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beary_bookwormish's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
4.25
As always Miss Cashore spends a wonderful yarn. I love that her characters have a lot of depth and they are very human. It's a fantasy without it being too fantastical. The characters are very flawed. The character Lavesa is extremely complicated. She has so many things going on and she is always trying to figure out something, about someone or something. Her mind is constantly in overdrive. Her journey is very different that's the best way to put it. I was really surprised about the promiscuity of the main character Lavesa she had no Scruples whatsoever which was surprising.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Gaslighting, Torture, Toxic relationship, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Mental illness, Abandonment, Child abuse, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
im_basil's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
It’s a bit slow at the start but the mystery just builds until you can’t put the book down! :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
gen_nh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Grief
curiousarty's review
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It genuinely hurts to give a book in the Graceling series such a low score. But I found myself thinking as I read... "Well, I guess I could maybe give it a 4.5. That's not bad." Then that dropped to a 4. Then the last 50 pages or so just made it impossible for me to even go that high.
Sigh. Where do I start? Well, for one thing, this book should've probably been 200 pages shorter. Characters wasted paragraphs mulling their feelings over. And can we talk about a certain MAJOR character spending upwards of THREE HUNDRED PAGES locked in a room?? I'm honestly shocked that any editor let that go. If this were not the fourth book in a bestselling series, there is 0% chance it would have been published. Not in this state.
Next, the characters. Okay, let's start with Lovisa. Lovisa very clearly is suffering from severe C-PTSD. That should have made me very sympathetic towards her, and it did. But Lovisa is also an asshole. She's one of the most unlikable characters I've ever come across in a book. She's an absolute jerk to every single person who shows her even a modicum of kindness. I don't know why she's a POV character. I wonder if Cashore was told that Bitterblue and Giddon were too old to be the only POV characters in a YA book and so along came Lovisa. But why make her so nasty? And there's hardly any growth. She's still snapping at people even once we pass page 500. And weirdly enough the other characters don't seem to mind. She snaps at Nev, and Nev grins. That's a relationship I never fully understood, by the way, but more on that later.
Giddon. Oh my god, Giddon. I actually started rolling my eyes when he'd start crying yet again. Oh, I'm all for men crying in books. Love to see it. Men having actual emotions? Give me more. But this is just over the top. He seems to have no personality beyond "I miss Bitterblue" and "I'm not worthy of Bitterblue." He's also big and strong. And he has a beard. Yep. That's about it.
Bitterblue. The title character of the last book. I actually have nothing to say about her because she, too, has no personality other than that she has gray eyes, is small, and gets high on tea. Yes, I realize none of those have anything to do with an actual personality. You see my point?
Hava is a mini-Lovisa. Snappy and unlikable. Nev is a blank slate. Mari is the boy version of Nev. (Literally. Lovisa can't choose between them.) Ferla had the vestiges of a personality, but she wasn't a POV character.
THE FOX. ADVENTURE FOX. The true hero of this tale (really!). Okay, I would literally read an entire book from his POV. I loved him so much. I also liked the Keeper and the silbercows.
Anyway, on to the next point of contention: The romance(s).
Look, I love romance. I'm a hardcore Fire x Brigan fan. Like they are literally my definition of a great YA fantasy romance. Bitterblue and Giddon? (And you might say that's a spoiler but it's obvious from the first five chapters that that's the endgame couple.) I started skimming their scenes together. They are that nauseating together. Also? Their reunion scene is just terrible. It felt like we had been leading up to it for 400 pages, and then it happens all in one paragraph? And we're just TOLD it happens? No dialogue? Did the author just get bored or not know how to write the scene? I don't believe that. Cashore is an incredible writer. So I don't understand what happened here AT ALL. On top of the awful pining between these two, we had to deal with references to Bitterblue's constant stream of lovers. Yay. Yeah, I love to see a female character who has experience, for sure. But the book seemed to want to beat us over the head with it and make it seem like Bitterblue has 50 boyfriends at once. And all the while Giddon just sits in a corner and sobs about it like a sad puppy.
Back to Lovisa. Okay, seriously: what the hell was going on here?? Is Lovisa asexual? Aromantic? A lesbian? Polyamorous? Does she have feelings for Mari? Is she sexually into him? Why did absolutely nothing ever come of this back and forth the book was teasing us with between her and Nev? After Bitterblue x Saf, and now these two romances...? I'm starting to think Fire x Brigan was a fluke. (And, to be honest, I never really cared for Katsa x Po.) I'm also starting to get annoyed with how Cashore tosses m/m couples to the sidelines. Saf got a boyfriend and suddenly he's no longer in the story? Seriously, WTF.
Okay, I think I'm done. Gosh, I really needed to rant. This book actually makes me hesitant to continue the series, but I bought Seasparrow just a few days ago, so I might as well press forward. At least that one's shorter.
Romance
Sigh. Where do I start? Well, for one thing, this book should've probably been 200 pages shorter. Characters wasted paragraphs mulling their feelings over. And can we talk about a certain MAJOR character spending upwards of THREE HUNDRED PAGES locked in a room?? I'm honestly shocked that any editor let that go. If this were not the fourth book in a bestselling series, there is 0% chance it would have been published. Not in this state.
Next, the characters. Okay, let's start with Lovisa. Lovisa very clearly is suffering from severe C-PTSD. That should have made me very sympathetic towards her, and it did. But Lovisa is also an asshole. She's one of the most unlikable characters I've ever come across in a book. She's an absolute jerk to every single person who shows her even a modicum of kindness. I don't know why she's a POV character. I wonder if Cashore was told that Bitterblue and Giddon were too old to be the only POV characters in a YA book and so along came Lovisa. But why make her so nasty? And there's hardly any growth. She's still snapping at people even once we pass page 500. And weirdly enough the other characters don't seem to mind. She snaps at Nev, and Nev grins. That's a relationship I never fully understood, by the way, but more on that later.
Giddon. Oh my god, Giddon. I actually started rolling my eyes when he'd start crying yet again. Oh, I'm all for men crying in books. Love to see it. Men having actual emotions? Give me more. But this is just over the top. He seems to have no personality beyond "I miss Bitterblue" and "I'm not worthy of Bitterblue." He's also big and strong. And he has a beard. Yep. That's about it.
Bitterblue. The title character of the last book. I actually have nothing to say about her because she, too, has no personality other than that she has gray eyes, is small, and gets high on tea. Yes, I realize none of those have anything to do with an actual personality. You see my point?
Hava is a mini-Lovisa. Snappy and unlikable. Nev is a blank slate. Mari is the boy version of Nev. (Literally. Lovisa can't choose between them.) Ferla had the vestiges of a personality, but she wasn't a POV character.
THE FOX. ADVENTURE FOX. The true hero of this tale (really!). Okay, I would literally read an entire book from his POV. I loved him so much. I also liked the Keeper and the silbercows.
Anyway, on to the next point of contention: The romance(s).
Look, I love romance. I'm a hardcore Fire x Brigan fan. Like they are literally my definition of a great YA fantasy romance. Bitterblue and Giddon? (And you might say that's a spoiler but it's obvious from the first five chapters that that's the endgame couple.) I started skimming their scenes together. They are that nauseating together. Also? Their reunion scene is just terrible. It felt like we had been leading up to it for 400 pages, and then it happens all in one paragraph? And we're just TOLD it happens? No dialogue? Did the author just get bored or not know how to write the scene? I don't believe that. Cashore is an incredible writer. So I don't understand what happened here AT ALL. On top of the awful pining between these two, we had to deal with references to Bitterblue's constant stream of lovers. Yay. Yeah, I love to see a female character who has experience, for sure. But the book seemed to want to beat us over the head with it and make it seem like Bitterblue has 50 boyfriends at once. And all the while Giddon just sits in a corner and sobs about it like a sad puppy.
Back to Lovisa. Okay, seriously: what the hell was going on here?? Is Lovisa asexual? Aromantic? A lesbian? Polyamorous? Does she have feelings for Mari? Is she sexually into him? Why did absolutely nothing ever come of this back and forth the book was teasing us with between her and Nev? After Bitterblue x Saf, and now these two romances...? I'm starting to think Fire x Brigan was a fluke. (And, to be honest, I never really cared for Katsa x Po.) I'm also starting to get annoyed with how Cashore tosses m/m couples to the sidelines. Saf got a boyfriend and suddenly he's no longer in the story? Seriously, WTF.
Okay, I think I'm done. Gosh, I really needed to rant. This book actually makes me hesitant to continue the series, but I bought Seasparrow just a few days ago, so I might as well press forward. At least that one's shorter.
Romance
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
albernikolauras's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
Winterkeep follows Bitterblue in a brand new nation with a brand new culture, magic system, & government. I was worried we would spend too much time following Bitterblue or Gideon, but instead we follow Lovisa - a daughter to some very important politicians.
I really enjoyed following Lovisa and the path she went on. It was hard following her some times and this book carries on with a lot of the heavy themes Cashore writes so delicately. There are adorable foxes and lovable characters, and I love how strategic and delibrate Lovisa is.
I really enjoyed following Lovisa and the path she went on. It was hard following her some times and this book carries on with a lot of the heavy themes Cashore writes so delicately. There are adorable foxes and lovable characters, and I love how strategic and delibrate Lovisa is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
imds's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Death, Torture, Emotional abuse, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Grief
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
I love the additions to the Graceling world in this book! I especially enjoyed the Keeper(?) perspective and the interactions with the silbercows. I also thought that Lovisa as a character was very complex, and it was refreshing to see a teen in YA acting like a teenager instead of a small adult. very excited to pick up the next installment!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Confinement, Death, Child abuse, Classism, Murder, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Drug use, Animal death, and Death of parent
ksykes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.5
I really enjoyed this but I’m not 100% sure what to think of it yet. My favourite points of view are the telepathic fox and telepathic sea monster, and I also really loved Giddon’s character arc. It threw me that, because of the world expansion, the vibe of this book is distinctly more dystopian in flavour than previous ones (it actually reminded me a lot of The Queen of the Tearling). I didn’t dislike it but it wasn’t necessarily what I was hoping for from the book.
I haven’t read enough race theory to have formed a confident opinion on this but her portrayal of race struck me as a bit problematic. It was hard not to lay our own world and culture over top of the ones she has created and I don’t think the expectation should be that readers <em>can</em> do that. In context of the series as a whole her depiction of race becomes a little less problematic but I think these books are still meant to operate as standalones?
All that to say I really enjoyed this. It’s more in the vein of Bitterblue than Fire or Graceling and has a riveting mystery at its centre.
One final thing, there should be a huge trigger warning for extreme emotional and physical abuse of a main point-of-view character and other children.
I haven’t read enough race theory to have formed a confident opinion on this but her portrayal of race struck me as a bit problematic. It was hard not to lay our own world and culture over top of the ones she has created and I don’t think the expectation should be that readers <em>can</em> do that. In context of the series as a whole her depiction of race becomes a little less problematic but I think these books are still meant to operate as standalones?
All that to say I really enjoyed this. It’s more in the vein of Bitterblue than Fire or Graceling and has a riveting mystery at its centre.
One final thing, there should be a huge trigger warning for extreme emotional and physical abuse of a main point-of-view character and other children.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Gaslighting
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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? No
5.0
5 ⭐ CW: violence, child abuse, sexual content, slut-shaming, suicide mention, murder, death of a parent, imprisonment
Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore is book 4 of the Graceling Realm series. I cannot stress how much I love this series! And it's completely underrated! I have loved every single one of these installments, and Winterkeep is no different.
We continue to follow Bitterblue a few years after the events of the previous book. We also get Giddon's perspective in this book, and he's a great character. Bitterblue and company travel to the newly discovered continent of Torla, a country made up of democratic republics and vast scientific advances. When Bitterblue is swept overboard on the journey to Winterkeep, she finds herself in the middle of a plot. We also get new characters, like Lovisa, the daughter of the Winterkeep President. Lovisa's life is turned upside down when she discovers what is hidden in her attic and what her parents are up to.
One of my favorite things about these books is that Cashore doesn't shy away from letting her female characters embrace their sexuality. Both Bitterblue and Lovisa are pretty open about having multiple lovers, and I suspect Lovisa to be somewhere on the Aromantic spectrum. I loved Lovisa's character and her growth throughout the book. She's tough, blunt, and honest and doesn't much care for expectations. I definitely related to her as someone who grew up in an abusive household without understanding how bad it actually was. I really felt for Lovisa when she finally figured out that's not normal. Giddon was such a sap this book. He cried so much, but it was kinda sweet. We get more from Hava too, and I read her as neurodivergent. We get sentient, telepathic foxes! And a sentient Sea monster that just wants to be left alone. I want to be able to talk to silbercows. They seem so cute and fun.
There is a lot of political intrigue in these books, and I'm a fan. I will say that this isn't the most fast paced books series, but it has so much in it. The world-building is just incredible. Cashore has expanded the world with each book and new character, and it just becomes fuller. Super looking forward to Seasparrow, but also dreading the end of this amazing series.
Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore is book 4 of the Graceling Realm series. I cannot stress how much I love this series! And it's completely underrated! I have loved every single one of these installments, and Winterkeep is no different.
We continue to follow Bitterblue a few years after the events of the previous book. We also get Giddon's perspective in this book, and he's a great character. Bitterblue and company travel to the newly discovered continent of Torla, a country made up of democratic republics and vast scientific advances. When Bitterblue is swept overboard on the journey to Winterkeep, she finds herself in the middle of a plot. We also get new characters, like Lovisa, the daughter of the Winterkeep President. Lovisa's life is turned upside down when she discovers what is hidden in her attic and what her parents are up to.
One of my favorite things about these books is that Cashore doesn't shy away from letting her female characters embrace their sexuality. Both Bitterblue and Lovisa are pretty open about having multiple lovers, and I suspect Lovisa to be somewhere on the Aromantic spectrum. I loved Lovisa's character and her growth throughout the book. She's tough, blunt, and honest and doesn't much care for expectations. I definitely related to her as someone who grew up in an abusive household without understanding how bad it actually was. I really felt for Lovisa when she finally figured out that's not normal. Giddon was such a sap this book. He cried so much, but it was kinda sweet. We get more from Hava too, and I read her as neurodivergent. We get sentient, telepathic foxes! And a sentient Sea monster that just wants to be left alone. I want to be able to talk to silbercows. They seem so cute and fun.
There is a lot of political intrigue in these books, and I'm a fan. I will say that this isn't the most fast paced books series, but it has so much in it. The world-building is just incredible. Cashore has expanded the world with each book and new character, and it just becomes fuller. Super looking forward to Seasparrow, but also dreading the end of this amazing series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Confinement
Moderate: Violence and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide
rubyhosh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Violence