Kristin Cashore

Bitterblue

Eighteen-year-old Bitterblue, queen of Monsea, realizes her heavy responsibility and the futility of relying on advisors who surround her with lies as she tries to help her people to heal from the thirty-five-year spell cast by her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities.

Cassidy Nolan

“Saf,” she said. “I have a question I need to ask you.”

She made herself watch his soft eyes. “If you weren’t in trouble about the crown thing,” she said, “would you still go away?”

The question made his eyes softer. “Yes.”

She had known the answer before she’d asked. But hearing it still hurt.

“My turn,” he said. “Would you stop being the queen for me?”

“There, now,” he said. “We’ve both asked each other the same question.”

“Have too,” he said. “You asked me to stay, and I asked you to come with me.”

She dreamed that she was walking from rooftop to rooftop in Bitterblue City. She was walking on the castle roof. She was walking on the edges of the parapets of the glass roof of her castle tower, and she could see everything all at once, the buildings of her city, the bridges, the people trying to be strong. The sun warmed her, a breeze cooled her, and there was no pain, and she wasn’t afraid to be standing at the top of the world.

“I’ll give you a dream,” he whispered to her. “A wonderful dream. I won’t tell you.”

“An experiment?” said Bitterblue with the tiniest smile.

How loyal and gentle Saf had been with her, and without her asking it of him. As quick to love as he was to anger, as quick to warmth as to foolishness, and he had a tenderness she wouldn’t have expected from him. She wondered if you could love someone you didn’t understand.

“Saf,” she said, finding his face in the dimness. “Do you forgive me?”

“Shh,” said Saf, stroking her hair, her falling-out braids. “Yes, Lady Queen. I forgave you some time ago.”

She wiped the tears from Saf’s face. She fell asleep.

When drowsiness began to soften the edges of her exhaustion and she knew sleep was near, Bitterblue allowed herself to linger with a thing she hadn’t allowed herself in some time: the dream of herself as a baby in her mother’s arms. It had been too sad to touch recently, with Leck’s journals so near. But tonight she would allow it, in honor of Saf, for Saf had been the one, that night she’d slept on the hard shop floor, who’d told her to dream of something nice, like babies; Saf had pushed her nightmares away.

Standing quietly, Bitterblue took Saf in, his soft, purple eyes that didn’t match his blunt manner. Trying to understand him. Feeling, inconveniently, that she never did, except for when she was touching him. “Is this a game then, Saf?” she said. “Dangling from the castle walls every day with a person who could ruin your life? Following her at night to wherever she goes? When were you going to tell me?”

“I wish you would stop being queen,” he said, with a strange, sudden shyness that came out of nowhere, “and join me, when I go away. You know you have the instincts for my kind of work.”

“You said you had something to show me,” Saf said, gesturing with the book, “and a request. I’ll do it, whatever it is.”

“You - you will?” she said. “You’re not going to fight me?”

He rested his eyes on her face with a frankness she hadn’t seen there since the night he’d kissed her, then found her crying in the graveyard and blamed himself for it. He looked embarrassed. “Maybe the cold water unblocked my head,” he said.

“I need Po,” Bitterblue said. “Is he awake?”

The door swung open to reveal the bed, where Po lay sleeping. “He’s exhausted,” said Katsa. “What happened, sweetheart?” she asked again.

“Someone attacked me outside the castle,” Bitterblue said.

Katsa’s eyes blazed blue and green and Po sat up in bed like a mechanical doll. “What is it?” he said blearily. “Wildcat? Is it morning?”

He’d murmured something she hadn’t heard. “Huh?”

“Teddy’s going to kill me,” he said.

“The thing is, I like you. I know I’m a mess, but I like you.”

Thoughts came slowly. “No,” she whispered, understanding, grinning. “You’re a thief.”

Now he was smiling too much to kiss properly. “I’ll be the thief,” he said, “and you’ll be the liar.”

“You’re my liar,” he whispered. “Will you tell me a lie, Sparks? Tell me your name.”

There was something funny about Po’s face, about the way he was steadfastly not turning it to her. “Look at me,” she said.

“Can’t,” he said glibly. “I’m blind.”

She noticed, absentmindedly, that the woman in the hanging, dressed in white furs and surrounded by stark white forest, had eyes green as moss and hair bright and wild, like a sunset or like fire. She was too vivid, too strange to be human. Yet another odd decorative object of Leck’s.

Bitterblue ran back to the castle in a thick, gray dawn. She raced the sun, hoping, fervently, that Po wasn’t planning to ruin her breakfast again. 

Find something useful to do with your morning,

 she thought to him as she neared her chambers. 

Do something heroic in front of an audience. Knock a child into the river while no one’s looking and then rescue him.

If Bitterblue had had any doubt that Saf was a sailor, his language now as he carried his gasping, glass-eyed friend up the steps laid those doubts to rest.

“I’m as old as both of you,” she said, even though she suspected she wasn’t, “and I’m smarter, and I can probably fight as well as you can.”

“Her personality is not gray,” Saf said.

“Indeed,” Teddy said. “She’s all sparks.”

“I’ll make no more declarations without consulting you first,” she said quietly.

“There now,” said Thiel, relieved. “See? That’s a wise decision. Wisdom is queenly, Lady Queen.”

For me this was a beautiful book. I loved all the mystery that it had and it made me feel like I was figuring everything out with Bitterblue. I got upset with the ending with Sapphire but I don’t think it could have ended in a different way. Also it really shocked me this book. There were so many things that I didn’t expect and they made me have so many big feelings. It was a really good book and could be relatable to today in many different ways.

🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕

Vicky  Nuñez 

This book is even better than i remember it. I think before I was too young to appreciate the topics and to fully appreciate the plot but rereading it I can only give huge props to kristin cashore. 
I think at some point during the book I was so confused and Bitterblue herself was that she made a list of all the things mysteries in her kingdom she wanted to know about and i just remember asking myself how we could get to all those topics by the end and they were all resolved beautifully with all the plotlines interlocking.
Unlike the other books in the series I do think its fault lies in how slow paced it is, it might be why some people might not like it. Its not fun and filled with action and most of the plot is centered in a single place, the palace. That said I do think it might be the best of its predecessors and exactly what was needed for the characters.
After what happened in previous books they needed healing and this book is all about that, about moving on and healing and survival.

This book is my favorite book in the whole series it’s so good 

Stella

inomniaparatus

The Graceling Realm keeps sprawling and growing to include insightful narratives on hard subjects through fantastical scenarios. This is a reread from when I was younger, but I still enjoy the series. The characters and the world is complex, and Cashore shows that not every bad act is committed by an inherently bad person.

Emily McMeans

Personally, it's farther than ever from the perfect simplicity that is Graceling. Bitterblue surely was one of the most anticipated read of mine over such a long period of time now. I can't believe how disappointing it was for me. I think that the trilogy wrapped up pretty nicely in the end, but the process of getting there was such a long and drawn-out story. The plot was unnecessarily complex, with our main character making trouble for herself. Bitterblue's portrayal from ten years ago is vastly different from the Bitterblue of the present. Where did that level-headed, perceptive girl go? 

I also found some parts just a tiny bit predictable and cliched, and I guess the resolutions were quite apparent right from the beginning. I don't know.

If you're planning to read this, by all means, don't let me keep you. I warned you, though.

Stefanie  Uwah

I wasted my time with this book. Should have stopped at page 230 when it started getting boring. But alas, I did not stop. And I suffered. This has none of the beauty Graceling and Fire had.

Shay Henrion

this was a book that literally was just word vomit and and had no resolution. WHY DOES IT EXIST.

Ayden

It was hard to get into at first because of the slow pace. I REALLY wanted bitterblue to end up with giddon, it would be a relationship based on complete honesty as opposed to saf where it is based on lies. Maybe I just want giddon to finally be happy.
I felt bitterblues betrayals as if they were mine.
I think that a story that ends with the kingdom in such a fragile state needs an epilogue.

looking back i can't believe i gave this the same rating as "fire". I reallllly liked fire, and i remember having a difficult time getting into bitterblue.

jess

i was not expecting to enjoy bitterblue as much as i did. 

i remember picking up graceling a few years back and i did not get very far into it before putting it down. perhaps it was because i wasn’t mature enough for the series yet, because when i read bitterblue, i found it hard to put it down, especially after about the halfway point, in which i woke up in the middle of the night, read a bit to distract me from some knee pain, and ended up reading until six thirty. whoops. 

the thing about bitterblue is that it is buried in secrets, and the act of unraveling them was what raised the stakes higher and higher towards the end. bitterblue is not a journey. there’s barely any travelling. heck, bitterblue rarely ventures outside her own castle. but it is a journey for all the characters and they grew a lot during the book, something that was entertaining to watch. 

and i was not expecting this book to be so dark. it was shelved in the young adult section, so perhaps i should have expected it, but it’s dark. it’s dark, and i like stories like that. cashore, while mentioning these things, made me slightly nauseous when reading, which is impressive. 

as for the characters, wow. this is my first foray into the graceling realm (other than the failed attempt a few years ago) and i loved each and every one of the characters. i loved that bitterblue was a queen who knew of her responsibility, yet she acted like a girl not yet out of her teenage years yet. i loved how unsure she was of herself at times and how she knew she had to rely on some people to get her job done. she was charming and determined and always tried to do the right thing, which i appreciate. 

and i loved the rest of the characters, too. saf irritated me a bit towards the middle, but i think that he and bitterblue could have had a good relationship. i do love that it doesn’t end in babies ever after or saf remaining as a romantic interest for bitterblue, too. and oh - speaking of romance - katsa and po. i picked up graceling and honestly, if i still don’t like graceling, i’ll probably continue reading for katsa and po, because this couple is one of the most damn cute couples i have seen in literature in a while. and they’re in their late twenties. like, damn. they’re cute. 

other characters i like: thiel. he was a good character, and really interesting as well. i liked fox, for a while, and also, teddy. i liked the fact that tilda and bren were a couple, and raffin and bann, and how they were treated just as any other couple were by bitterblue. honestly, on the diversity/feminism side of things, this book was excellent. there were characters of color, quite a few queer characters, and women who kicked ass and weren’t just the typical Strong Woman archetype there was. that made me rather happy. 

i also find a bit of wonder in the fact that bitterblue did not actually have that much physical action in it, but it managed to keep me going so that i ended up unable to put it down. it was a lot of talking, and many a page in bitterblue’s room, or investigating the castle, but it was still as compelling as a book with grand battles, and i found that a nice change of pace. 

i give this book a 9.5/10! recommended for any medieval fantasy fans, kick-ass heroines, and people who like a song of ice and fire because yeah, this kind of reminded me of a song of ice and fire (and was nearly as dark in some places).

Eighteen-year-old Bitterblue, queen of Monsea, realizes her heavy responsibility and the futility of relying on advisers who surround her with lies as she tries to help her people to heal from the thirty-five-year spell cast by her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities.

Livia

2.5

This is probably one of my lowest rated books this year. I thoroughly enjoyed Graceling, has mixed feelings about Fire, and this book doesn't live up to the other two books.

After reading Graceling, I was intrigued to read about Bitterblue and how she would managed to rule in in Monsea after her father ruled with absolute terror. I'm definitely missing the simple yet intricate plot that Cashore gave us in Graceling. The story just felt too long and unnecessary, with ciphers and codes, some weird twist here and there that I feel like isn't adding anything to the story. And the truth about what truly happened is so simple, it shouldn't take that long to figure out.

I do still adore Katsa and Po, and Giddon has definitely grown on me. And Bitterblue's character is frustating at times, even though it's understandable. And I am glad that in the end, she doesn't really ends up with her love interest.

Lauryn Jackson

I thought Graceling was my favorite until I read Fire and that story stole my heart. And then I read Bitterblue and its even better than the first two. I love the Graceling realm so FREAKING MUCH and can't wait to read the 4th book. Highly recommend.

Maria Banning

This was one that left me with some questions. The author is not big on the romantic relationships in these books, but I would have liked to see Bitterblue end up with Saf or Giddon. At least a little bit of a hint, but sigh, nothing. Overall though the book answered all the questions brought up in the previous two. A very good ending!

Danielle Raymond 

I didn't want this book to end. It was touching and deep and important and I have the WORST book hangover.

Dani

** spoiler alert **
           Before I say anything of importance, I want to state that while this may have been the weaker of the other two books, because some of the things did move rather slowly, I atrongly advise all Graceling fans to read it (and anyone else interested). When I finished the book, I felt like I left part of myself in there. AS *fucking* CHEESY AS THAT SOUNDS. Each of the characters were believable and well-written. KC has a knack for writing great female heroines: Katsa, Fire and Bitterblue.

I consider Bitterblue as my close favourite. I think part of the reason is because she is ordinary. She doesn't have a Grace, like Katsa or a monster ability like Fire. She is simply herself and trying to find the right path for her destroyed kingdom as the Queen.

Po and Katsa's post-happily-ever-after was fun to read. I love their relationship and I love how the reader could see them through Bitterblue's eyes.

Overall, the book is meant to tell the story of Monsea's recovery from Leck's ruthless reign. This is a book about peace and restoration.

I am so happy there are series like these out there in the YA genre and I hope that KC will consider a fourth book. This world she has created cannot stop with a third book. I honestly can’t and won’t accept that.

3.5 stars.

I liked it. Just not as much as the previous books. But I still found Bitterblue a compelling narrator. I just thought that this book's pacing could've been improved, especially because the other two were so quick-paced and action-y, if that makes sense.

Solid read. Does anyone know if this is the final book or if there will be more in the series?

Julie D.

These books always leave me heartbroken for some reason.

Caroline Mao

So, mixed feelings.

Honestly, I feel like there wasn't really a lot of action in this book (view spoiler)[(which sounds silly, considering the revolutions, the attempts to murder Bitterblue, et cetera, et cetera) (hide spoiler)] and it was more of a story that focused on characters and their developments and backstories than anything. Which is okay, but I also feel that it's a bit boring at times, and inconsistent with the previous books. I didn't quite like this as much as Fire, but probably more than Graceling.

I liked Bitterblue - her normalcy, almost, compared to Fire and Katsa. She may not have any powers, but she can hold her own quite well, and her curiosity and compassion I'm very fond of. She's a good queen, really, and I enjoyed her romance with Saf without it quite overtaking the book. At times, though, I kept seeing her as the scared ten-year-old Katsa rescued eight years ago - this spent so much time on the past and King Leck, it's more like a retelling of Graceling from Bitterblue's POV than another story.

(view spoiler)[I also really liked how messed up everyone was - not that because I want them to be, but because it's not exactly realistic to recover from thirty-five years of brainwashing in the space of eight (and with a queen who's basically a teenager, at that). I liked that Bitterblue got them help, because the effects Leck had on everyone's mental health were beyond horrific. I'm pretty sure that the advisers are at least suffering some form of PTSD, although I can't be sure and anyone is free to call me out on this. That's what it's like when someone completely takes over your mind and forces you to become a monster for decades on end. (hide spoiler)]

The characters were lovely, although I wish we got to see more of Katsa (really, she didn't get much more characterization added to her), and (view spoiler)[Fire's appearance was so brief. It honestly felt kind of unnecessary, almost, because she was there for all of twenty pages and pretty much just came to comfort Bitterblue. (hide spoiler)] I also liked Po and Giddon in this book - and more LGBT representation (it was virtually nonexistent in Graceling, and Fire mentioned it a few times but we didn't get any onscreen LGBT characters that I remember of), i.e. Raffin and Bann, and Skye.

A final note - I read the acknowledgments, and it's nice to see the author talking about Po's disability, and caring that she used the "magical cure" trope on it. So that was great.

This was a nice book, even if I found it a bit boring at times, and I don't regret reading it!

megan adlam

LOVEEEE
such a good continuation of graceling i don’t even mind the change in narrator/mc because it’s yet another girl boss and i love her

Kim Tyo-Dickerson

Lush, very dark, immersive fantasy that explores the deep wounds and consequences of cruelty and abuse as equally as it celebrates the joys of friendship and love. 

In the Graceling Realm, there are people born with David-Bowie-style mismatched eyes and a "Grace" that can be as mundane as knowing exactly what food or drink someone is craving, as sophisticated as being able to control people's dreams, or as dangerous as having the ability to kill a man with their bare hands. Being born with a Grace is often more a curse than a blessing, as many unscrupulous rulers in these stories use Gracelings' talents to enrich themselves and intimidate their enemies. 

In Bitterblue, we return to the Kingdom of Monsea and find young Queen Bitterblue, who has inherited the crown from her psychopathic father Leck, a man with the rare and truly terrible Grace of mind control and manipulation, desperately trying to find a way to heal her kingdom, her subjects, her ministers, her servants, and her friends after Leck's sadistic 35 year rule. Everyone she meets is numb, their eyes are dull, they have lost their joy in living and working and Bitterblue does not know why they are still acting like Leck remains in control of their lives when he has been dead for eight years. Even her brain is foggy and she has trouble remembering her lovely mother Ashen, who Leck abused horribly, or what actually happened when she was a little girl living in a nightmare where she could not save her mother from her father. With so many confused and painful emotions in the castle, a place full of people she doesn't know and rooms she has never visited, Bitterblue feels trapped and more and more under the control of her well-meaning, but oddly secretive, royal advisors. 

Becoming increasingly desperate for something to change and to break free, one night Bitterblue decides to slip out of the castle in disguise to finally learn more about her people and city, as well as escaping from the never-ending stacks of paperwork constantly given to her by her councillors. In the smoky taverns down dark alleys, Bitterblue hears storytellers recounting events from her own troubled, famous life, and, as she visits night after night, also draws the attention of some local thieves working to right the wrongs committed during Leck's rule. Bitterblue begins to uncover the depths of her own courage as she finds ways to learn who to trust and as she grows to fully understand her father's horrific legacy, piecing together bit by shocking bit why it is imperative that she get to the bottom of the pain and suffering still affecting everyone around her in both her castle and in her city, no matter the cost.

This fantasy is for mature readers as it includes details of torture and abuse. Recommended for grades 10 and up.

Archita Birla

wow, i loved this so much! this is the book I had the least memory of plot details so it was really enthralling to read (so much so that I stayed up late reading, which I am now slightly regretting but not really)

i have really enjoyed the graceling realm in that the center of the story is not romantic love (some may argue that in graceling it is, but I disagree), but the story of plantonic, friendship, found family love triumphs so hard in this book it makes me so emotional. 

I'm incredibly excited to read the next (!!) book that was released recently and to get to enjoy more out of this universe. 

i am sure that you could say that this story is too lengthy, which I don't think is necessarily wrong, but I personally enjoyed the characters and extra bits, and as always loved the amount of complexity each character receives.

massive massive tw for (view spoiler)[rape, sexual abuse, verbal and physical abuse, discussion of abuse towards others including children, and other very horrible topics  (hide spoiler)]

surtified™

Alexandra Sestito

4 1/2 stars maybe five

Bitterblue is the third book published by Kirstin Cashore and serves as the sequel to her first novel Graceling and a companion to her second novel Fire (confusing in text, but once you read it you understand). I've been following this 'series' if you can call it that since it came out, and absolutely ADORED it. Fire, in fact is one of my favorite novels of all time (despite what others may say) and when I found out that Bitterblue was hitting the shelves i was ecstatic!

But, that means it had a lot to live up to. To summarize without spoilers Bitterblue is about Queen Bitterblue who we originally meet in Graceling as a little girl. The novel is about her reign as an emerging Queen and patching up the deranged mess her Graceling tyrant of a father left behind (Leck, who is the antagonist in both Graceling, and Fire, and whose conflicts survive even after his death into Bitterblue which is set after both Graceling in Fire{chronologically they fall: FIRE, GRACELING, BITTER BLUE. Despite their publication date of GRACELING, FIRE, BITTERBLUE})

As you can see Cashore constructs a rather confusing time line. Regardless, I found Bitterblue absolutely astounding! (but for entirely different reasons than Graceling or Fire). Both Graceling and Fire are books with a lot of political crime, adventure, and romance (Graceling most heavily romantic, followed by Fire, and Bitterblue coming last). As many of you know Cashore takes very new aged stances on romantic relationships with her almost clear opposition to marriage and a rather loose view of sexuality, while Bitterblue contained some of this it was much lighter than in Fire and Graceling.

Most of Bitterblue's plot centered around the disturbing puzzles and qualms that Bitterblue uncovers about Leck. This book showcases the fact that the entire series really centers around Leck (and understanding his past and present). A lot of the material was rather dark, and thankfully (or perhaps unforgivingly) uncluttered with the distraction of a graced/non-human narrator or the heavy romance that was present in both of its predecessors.

And the fact that Bitterblue was 100% human made this novel that much more chilling. Bitterblue is surrounded by things and people she can't even begin to understand least of all her deceased, graced, and made father Leck. Everywhere she looks she is surrounded by his influence and by the influence of those who were merely pawns on his board of players. Things in her castle are confusing enough without having to deal with her top adviser's nervous break downs at the mere mention of Leck. This leaves Bitterblue at a loss for information on what happened to her kingdom and thus how to fix it, so she decides to take control and leaves her castle one night to head out into the city, and discover it's secrets.

Instead she makes a run in with a graced thief and a far to trusting printer who show, unknown to them the Queen her own city that is in shambles and still under Leck's deadly influence. Bitterblue discovers many secrets with the help of the thieving and irresistible Saf (AKA Sapphire) and the generous printer Teddy.

Bitterblue and Sapphire's romance is very slow burning, and at a lot of points in the novel I almost forgot about them, not because it wasn't a good romance I was just so enveloped in the madness that surrounds Bitterblue in her castle: suicides, drunks, murderers all of them trying to forget Leck and convince Bitterblue of their rightness is covering up the past. There were so many plot twists in this novel that I struggled to come up for air even after setting the book down.A depressing sadness and eerie curiosity will keep you turning the pages. After reading the first two books really getting a look at Leck's madness (and at his true dealings with his subjects) was both bone-chilling and fascinating.

And that's why I truly can't compare this book with Fire or Graceling. They are simply TOO different. Graceling was about love , Fire was about strength, and Bitterblue is about Healing and how love and strength play into it. That honestly makes it the perfect sequel/companion to Graceling and Fire. There was so much more to Bitterblue than in Fire and Graceling. It was this giant mass of secrets and politics, and fear that wasn't in Graceling and Fear. Maybe, as I said before, because Bitterblue is not graced and is human. She has nothing but her title and that leaves her so much more vulnerable than Katsa (who is the MC of Graceling and is graced with survival) and Fire (who is a 'Monster' and has countless abilities and is obviously the MC of Fire). Had Bitterblue been anything but human I feel like the novel would of lost a lot of it's impact.

Anyway, over all Bitterblue was a very weighty novel and is a nice wrap up to Graceling's tale and a good compliment to Fire; that left us with more questions than answers about Leck.

(view spoiler)[Bitterblue has a lot of answers, but none of them really tell us the one thing that we've all asked through out the series: why is Leck so deeply demented? And the true beauty of Bitterblue is that we know what he's done. We know nearly all of it, but we must figure out for ourselves why he's done it. Or if there is any reason at all. Just as Bitterblue must. So, we the human readers really become Bitterblue, observing these strange creatures from a distance and never really understanding the madness that compelled Leck. (hide spoiler)]

The fact that I feel the need to read this book again to fully understand it compels me to give it 4 1/2 stars if only to be able to come back and give it 5 when I read it again and absorb it fully!

Kayla

Queen Bitterblue is one of my favorite fictional characters because she is just like me: she's intelligent, but she's young and makes mistakes. She is so real to me, even if the Graceling world is just imagination.

Bitterblue

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