“Bitterblue”

Author: Kristin Cashore

I was going to review "Cat Among the Pigeons" for all of you, but half way through it, I received "Bitterblue" from the library  and I had to finish "Bitterblue" first since it's in such demand. So here we go, I'm a big fan of Kristin Cashore's writing; her first book "Graceling" is one of my top favorites to read.  "Fire" was next to follow, but to my disappointment, I was not impressed with it. None the less, I was definitely eager to read her new book in the Graceling Realms series. At first sight, "Bitterblue's" cover is gorgeous; just like the authors last two books. But it could also be intimidating because of its length. I always love a really good book that takes a while to finish, but if it turned out to be a terrible story that bored me out of my mind...I wouldn't be happy to read over 500 pages of it. "Bitterblue", however, was pretty good, despite the few suggestions toward behaviors that I consider inappropriate or in some cases... revolting.

Bitterblue became the queen of Monsea at the age of ten, when her deceitful father, King Leck,  was killed after murdering her mother. King Leck was a Graceling, Graced with making you believe anything he tells you. The nature of his behavior towards his kingdom was gruesome and violent; such was his Grace that he was able to manipulate everyone and poison their minds. Eighteen years later Bitterblue is struggling to pull her kingdom back together, and mend all the scares her evil father left behind. With only a few memories from her childhood, she tries to do her best, but with her advisors acting too over protective it's difficult to make any progress. So, she decides to sneak out of the palace and discover for herself what goes on in the cities of her people. With puzzling ciphers found in secret passage ways and in the patterns of stitching, Bitterblue is overwhelmed by how much is being kept a secret from her. Secrets of her past, and her mad father.

There were a TON of characters, but they all had their own voices and characteristics. So I didn't have any trouble trying to remember who was who. The story line itself was kind of slow, but at the same time, extremely fascinating. In the end there was a lot to figure out, but it all came together just like the pieces of a puzzle. That's one thing I love about Kristin Cashores writing, her mysteries always click into place in the end. It was also fun for me to read because the characters from her previous books all showed up in "Bitterblue" at some point in time. On the inside cover of "Bitterblue" it says you don't have to read "Graceling" or "Fire" in order to enjoy the book. Which is true! But a lot of the secrets and mysteries that you solved in "Graceling" and "Fire", are already known to you in "Bitterblue". So, in other words, it gives the ending away for the other books. For one last note, I enjoyed "Bitterblue" thoroughly, and wouldn't mind reading it again.