Book Review: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Title | Author: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore (web | twitter)
Series: Graceling Realm #3
Genre: Fantasy YA
Amazon | Goodreads
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Source: Own it

Summary: Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle–disguised and alone–to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

Kristin Cashore‘s Graceling Realm (or Seven Kingdoms, or whatever the actual name of this series is) is one of my favorite series. Period. I think her world is so captivating and her characters are flawed and brave and charismatic and unforgettable. So it was with a hefty dose of trepidation that I approached BITTERBLUE, the third and final installment in this absolutely amazing series about the young girl Katsa and Po rescued from King Leck in GRACELING. My inherent hesitation to read this book was purely out of denial: I didn’t want this series to be over. But as I read more reviews of BITTERBLUE my hesitancy morphed slightly into something with a little more worry in it: People weren’t loving it. Exsqueeze me? THAT made me nervous. I shouldn’t have been. BITTERBLUE is one of those great examples of why I shouldn’t pay so much attention to reviews of books before I read them. I found Kristin Cashore‘s conclusion very satisfying.

So, obviously, BITTERBLUE is about…Bitterblue. She’s 18 years old now, and Queen of Monsea. All of her advisors were King Leck’s advisors, and Bitterblue is caught in this weird place where she is both stifled by their closeness to Leck and dependent on their help. This is how she comes to rely on the Council: Katsa, Po, Giddon, Raffin, and Katsa’s old lady’s maid, Helda, who is now Bitterblue’s chief spy. BITTERBLUE is first and foremost a story about Bitterblue’s struggle to come to grips with her history and not be cowed or crippled by it. I very much enjoyed being in her head. Kristin Cashore does a great job making Bitterblue seem like a young woman who struggles with wanting the freedom to be young while still being a responsible, firm, and selfless leader of a broken kingdom.

One of the major things Bitterblue has to deal with as a young woman is BOYS. While BITTERBLUE is less about the romance than Kristin Cashore‘s other books in this series, two of the more important characters in Bitterblue’s growth are the guys in her romantic life: the thief, Saf, and, at least in my opinion, Giddon. These guys are SO DIFFERENT from each other, and I vastly preferred one over the other. Saf is the main romantic interest for Bitterblue, and he’s ok. I can see why Bitterblue is attracted to him. But he’s also reckless, vengeful, jealous, and resentful of her wealth and power. NO THANK YOU.

Giddon, on the other hand, is more mature and steady. Yeah, yeah, sounds boring. But TRUST. The relationship Giddon has with Bitterblue is based on trust and respect and friendship. It’s kind of THE BOMB. I feel like Kristin Cashore‘s books don’t often have an opportunity for this, and I’m not usually a “team” kind of person, but…TEAM GIDDON FOREVER. He’s a different guy now than he was in GRACELING. Himself, but more mellow.

The main action in BITTERBLUE surrounds the resurrection of Monsea from its corruption during Leck’s reign. People are coming to grips with the things they did and believed on account of Leck’s Grace. The plot device of the story rooms–basically bars where people go to hear stories–was really great. People’s hunger for the truth is pretty intense, and Bitterblue’s hunger for the truth is one of the big themes in BITTERBLUE. But those story rooms–I’d totally go to one of them.

Of course, as the third book in a series that began with one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITE bookish couples, Katsa and Po, I have to say that it was so wonderful to see them here from the outside, through Bitterblue’s eyes. I ESPECIALLY enjoyed getting to spend some more time with Po and to see his closeness with Bitterblue.

Friends, I would read more books set in this world in A HEARTBEAT because I think Kristin Cashore had something really special going on here. I know that some people were disappointed in BITTERBLUE, but I was pretty captivated the whole time. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and I suppose that’s just as much the result of my reading all those reviews beforehand than anything else. But I really liked BITTERBLUE. It was a satisfying conclusion, even though I TOTALLY have my fingers crossed that Kristin Cashore has more stories in this world up her sleeve SOMEWHERE.

Check out a few other reviews of Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore!

April @ Good Books and Good Wine: “While Bitterblue was a good read, it’s not exactly up to par with the standards set by Graceling and Fire.”

Meg @ Coffee & Wizards: “Bitterblue doesn’t have quite as much action as Graceling and Fire, but it contains my favourite qualities of Cashore’s works which is that she addresses contemporary issues in a fantasy setting.”

Harmony @ Bookalicious.org: “And while Graceling still remains my favorite book of the trilogy, Bitterblue more than met my expectations.”