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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher.
When I started this, I had in my memory that I really liked the first two books (Graceling and Fire) in the series, but didn't like Bitterblue very much. After reading this book, I went back and saw that I had rated Bitterblue 4 stars, so I must have liked it a lot more than I remember. It was 8 years ago when I read it, though, so I really can't remember much, if anything, about it at all.
I quite enjoyed Winterkeep. I liked that there were telepathic animals and big sea creatures. That was possibly my favorite part of the book. I liked the different perspectives, and I really liked seeing Lovisa grow throughout the book. She wasn't always likable, and sometimes it's hard to root for her, but she has a good character arc, for the most part.
There are a couple of things that took this book down a notch for me. One is that Kristin Cashore feels very strongly about certain topics. You can tell because she hits you over the head with them over and over. A little bit goes a long way, and it starts to feel unnatural when you talk about things too much. I mean, some of these characters talk about sex so much, I know their every thought and feeling about it ad nauseum.
The other thing that I didn't love is I felt the book was a bit longer than it needed to be. We had the climax of the story, and then it was about 100 pages of aftermath. I got to the point where I just wanted to be done reading, and that shouldn't happen with a story. All the wrap up could have been done in half (or less) the time, and been perfectly satisfactory. All that said, I liked Winterkeep quite a lot; it made me want to go back and re-read the rest of the series.
When I started this, I had in my memory that I really liked the first two books (Graceling and Fire) in the series, but didn't like Bitterblue very much. After reading this book, I went back and saw that I had rated Bitterblue 4 stars, so I must have liked it a lot more than I remember. It was 8 years ago when I read it, though, so I really can't remember much, if anything, about it at all.
I quite enjoyed Winterkeep. I liked that there were telepathic animals and big sea creatures. That was possibly my favorite part of the book. I liked the different perspectives, and I really liked seeing Lovisa grow throughout the book. She wasn't always likable, and sometimes it's hard to root for her, but she has a good character arc, for the most part.
There are a couple of things that took this book down a notch for me. One is that Kristin Cashore feels very strongly about certain topics. You can tell because she hits you over the head with them over and over. A little bit goes a long way, and it starts to feel unnatural when you talk about things too much. I mean, some of these characters talk about sex so much, I know their every thought and feeling about it ad nauseum.
The other thing that I didn't love is I felt the book was a bit longer than it needed to be. We had the climax of the story, and then it was about 100 pages of aftermath. I got to the point where I just wanted to be done reading, and that shouldn't happen with a story. All the wrap up could have been done in half (or less) the time, and been perfectly satisfactory. All that said, I liked Winterkeep quite a lot; it made me want to go back and re-read the rest of the series.
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
inspiring
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
The way this series broadens the world with each volume requires the kind of investment I usually make when starting a new, unconnected book. That can feel frustrating, but damn if Cashore doesn't manage to hook me every time. A part of the world that no one knew about, again? Sure, I guess! Just fuck me up with family trauma, kidnapping, romance, spying, escapes, environmentalism, politics, and loveable animals. Thanks.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
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
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
it’s such a shift from the first three books but the world building is still immaculate.
i’ve been trying to work out what to say about this for a while now, and i think my main issue would lie in that the other novels take place over several months and this is done really well - this novel (i’m not sure how long it took place over, but it didn’t feel like the same time frame as the first three) didn’t have the same pacing, and seemed rushed even though it was quite long.
i really loved the introduction of the new nations, the expansion of the graceling universe and all the more steampunk things in winterkeep as opposed to the more traditional fantasy style of the stories on the royal continent. i also adored the foxes - i thought they were amazing.
i didn’t like bitterblue and giddon’s relationship - the age gap made it just too uncomfortable for me, especially because they had met when bitterblue was so young. i thought giddon seemed completely different in this novel than graceling and bitterblue, and this wasn’t really the direction i expected his story to take.
other than that, i really liked lovisa, i thought she was another of cashore’s amazing realistic teenage girl characters, with true flaws and an interesting plotline and character arc.
i loved the parts with nev, but i don’t really like how cashore represents queer couples - i don’t know how to explain it, but with this series removing much of the stigma around sex in YA and between teenagers, it just seems super focused on heterosexual sex. there are several instances of straight couples actively engaging in explicit sexual content, but the canon queer characters don’t share any kisses or sexual content on screen, and even though the main character is canonically bisexual - all the queer experiences are prior to the books beginning. hopefully we’ll get the nev and lovisa on screen kiss we deserve in the next book.
yeah. i don’t know if i articulated that quite right, but it’s how i feel. so it’s not that this was a meh book - which is often why i give three stars, i really enjoyed it but it had some issues for me. i’m definitely going to read any more in this universe though bc i adore cashores writing style and characters.
i really loved the introduction of the new nations, the expansion of the graceling universe and all the more steampunk things in winterkeep as opposed to the more traditional fantasy style of the stories on the royal continent. i also adored the foxes - i thought they were amazing.
i didn’t like bitterblue and giddon’s relationship - the age gap made it just too uncomfortable for me, especially because they had met when bitterblue was so young. i thought giddon seemed completely different in this novel than graceling and bitterblue, and this wasn’t really the direction i expected his story to take.
other than that, i really liked lovisa, i thought she was another of cashore’s amazing realistic teenage girl characters, with true flaws and an interesting plotline and character arc.
i loved the parts with nev, but i don’t really like how cashore represents queer couples - i don’t know how to explain it, but with this series removing much of the stigma around sex in YA and between teenagers, it just seems super focused on heterosexual sex. there are several instances of straight couples actively engaging in explicit sexual content, but the canon queer characters don’t share any kisses or sexual content on screen, and even though the main character is canonically bisexual - all the queer experiences are prior to the books beginning. hopefully we’ll get the nev and lovisa on screen kiss we deserve in the next book.
yeah. i don’t know if i articulated that quite right, but it’s how i feel. so it’s not that this was a meh book - which is often why i give three stars, i really enjoyed it but it had some issues for me. i’m definitely going to read any more in this universe though bc i adore cashores writing style and characters.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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:
No
It could have ended at the end of part 4
I have so enjoyed reading the Graceling series, this is book 4 in that series and is my favourite so far.
It is told from multiple POV’s and each of these is completely distinct and powerful in their own way.
The world within the Graceling series expands once again in this book with characters exploring new lands and meeting new people, all of which are wonderful additions.
Most of the voices are female again however we do also get a POV from Giddon this time as well as a male fox called Adventure. Personally I adore the fox, I do love when animals are included in books and this young fox is a wonderfully complex character who adds so much heart to the story.
There are lots of mysteries taking place in this book and it is quite suspenseful and I was eager to keep reading to get answers.
This would have been 5 stars for me, but I think a few things were left unexplained around the actions of one particular character which didn’t make much sense. BUT I greatly enjoyed the book and would happily read it again and I once again adored how many strong, compelling, female characters there are.
This is a great YA fantasy series and I am looking forward to reading the final book soon.