Bitterblue (Graceling Realm #3) by Kristin Cashore

Synopsis: "Eight years have passed since the young Princess Bitterblue, and her country, were saved from the vicious King Leck. Now Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea, and her land is at peace.

But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisers, who have run the country on her behalf since Leck's death, believe in a forward-thinking plan: to pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck's reign; and to forget every dark event that ever happened. Monsea's past has become shrouded in mystery, and it's only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle - curious, disguised and alone - to walk the streets of her own city, that she begins to realise the truth. Her kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year long spell of a madman, and now their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.

Whatever that past holds.

Two thieves, who have sworn only to 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, who possesses an unidentified Grace, may also hold a key to her heart . . ."

Title: Bitterblue

Series: The Graceling Realm #3

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 563

Ages: 16+ (CONFUSING BOOK)

My Rating: 3 stars

One Word: disappointed, wants more Teddy and Saf :(

Fave Quote: “Teddy grinned again. 'Truths are dangerous,' he said. 

'Then why are you writing them in a book?'
'To catch them between the pages,' said Teddy, 'and trap them before they disappear.'
'If they're dangerous, why not let them disappear?'
'Because when truths disappear, they leave behind blank spaces, and that is also dangerous.” 

Review

When I began reading this book, I immediately fell for it; the characters, the setting, the plot....and then everything went to shambles. After about a hundred pages or so, it felt as if I were reading a totally different novel. It went from Bitterblue's simple plot of the mystery of the storyteller's and Saf's true identity to the Truthseekers and the Estillians and Katsya, Po, Giddon and Leck's rooms and all these chiphers and before I knew it I was holding my head in my hands thinking What is happening?! I'm sooo confused. If Cashore had stuck to one or two conflicts in the story I would've fell for it just as I hoped, but with all these ugly twist and turns it became just so hard to follow.

All these political issues that seemed to appear out of nowhere took away the best pieces of the story. Saf and Teddy; once great potential main characters become just a small part of the novel. The storyrooms; mentioned a great many times at first and left to dust at the end. More and more large aspects of the story no longer existed as such as these other random mysteries kept popping up that some were not really even solved at the end.

And what vexes me the most is that this book had so much potential, not because of it's artistic beauty (although the drawings are stunning) and its amazing first and second novels,Graceling and Fire, but because it was so good at first, and then it became way too complicated.

Don't get me wrong, Cashore's writing is beautiful and descriptive and I did give it three stars for a reason meaning I didlike it, but it could so easily have gotten five stars from me if it were simpler. Honestly, I at least wanted more Saf in the novel because Cashore is so brilliant at writing romance novels, yet this had little to none romance in it.

Altogether, I was thoroughly dissapointed with it, because page after page was filled to the top with information that should not have been needed and whenever I may have lost my concentration, I had to re-read thoroughly in order to not miss anything. I wish the plot were a lot simpler.

★★★

Fire (Graceling Realm #2) by Kristin Cashore

Synopsis: "It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.

This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she had the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.

Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City, The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.

If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was."
Title: Fire
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Series: Graceling Realm #2
Pages: 461
Ages: 14+
My Rating: 5 stars
One Word: beauty-ful
Fave Quote: "'The moment I began to love you was the moment when you saw your fiddle smashed on the ground, and you turned away from me and  cried against your horse. Your sadness is one of the things that makes you beautiful to me. Don't you see that? I understand it. It makes my own sadness less frightening'" (456).

Review
Although the premise of this novel was very similar to Cashore's first book, Graceling (just swap out the Gracelings for monsters), it undeniably surpassed it in my mind. The reason is yet to be determined, but I'll have my money on the characters because in Fire I felt like I connected to the main character, Fire, easily (and not just because I have red hair too!). She is so compassionate and loving and will do anything for anyone she loves, and I connected to her not because she is similar to me, but she is someone who I want to be.

Cashsore's ability to display romance so purely and realistically also made the novel very beautifully written. I most likely said this in my review of Graceling, but she gradually makes the two characters fall in love through their experiences in the novel, and their love isn't washy either. The love that Fire gives to everyone is so deep and compassionate that I wish I could meet her and become her friend just so I could feel her strong supportive care.

Another reason why this book surpassed the first was because of the change of setting. I thought the Dells would be a fascinating place to visit with it's intriguing royal family (*cough cough* Brigan). Nash, Garan, Clara, Brigan, Roen, Brocker, Archer; they were all unique and lively and the relationship Fire creates with them is interesting to read. I don't know how Cashore does it, but she managed to create so many characters and yet have them each significantly stand out. Can Small count as my favorite character? If not then Brigan would be for sure with his loving and caring attitude towards Fire.

Writing this review, I thought of yet another reason for why this book was so good. It shows that beauty can be a manipulative and dangerous thing to have for some people, but for others like Fire it could seem like an undeserving and horrific thing to have, although Fire learns in the end that beauty is not the only reason why everyone is so fond of her. It is also her compassion and lovingness that makes her stand out.

I wish there could be another book with Fire in it (I'm not sure if Bitterblue has her in it yet) because I'm dying to read on and see if they find the "Graceling world" or not. Fire definitely upped Graceling and Cashore left me feeling satisfied, relieved, and heartbroken at the end for finishing such a noteworthy and brilliant novel.
★★★★★