[Review] Bitterblue (#3) by Kristin Cashore

Goodreads

(#3, Graceling Realm)

Graceling | Fire | Bitterblue

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 18/09/2013 (pb)

Publisher: Firebird
Pages: 608

Source: Bought
Genre: YA (14+) - Fantasy

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes
♪ Christina Aguilera - Castle Walls ♪

My Rating:

My thoughts

First, let me preface by saying that it's been a month and a half since I finished reading this book and I barely wrote any of my initial thoughts and feelings afterward, simply because I didn't even know what to say or think. This series, and author, has been a major influence on me as a reader. Graceling was my first venture into high fantasy young adult fiction. It was one of the longest books that I'd allowed myself to be engrossed in from start to finish. Kristin Cashore was also the first author I'd ever met in person and gotten signed personally. So you could say that my writing this review saddens me is entirely correct. Because after this, there is nothing more. It's like recovering from a really good TV show, something that has moved you in more ways than you can even begin to understand. The Graceling books will always hold a very special place in my heart, of that I can be sure. So for all the reasons mentioned above, I'm pretty sure this review is going to be sloppy and not really any good at all, but it's important for me that I write this.

[Review] Fire by Kristin Cashore

Title: Fire {goodreads}

Authors: Kristin Cashore

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): (First) 24/09/2009

Publisher: Firebird - US PB

Source: Bought
Precautions: Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Pages: 460 +extras

My Rating:

Amazing read

Summary:

SHE HAS BEEN HIDDEN AWAY.
Now she is choosing to use her power.

It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. Young King Nash clings to the throne, while rebel lords, in the north and south, build armies to unseat him. War is coming. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves.

This is where Fire lives, a girl whose startling appearance is impossibly irresistable and who can control the minds of everyone around her.

Everyone . . . except Prince Brigan.

My thoughts: 

~ Final thoughts ~

Finely conceived and tautly written, Fire is a welcome companion to Graceling. As far as I'm concerned, Kristin Cashore can do no wrong! Readers who were looking for more of a political side to war in GracelingFire will find it in . This one's a keeper. I cannot wait to get my hands on Bitterblue (PB) so that I have an excuse to re-read this fine series. :) Also, get ready to fall in love with more of Kristin's characters!

I love the Aussie cover!

Fire, set much before the events in Graceling, was one book I was just so eager to get into. Even after setting down Graceling, there was such a longing to just continue and trap myself in the world of the Seven Kingdoms. Fire is actually set to the east of the Kingdoms, over the mountains to the Dells. I have yet to read a high fantasy novel I couldn't wrap my mind around, that I just could not get into. This one was no exception - I was captivated all the way through!

[Review] Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Title: Graceling {goodreads}

Author: Kristin Cashore

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 07/09/2009 (PB)

Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books

Source: Swapped
Age: 14+ Moderate violence

Pages: 470

My Rating:

Summary:

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.

My thoughts: 

This is written 3/4 weeks after completion, so please mind the inaccuracies and vague . . . ness.

I'll admit that fantasy usually just doesn't do it for me, but Graceling really whisked me away to a far-off land where I could just escape. I was lucky enough to get to meet Kristin Cashore when she came down to Sydney a couple of weeks ago, and it was for that reason that I decided it was time to read this book. No regrets at all.

At the beginning I was a bit frazzled, just because I was launched right from the first sentence into this mindblowing scene of mystery. It was difficult getting into it because there was just a lot to get ahold of in such a short period of time - characters' names and appearances, what they were doing in some mysterious dungeon; the different lands - but once those things began to set and the worldbuilding had settled in, I sailed through Graceling.

There's this quiet intensity all throughout the book, but it's in those last hundred pages that I just could not stop flipping the pages. Cashore writes meticulously, allowing clues here and there as to where this book is leading to, that just drew me to that huge climax. *sigh* I do have problems as to the details of that huge climax though, such as the villain's backstory, which remains unknown. While the villain is well and truly "unstoppable", it would have been nice to have been given insight as to the reasons why they chose to go down that path, other than "they had the ability to do so".

The characters in a fantasy, for me, are less important than the setting (and action). I did find some of the characters really endearing though - Raffin, for example. I just loved the relationship that he shares with Katsa, who by the way is just a strong and admirable heroine.

Overall Graceling just amazed me in too many ways to count. It's a book I'd recommend for anyone who enjoys a good adventure story. It felt as though I was right there, and it's a story that just sticks with you even weeks after completion.

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

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