Bitterblue/Kristin Cashore

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore; young adult, fantasy; 576 pages

First, if you haven't read Cashore first two books, you should stop reading right here, because I can't talk about this book without giving pretty major spoilers for the first two. 


I've been waiting years for this book to come out, so when it finally arrived, I wanted to savor it (it may be another four years before we get the next one, for all I know!).  For the record, it's really hard to savor something that's so good you can't put it down.  I wound up running short of sleep all week because I just couldn't stop reading long enough to sleep.  And I LOVE sleep, so that right there should tell you something.

Bitterblue is set eight years after the events of Graceling, and 47 (?) years after Fire.  Bitterblue, daughter of the mad king Leck, is now a grown woman, trying to heal her broken kingdom from the atrocities committed by her father.  She relies on her four advisers for help, but feels suffocated in her palace life, never interacting with her own people.  It isn't until she sneaks into the city in disguise one night that she realizes life outside her palace is very different from what her staff has been telling her.  But what reason would they have to lie? 

This book deals with some heavy issues:  how do you heal after having your mind violated over and over for years (in the case of many of Bitterblue's subjects, you lose your grip on reality); how do you make things right when you're the heir of the person who destroyed so many lives?  How do you come to terms with your own horrible childhood memories?  And how do you do all this when you can't trust your court?  There are no straightforward answers, which is a refreshing change. 

This book labels itself as a sequel to Graceling and a companion to Fire, but, at the risk of spoilers, I'll go ahead and say that it's sort of a sequel to both (Fire shows up in this story--sort of).  Katsa and Po are major characters in this book, and seeing them was one of my favorite parts of this story.  Bitterblue is a fascinating character in her own right--enough that I keep feeling I should go back and reread her parts of Graceling when I get  a chance.  And then I need to reread Fire.  And then I can read Bitterblue again!  Ahem.  As always, Cashore's book is amazing.

Edit:  Blogger just informed this that this is our 2500th blog post!