one, isn't the most likeable at the beginning, but her journey is one of reckoning with the abuse and neglect she faced as a child. Throughout, she's able to work through that, to allow herself to trust once again. It's a character arc that really works, and the addition of the foxes does wonders. The foxes were honestly my favorite part of this book!
However, I would love if Cashore focused on a different aspect of this world if she wants to keep writing Graceling books. Show me a different set of characters, with maybe a mention of those we already know. It would help build the world even more, and the world is one of the best parts of this series.
All in all, I enjoyed this, but not as much as the early Cashore books.
Hava, the main character in this one, isn't the most likeable at the beginning, but her journey is one of reckoning with the abuse and neglect she faced as a child. Throughout, she's able to work through that, to allow herself to trust once again. It's a character arc that really works, and the addition of the foxes does wonders. The foxes were honestly my favorite part of this book!
However, I would love if Cashore focused on a different aspect of this world if she wants to keep writing Graceling books. Show me a different set of characters, with maybe a mention of those we already know. It would help build the world even more, and the world is one of the best parts of this series.
All in all, I enjoyed this, but not as much as the early Cashore books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Homophobia, Child death, and Rape
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Drug use, Murder, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Death, Medical content, Confinement, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Addiction, Pedophilia, Child death, Rape, Torture, War, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Excrement, Sexism, Homophobia, and Vomit
Needles, nonconsensual drugging. Near-drowning, distress at sea. Urination. Frostbite, amputation.sophieseptember's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Death of parent, Child death, and Animal death
half_prince's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
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
I loved the writing and the pacing of this book. Kristin mentions herself on her website, that the change in writing style (shorter chapters, first person) were to reflect the main character, Hava, and her personality. Having just finished reading the book, it really does lend a unique voice to Hava and her personality.
Also, while the plot of the book itself isn’t as grand as it could’ve been, I appreciated how Cashore took the first 2 parts to lay out the ground work for the rest of the book and to focus on developing Hava’s character and thoughts, which become more relevant later on as she tries to figure out who she is and come to terms with her past. Also, the book was excellently edited; as soon as I got a bit tired of one setting and was looking move along in the plot, the book did so without focusing too much on unneeded transitions.
As for the plot, the multiple mysteries that slowly get revealed is present in this book, like in the other graceling realm novels, and it’s an aspect of Cashore’s writing that I absolutely love and look forward to with each new book in the series. Although I did predict one of the larger revelations a good 100 pages before my suspicions were confirmed, I found that it was more rewarding (as all the clues were well placed) than boring (I would much rather have a plot twist be well developed and somewhat predictable, rather than come out of nowhere with nothing setting it up).
In addition, per the revelations in previous books in the series, there is mention of what King Leck had done and how it affects Hava (both past and present). However, based off my recollection of Bitterblue, Seasparrow is about the same in terms of how graphic the descriptions are (not very, just enough to understand that he was a terrible man, to put it lightly) and his crimes are brought up less often (as they do not pertain to the plot as much, and are mostly present for character growth).
After hesitantly getting back into the Graceling series earlier this year with Winterkeep, Seasparrow was a very quick and easy read and I look forward to seeing how the Graceling Realm continues to evolve, should there be new additions to the series.
**Personal Note: I like to use yugioh cards as bookmarks. For this book, I used Unicode-P.U.N.K Amazing Dragon as the card art matched the cover color-wise.
Also, while the plot of the book itself isn’t as grand as it could’ve been, I appreciated how Cashore took the first 2 parts to lay out the ground work for the rest of the book and to focus on developing Hava’s character and thoughts, which become more relevant later on as she tries to figure out who she is and come to terms with her past. Also, the book was excellently edited; as soon as I got a bit tired of one setting and was looking move along in the plot, the book did so without focusing too much on unneeded transitions.
As for the plot, the multiple mysteries that slowly get revealed is present in this book, like in the other graceling realm novels, and it’s an aspect of Cashore’s writing that I absolutely love and look forward to with each new book in the series. Although I did predict one of the larger revelations a good 100 pages before my suspicions were confirmed, I found that it was more rewarding (as all the clues were well placed) than boring (I would much rather have a plot twist be well developed and somewhat predictable, rather than come out of nowhere with nothing setting it up).
In addition, per the revelations in previous books in the series, there is mention of what King Leck had done and how it affects Hava (both past and present). However, based off my recollection of Bitterblue, Seasparrow is about the same in terms of how graphic the descriptions are (not very, just enough to understand that he was a terrible man, to put it lightly) and his crimes are brought up less often (as they do not pertain to the plot as much, and are mostly present for character growth).
After hesitantly getting back into the Graceling series earlier this year with Winterkeep, Seasparrow was a very quick and easy read and I look forward to seeing how the Graceling Realm continues to evolve, should there be new additions to the series.
**Personal Note: I like to use yugioh cards as bookmarks. For this book, I used Unicode-P.U.N.K Amazing Dragon as the card art matched the cover color-wise.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Child death, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
There is a helpful note to the reader in the beginning of the book that has warnings regarding sexual assault and sexual abuse that is witnessed/experienced by characters prior to the events in the book. I believe that it would also be helpful to mention that the main character, Hava, does not have these experiences herself (and thus mentions/references are recollected in first person, but they are in second person pov).
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