Title: Bitterblue (Seven Kingdoms #3)
Author: Kristin Cashore
Summary: [from GoodReads]
Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.
Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart
Review: Kristin Cashore is my favorite author ever. Seriously, she can do no wrong. Keep that in mind while reading my review, okay?
It has been a long time since I read Graceling so I didn’t remember much of anything about Bitterblue from the first book. I’m almost glad, because I didn’t have a lot of preconceptions about anything beyond the world, and Cashore did a wonderful job at reintroducing everything well enough that it didn’t matter.
I love Bitterblue, even more than I remember loving Katsa or Fire. Maybe that’s because I relate most to her, but I find her spunk refreshing and her quest for knowledge no matter the cost admirable. In contrast to the kick-butt heroines, Bitterblue’s biggest asset is her mind. She’s a thinker and she’s been trained to find the truth – the greatest weapon against a liar like Leck. It is so rare to find a heroine in YA literature who values thinking and the truth over her fists recently, and I absolutely love it!
Despite the title, I don’t think the book is really about Bitterblue. It’s about so much more than that. It’s about the difference between stories and lies. It wonders why we so desperately cling to one but despise the other. It asks what we’d do if we were so horrendously lied to that we couldn’t tell the difference. And that right there is what I love about Cashore’s works. They’re never just about the plot. They have so much depth and breadth to them that they really belong to the classics.
After that amazing ride I only have one question left: what’s next?
Yes! One thing I love about Kristin Cashore’s books is that there are valuable lessons buried into the stories. Lessons that need to be touched on and explored. And she does it so very well.
YES! THIS! 😀 This is why I read fantasy novels, though all the rest of the stuff is fun too – I love that there are real life lessons in most of them, despite the really colorful dressings!
Damn it, I really have to read these books!!! I love your review and it makes me want to start this series right now!
Oh you really must! They are FANTASTIC! I’m glad I inspired you to start them, and I hope you’ll follow through on that, because frankly I think EVERYONE should read these books =)