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A review by thetomatowriter
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.5
This is a strange one to rate.
On the one hand, it took me the longest to get into out of all of the Graceling Realm books I've read so far. I didn't feel as instantly attached to Bitterblue as I did to Katsa and Fire. At times, her petulance grated on me, though I understood where it came from. I wasn't as drawn in by the side characters around her. But all of that did develop over time, and with it this really HARD but ultimately worthwhile story.
One thing that strikes me about Bitterblue is the change in theme. Graceling and Fire both followed protagonists who, because of their unique gifts, felt that they were monstrous and couldn't be trusted with other people. Over the course of their stories, they learn to embrace who they are as a person and use their gifts for good. Bitterblue, on the other hand, takes place after the death of a true monster: someone who deeply wounded the kingdom of Monsea and the whole of the Seven Kingdoms (and even the Dells, as we know).
Monsea is trying to move on to a new day, free from Leck and all his horrors, but Bitterblue finds it difficult to lead them into that new day when her advisors are being shifty and evasive. She takes matters into her own hands and begins sneaking out to find the truth about her kingdom - and her father - for herself.
Ultimately, so much of this book is about the danger of emotional avoidance in the aftermath of something terrible. No one around Bitterblue wants to think about Leck's time as king - about the things he did to them or the things he made them do. And it's understandable. Leck was a sickly cruel person, and they're all deeply traumatized. But because of their emotional avoidance, the pain that he caused continues to fester and his former subjects continue to suffer. The longer they shy away from Leck's time in favor of "moving forward," the worse things get. The damage that Leck did must be reckoned with first. Only then can Monsea see a new day dawn.
And it's a HARD read. There's heavy content throughout the Graceling Realm series, but Bitterblue may have been the hardest. I'll definitely be adding content warnings to this review, and would caution anyone who might be triggered by that content to take care while reading this. The difficulty of the subject matter makes it all the more understandable why no one wants to talk about Leck. Whenever Bitterblue finds what she's looking for, it's never a happy discovery. But I think it was handled really well by Cashore and needed by the story as a whole.
This book also differs from the first two novels in that it doesn't wrap up Bitterblue's story in a nice little bow. There's still a lot of work ahead of her and she's still developing those important relationships around her. Winterkeep also follows her in part, whereas by the end of both Graceling and Fire, you know you might see those characters again in the stories of others but THEIR STORY is more or less told. So you're in for a bit of a longer haul with Bitterblue, but by the end I loved her and those around her, and I didn't really mind.
On the one hand, it took me the longest to get into out of all of the Graceling Realm books I've read so far. I didn't feel as instantly attached to Bitterblue as I did to Katsa and Fire. At times, her petulance grated on me, though I understood where it came from. I wasn't as drawn in by the side characters around her. But all of that did develop over time, and with it this really HARD but ultimately worthwhile story.
One thing that strikes me about Bitterblue is the change in theme. Graceling and Fire both followed protagonists who, because of their unique gifts, felt that they were monstrous and couldn't be trusted with other people. Over the course of their stories, they learn to embrace who they are as a person and use their gifts for good. Bitterblue, on the other hand, takes place after the death of a true monster: someone who deeply wounded the kingdom of Monsea and the whole of the Seven Kingdoms (and even the Dells, as we know).
Monsea is trying to move on to a new day, free from Leck and all his horrors, but Bitterblue finds it difficult to lead them into that new day when her advisors are being shifty and evasive. She takes matters into her own hands and begins sneaking out to find the truth about her kingdom - and her father - for herself.
Ultimately, so much of this book is about the danger of emotional avoidance in the aftermath of something terrible. No one around Bitterblue wants to think about Leck's time as king - about the things he did to them or the things he made them do. And it's understandable. Leck was a sickly cruel person, and they're all deeply traumatized. But because of their emotional avoidance, the pain that he caused continues to fester and his former subjects continue to suffer. The longer they shy away from Leck's time in favor of "moving forward," the worse things get. The damage that Leck did must be reckoned with first. Only then can Monsea see a new day dawn.
And it's a HARD read. There's heavy content throughout the Graceling Realm series, but Bitterblue may have been the hardest. I'll definitely be adding content warnings to this review, and would caution anyone who might be triggered by that content to take care while reading this. The difficulty of the subject matter makes it all the more understandable why no one wants to talk about Leck. Whenever Bitterblue finds what she's looking for, it's never a happy discovery. But I think it was handled really well by Cashore and needed by the story as a whole.
This book also differs from the first two novels in that it doesn't wrap up Bitterblue's story in a nice little bow. There's still a lot of work ahead of her and she's still developing those important relationships around her. Winterkeep also follows her in part, whereas by the end of both Graceling and Fire, you know you might see those characters again in the stories of others but THEIR STORY is more or less told. So you're in for a bit of a longer haul with Bitterblue, but by the end I loved her and those around her, and I didn't really mind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, and Torture
Moderate: Self harm and Medical content