Book Review: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
Publisher: Dial
Publication date: May 2012
Pages: 576
Source: Library
For: Fun
Series: Graceling, Book 3

Bitterblue has inherited a broken kingdom, a kingdom that has been under her father's sway for years. She's been convinced that the best way to deal with the past is to forget it, but she's not sure that is working for her people. In order to try and find out more about what's going on in her kingdom, she begins to sneak out and meet with regular citizens.  What she seeks and what she finds might end up overwhelming her.

Things I Liked:
I've got to hand it to Cashore for creating a complicated, difficult, detailed book filled with depth and nuance.  Nothing is easy, there are no simple answers, no neat ending, and everything is questioned.  This is a deeply complex fantasy world with the cultures and history and geography to back it up - it totally reminds me of the Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima.  I love how the characters are so complete with so much depth and realistic weaknesses.  Also, she has some fabulous parts filled with crazy action and exciting and disturbing things going on.  She has so much skill in creating complex, real, and believable fantasy worlds.  I can't wait to see what she writes next.

Things I Didn't Like:
Really, though, I was bored through about 2/3 of the book.  I got really tired of the confusing half-answers, non-committal replies, and Bitterblue's inability to do anything.  There were huge amounts of the book where nothing happened and I really thought it was in need of serious editing.  Also, I easily saw a number of things I wish Bitterblue had figured out much earlier (though some things obviously I didn't, which was nice).  Glad I read it, wish it was shorter and tighter.  And I still am really impressed with her skill as a writer.

Read-alikes:
Start with Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore
Seven Realms by Cinda Williams Chima
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a very small handful

mrg-factor: X 
mostly implied, one scene

v-factor: ->
mostly just disturbing details from Leck's past

Overall rating: ****

What were your thoughts on this one?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Book Review: Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fireis a human monster living in the Dells, a land of monsters in all forms. The monsters are impossibly beautiful and powerful, and Fire is the last of the human kind. She must live with the legacy of her cruel father's deeds and assist the king of the war-torn Dells in fighting mutinous lords, all with a power she fears will turn her into a monster just like her father.

Things I Liked:
I thought this book had a beautiful story. It is definitely more character driven than Graceling. I thought Fire was a more relatable character and I liked her more than Katsa. The setting was beautiful and I loved the intrigue and politics. Cashore has a way with words and an ability to create beautiful fantasy worlds:

"A monster drew out all that was vile, especially a female monster, because of the desire, and the endless perverted channels for the expression of malice. With all weak men, the sight of her was a drug to their minds. What man could use hate or love well when he was drugged?" p,145

"She took the instruments from the steward one by one, each more beautiful than the last. Welkley waited patiently while she played them, testing their feelings against her neck, the sharpness of the strings on her fingertips, the depth of their sound. There was one she kept reaching for, with a copper-red varnish, and a clarity like the point of a star, precise and lonesome, reminding her, somehow, of home. This one, she thought to herself. This is the one." p.174

Things I Didn't Like:
Once again, I was bothered by one small aspect. I hated the way Fire treated her friend Archer. She seemed rather careless with his affections. She kept calling him "friend" when they were more than that. I was just annoyed at how easily she dropped him and basically crushed his feelings. It was also definitely not as action-packed as Graceling, but I thought it was better in some ways.

Read-alikes:
This is a prequel of sorts to Graceling by Cashore - I would read Graceling first or it might ruin some surprises there
The intrigue reminded me of Crown and Court Duet by Sherwood Smith

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a very few

mrg-factor: XX
innuendo mostly

v-factor: ->->
there were fighting and battle scenes

Overall rating: ****

If you buy through my Amazon linkage,
I will get a very small percentage

Reasons for Rereading: Revisiting Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Recently, I have been thinking about a book I read almost a year ago. I first heard about it through a group of fabulous YA librarians, who raved about just how amazing it was - story, characters, writing, everything. I HAD to get my hands on it. So I did.

When I started it, I was completely in agreement - I loved everything about it! It was high fantasy with an amazingly awesome kick-butt heroine. I loved the world everything took place in and the writing really was fabulous.

Then, about half-way through, the characters did something I didn't like. I'd been just the tiniest bit nagged about a trait of the main character, but I hadn't let it bother me much. But then, just like that, they did something I thought stupid.

And the rest of the book, I was mad. I didn't fully enjoy the amazing twists and the beautiful conclusion. I couldn't bring myself to love it. Even though, I felt like I really wanted to. I felt frustrated and upset. How is it I let something so small ruin the whole story for me? I don't know, but it did. I only gave it an ok review. I put it aside, and forgot about it.

Until recently. When another book by the same author in the same world began getting buzz. I thought back on that first book. I thought back to the reason I gave it a blah review. I listened to other bloggers rave about both books. I thought some more.

Then, I blogged about my morally-tinted glasses. I wondered why sometimes having certain values makes you unable to appreciate certain books. I mentioned in that post the book I have just finished rereading.

All of this led to my rereading of Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I felt a lot of the same feelings that I did the first time, BUT there were some other things too. These next paragraphs may be a bit spoiler-ish if you haven't read it.

Throughout, Katsa insists she will never marry or have children. I don't know exactly why that annoyed me at first. After all, I wasn't nearly as annoyed by Katniss' desire never to marry or have children. When I thought about it more, I realized it was because Katsa had taken the seabane at such a young age and would NEVER be able to have children; I thought that having taken it once meant she could never change her mind. Katsa doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would change her mind, but I did feel her close relationship with Bitterblue may have softened her a bit. I know lots of people who never want children, and I think that's fine. What bothered me was the thought that Katsa made that irrevocable decision so early and then might never even have the chance later on in life.

After picking it up again, I understood that choice differently. I felt that it wasn't irrevocable, because seabane was not a one-time fix for never having children. If she ever felt so inclined in the future, she could simply stop taking seabane. I also felt like her choices with Po (though perhaps a bit selfish) really shouldn't and didn't mar my enjoyment of the rest of the book. I was swept up into the fast-paced action. I loved the setting and the characters and the fantasy elements. I'd even forgotten about several of the plot twists, and enjoyed those again.
(end spoiler-ish-ness)

So, I think that having reread this book, I was able to appreciate it more. To enjoy it again. To see past my (possibly narrowminded) issue with the book and really come to love it. So, I'm admitting that my first review of Graceling was flawed. I really did love it. And I'd give it an:

Overall rating: ****

Have you ever reread a book you didn't enjoy and changed your opinion of it?

Book Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Gracelingtells the fantastical tale of Katsa, a girl with an unusual grace, or ability. She itches to be free of the power of her uncle the king, who uses her for her grace. After a daring renegade rescue of a neighboring kingdom's prince, she meets a graced boy who just might be a match for her.

I really loved the story and world created in this book, the graces and gracelings and the characters. The story was interesting and fun. The biggest problem for me was Katsa's insistent desire never to marry or have children. While this wouldn't have normally ruined a story, I found her decisions in regards to the boy she falls in love with were just plain stupid. It rankled so much with what I personally believe that I found my enjoyment of the story was marred. I didn't like the morals it was expressing in that situation. I think it would have been a favorite of mine, story-wise, if this one thing was done differently.

RATINGS:
s-factor: none
(favorite expletive: "great seas!")

mrg-factor: XX
Not a lot page-wise, but a few scenes in particular.

v-factor: ->->
There is a lot of fighting in the book, but not a lot of description.

Overall rating: ***