Tag Archives: Kristin Cashore

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore – a Review

Posted on by
6

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore – a Review

Bitterblue is the third book of Kristin Cashore’s Graceling Realm series.  Bitterblue picks up 8 years after the death of her father, the evil King Leck. Bitterblue is now at 18, the Queen of Monsea.  Though 8 years have passed since her rise to the throne, the people of Monsea are still recovering from the evil Kings 35 year reign of terror and horrific torture.  The story starts off with Bitterblue bogged down in paperwork, given to her by her trusted advisors.  She is tired and bored, and she yearns to know more about her country and what happens outside of her castle. But no one listens to her, and she has to stay under the protection of her advisors and guards.

Bitterblue discovers the library, and begins to read cryptic books about her mother and father.  She begins to question her advisors, who though they have been with her all her life, they keep avoiding talking about those horrible days.  Bitterblue starts to have strange feelings that something is being hidden from her.  She decides to explore more on her own, and in disguise, she sneaks out many nights to see what is happening in the towns near her.  Bitterblue discovers a pub that has storytellers, and they do talk about sordid details of King Leck’s reign, which opens her eyes to things she was not aware of, or cannot remember. 

On one of the excursions, she meets two thieves, who in time become her friends, though they do not know she is the Queen of Monsea.  Saf, short for Sapphire, becomes more then just a friend, but he is reckless, and brings danger to her.  Listening to the stories about the bad days, and how they all perceive her as Queen, and learning things from her new friends, Bitterblue suspects that she is being lied to from her trusted advisors. 

Working with her librarian, Death (spoken as Deeth), they look at all the old books, many of which Death is resurrecting, as his Grace is remembering everything he reads. She also begins to discover so many hidden rooms in the catacombs of the castle, that her father used for his dastardly deeds.  The amazing thing about this story, is how Cashore brings in puzzles, and so many, in different ciphers, & languages,  and making it so believable, though complex. As she begins to learn the truth, Bitterblue’s life becomes threatened, and she has to rely on old friends to keep her safe.  This is some of the best parts of the book, that we get to see a lot of Katsa, Po, Raffin, Giddeon, and Fire nearer to the end.  We also meet so many new and interesting characters, both good and bad….Helga, Fox, Hava, Saf, just to name a few.

The last 1/3 of the book is filled with surprises, twists, and mostly betrayal, as Bitterblue begins to find out the truth, hidden behind so many lies, even if it was meant to protect her.  Bitterblue has to rise above the pain from those discoveries, and be the Queen who must bring Monsea back from those terrifying years.  You can’t help but feel sorry for Bitterblue, as one after another she suffers from the knowledge of how deep the betrayals her within her own castle. 

Overall, I thought Kristin Cashore wrote another great book in this series.  However, there was so much detail, complexity, not a lot of action, that I felt made this book, not quite as good as the first book Graceling, or even the prequel Fire.  But with that said, it is a writing of an excellent author. 

Reviewed by Barb

Share

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Posted on by
Reply

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

With Bitterblue, the third book of Kristin Cashore’s series that began with Graceling, due to be released on May 1st, I thought it was time to post my reviews on both of the previous books.  This way you will have an understanding of this series, to see if you want to read it before the new book comes out.  We start with my review of Graceling.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore, is the first book in her The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy.  Having thoroughly enjoyed The Hunger Games, I had decided to read this series, as the feedback was awesome and very well compared to the other series. 

The Seven Kingdoms is a mesmerizing world. A world full of magic, mystery, danger, and treachery.   Those blessed with perfect special abilities, such as fighting, mind-reading, cooking, farming, are known as Gracelings.  They  are easily recognized by their different colored eyes, and are exploited for their skills.  Gracelings are shunned by this world, and they are automatically sent to their Kings, to service under them. 

We meet Katsa, who is the niece of King Randa of Middlun.  Katsa has the grace of being able to kill with her bare hands, since she was eight.  Being a niece to the King, she should have led a privileged life, but he used her powers to do his bidding.  She became his enforcer, a teenage assassin, with a reputation that follows her.   Katsa does not have courage to stand up to her uncle.  But she works behind the scenes with her cousin, guards, and other persons  to help those in need, and this secret group, allows Katsa to become a brave, and powerful warrior. 

Katsa is sent on a mission to use her powers to persuade someone to do what the Kings wants, and to steal something for him.  During her mission, she accidently meets another Graceling; a man with silver and gold eyes. Having no choice, she trusts him not to reveal her identity and lets him go.  The start of a wonderful romance will begin.

In a short time, Lord Greening Grandemalion, who is the youngest heir (7th in the line to the throne) to Lienid, another realm., has arrived in the Middluns.  Po, as he is known,  is looking for his missing grandfather.   Po becomes enamored of Katsa, but she refuses to allow herself to be interested in him. She isn’t interested in men, dresses or having children.  She is afterall, a warrior…a killer.  But from the start, you can see their chemistry together, and Po turns out to be a dedicated pursuer, as he has become passionately in love with her. 

Katsa is forced to stand up to the King, and leave Middluns, and Po goes with her, as they try to uncover the truth about the kidnapping of his grandfather. The journey is very exciting, as numerous times they face danger.  Over time, Katsa recognizes that she truly does love Po.  During their adventure to learn the truth, we meet 10 year old Bitterblue, a cousin of Po, who is the rightful heir of the Realm they were passing through, and they take her along with them, saving her from a sure death.  That is where we meet one of the worst villains in any story I have read, as his powers were truly scary.

In their fight to survive, Katsa must leave an injured Po to find help.   She and Bitterblue, must survive the dangerous elements to get to Lienid, and help, only to find the worst possible scenario waiting for them.  Katsa, in desperation, uses her powers to the fullest, to save them.  The trip back to rescue Po, with some of his family, is filled with surprises.  This was a very exciting story, great characters, and I can’t wait for the next book of this series.

Reviewed by Barb

Share

Fire by Kristin Cashore – a Review

Posted on by
Reply

Fire by Kristin Cashore – a Review

“Fire” by Kristin Cashore is the second book, in her Seven Kingdoms Trilogy.  Fire is a prequel to the first book, Graceling.   It takes place 30 years earlier, where you also get to see the early days of the villain in making from Graceling.  

Synopsis: She is the last of her kind… It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. In King City, the young King Nash is clinging to the throne, while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. War is coming. And the mountains and forest are filled with spies and thieves. This is where Fire lives, a girl whose beauty is impossibly irresistible and who
can control the minds of everyone around her.

Review:
Fire is the heroine in this story.  She is considered a human monster, because of her shimmering red hair. Fire’s unparalleled beauty is also her curse, for all those who look on her – human or animal alike – long to possess her, to woo her, to love her, to kill her. As a human monster, she is one of the most powerful, as she can read, and persuade people to do what she says.  However, Fire does not like to use this power. She lives with the memory of her father, Cansrel, who was the last King’s advisor.  Fire’s father was cruel, and abused his beauty and power by forcing many to his will, as well as torturing people and animals alike.  Cansrel close contact with the King, caused despair and discontent in the kingdom.  It is his legacy of depravity and fear that Fire continually has to face in the animosity of others. Besides the people, Fire always has to be on guard against the dazzling beautiful animal monsters, who are drawn to her, and want to kill her. 

Having suffered all of her young life, Fire is scarred from all her battles and is determined to never have children, for she would never bestow her curse upon another.

Fire lives in a small village with Archer, and his father, who brought her up.  Archer, is like his name, one of the best archers.  He loves Fire, and she cares for him, but not enough to let him become too serious.  A war is coming, and new his King Nash and his brother Prince Brigan, who is commander of the armed forces,  enlist her aid to help them.  Though she is hesitant to be around others, Fire agrees and leaves Archer, and her quiet life in the Dells for the excitement and danger she will face.  She travels with Prince Brigan, who at first hated her for what she was, but over time this will most certainly change.  They journey to the King’s castle through different landscapes, allowing Fire and Brigan to get to know each other, though neither recognizes the beginning of their attractions.

Once the royal Nash family, gets to know Fire, they all begin to care for her, and see beyond the color of her making her a so called human monster.  She will eventually use her powers to help them find the betrayers, who have done serious damage to the kingdom.  The last third of the story is very exciting, as they must face the other leaders who want to overthrow the King. During the unraveling of the plots, Fire is kidnapped by a group, led by a young child, with persuasion ability.  This is the young child, who will grow up to be the villain we met in Graceling. She is eventually rescued, and Brigan faces his demons from his past, and they both consummate their love.  Throughout the book, there is the backstory of Fire’s father, which tells us more about her.  Excellent story, very different then Graceling, but as a prequel, it was done very well.  I look forward to the third book, Bitterblue, which should pick up where Graceling left off.

Reviewed by Barb

Share