Review: Bitterblue

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I loved it. I hope there's more to come, and from the ending, I feel that there will be. Not that there was a cliffhanger ending. I just got the feeling that there's more story to be told.

There are definite differences between this and the previous two books in the series. There is not much romance, for one thing. It just didn't fit within the scope of this part of Bitterblue's story, and it felt complete without it. This is one reason I believe there will be a sequel - I don't get the sense that Cashore is done telling Bitterblue's story.

There is also less magic. Bitterblue doesn't have a Grace, and she's not a monster. She's a queen with a kingdom to rule. So although there is still magic around her, the story focuses more on her political struggles. I also felt this was appropriate, although I did miss the heavier focus on magic, and this was not my favorite of the three for that reason.

Bitterblue is also not adventurous in the same way as Graceling or Fire in the sense that it all takes place in one city. That's to be expected since a queen is not free to go gallivanting from kingdom to kingdom. But the mystery, the danger, and the political intrigue as Bitterblue tries to find her way to being a true queen is adventuresome in its own way. I thoroughly enjoyed it.



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