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  • Review by Dorothy Requina

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

3 stars! Spoiler free review!

Not my fave of the Graceling Realm books, but definitely one that makes you think and rethink throughout the plot.

  • This was the slowest of the first three books for me, definitely required the most thinking. I was constantly second guessing my predictions all the way to the end.

  • Plot focused > character driven. The plot was full of mini plot twists that would spiral into large twists and turns. I feel like this book was much more focused on developing the plot rather than be character focused like the first two books were. Plot focused books tend to be lower in enjoyment for me personally, which is likely why I didn't vibe with this as much as Graceling and Fire.

  • This book was also quite darker in tone, given that the shadow of Leck was a looming dark nebulous cloud overhanging Bitterblue's throne and people. Cashore didn’t pull punches when it came the atrocities she addressed in this book and the history of Leck City (now Bitterblue City). Definitely dark and definitely more sad.

  • This one also had the least amount of romance (which is not inherently a bad thing, but after the passionate fiery romances in the first two books, felt like a let down. On the romance meter, I'd say it was just cute. They were much more childish probably because of their younger age, so it was all rather adorable rather than burning and angsty.

  • I docked a star and half in this one because it just felt too long. There were parts that really dragged and had me thinking, "c'mon now just figure it out and move past the internal monologues." But overall I’m still glad to have finished the three main books in this saga!

I still liked this book, just not as much as the first two. If you are also more into character driven and romancey fantasy, you may agree with me. I think after this one I may take a break, especially since Winterkeep came out so much later than this original trilogy. But I still plan to finish the series as a whole eventually!

 

Read by reviews for other Graceling Realm books!

Review for book 1: Graceling | 4 stars

Review for book 2: Fire | 4 stars

Review for book 3: Bitterblue | 3 stars

Review for book 4: Winterkeep | (on my TBR)

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