Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Oh, I still don't understand my feelings for Bitterblue. I think I loved it even more this third time of reading it. I still love Graceling and Fire more, but now Bitterblue also has a special place in my heart and I just adore this world and characters. The writing is perfect, like always, and I just can't help but love it all. But my god. The story in Bitterblue is just beyond heartbreaking and I spent most of the time in pain. But it is so good and I could not get enough of it. Then it ended, and I just wished for more. <3

Bitterblue starts eight years after Graceling. It is told from the point of view of Bitterblue, who is now Queen of Monsea. And oh, how I adore her. She's an amazing character. But she's also so alone at times. And that broke my heart. But I was very happy that she had Helda. Because I adore Helda. Just wishing she had some friends as well. Except for Po and Katsa and the rest. Because they can't be there all the time, which made me very sad. But oh. They are all in this book. Which made it even better for me.

I'm not sure what to talk about in this blog post. I won't talk about the entire plot, as I think I have done that before. Won't mention all the characters either, because there are so many of them. And I loved reading about them all. Like Death. And his cat. They were awesome. And I adored Teddy. Wish we had seen more of him. But then there are the Queen's advisors. Like Thiel. My god. I kind of hated reading about them. They did some bad things. And while I pity them, I still kind of hated them a little bit.

Anyway. I just loved reading Bitterblue's story. Just wish there had been more action, like the previous books. Which may be why I didn't love this one as much as them. Or it may be that Graceling had Po and Fire and Brigan and while Bitterblue as Saf, he is not as amazing as Po. Sigh. But I still loved him. And I do think Saf was a pretty amazing person. And my god. I kind of hated the ending. Sobs. And I just wish Saf had been a little kinder a few times, but I didn't really blame him at all. And I did like him a lot.

We learn so much about Bitterblue. Which I enjoyed. We learn so much about Monsea as well. And all the things Leck did. I hated it. Yet loved it beyond reason. Because I seem to enjoy dark books and I wanted to know more about the things Leck did. But I also hated reading about it because it was all so awful and it broke my heart. Yet, still, wanted more. Anyway. Bitterblue is written so well. And the story is amazing. The characters are adorable and they broke my heart all the time. Loved them to pieces.

My favorite characters were in this book. Po. Katsa. Raffin. Even Giddon. They weren't there for the whole book, but I did feel like I got to see enough of Po. And oh, how much I love him. He is still my favorite character. Wish I could read from his point of view. Anyway. I loved the scenes with them all, though there were a lot of heartbreak. My surprise was how much I adored Giddon. I loved reading about him and I felt a lot of pain for him. Kind of shipping him and Bitterblue. Maybe. Probably :D

I'm not sure how to describe what happens in Bitterblue. So I won't. Just, there is a lot of betrayal in this book. Yet it is also a beautiful book. And I had a lot of favorite scenes. Sharing two quotes at the end. One heartbreaking one. My favorite scenes were of Po, but favorite Bitterblue scene happened at the top of a bridge. It was heartbreaking and made me so sad yet it made me smile like crazy as well. Something amazing happened there and I loved reading about it. There were a lot of sweet moments.

I need more books by Kristin Cashore. I need more from this amazing world she has created. Would love to know more about the different kingdoms. Though, to be honest, I would just like more of Po and Katsa the most. But I also want another book from Bitterblue's point of view, as I think this book ended too soon. And I just need to know everything that happens next. I would love to know more about Leck's journals. What happens next with Saf. And what happens next with Bitterblue as Queen. Sigh.

Point is, I need more from Kristin. And I really hope she is writing more books. <3 As I would read anything by her. Though I do wish for more books from the Graceling realm. Anyway. I really loved Bitterblue. More this time than the last two times. Which was a plus. I just adore Graceling, Fire and Bitterblue. And if you have yet to read any of them, then you must start. With book one. Because these books are not to be missed. Not by anyone. Because they are beautiful and painful. They are perfect.

~

"Po! Will you let Katsa go like this?" He made no response. She understood, from the tears he 

was trying to hide from her, that he had no wish to discuss it. Bitterblue watched him for a moment. 

Then, going to him, she touched his hair. "I love you, Po," she said. "Whatever you do." Then she left.

~

Thirty-five years. Bitterblue wasn't certain she'd ever be able to comprehend what it had been 

like for them. It wasn't fair that nearly a decade after his death, Leck was still killing people.
Leck was still tormenting the same people he'd tormented; people were committing appalling
acts in order to erase the appalling acts they'd already committed.

~

Graceling. Fire. Bitterblue. Kristin Cashore. The Book Depository.

New Graceling blog post. New Fire blog post. Book rec of Bitterblue.

Update: Newer and better review of the book can be found here.