Bitterblue by Kristen Cashore (Graceling Realm #3)

Eight years after the events of Graceling, Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea. Dealing with a kingdom waking up from Leck's evil leaves Bitterblue confused, bored and lonely with little clue about how her kingdom really is, she decided to venture of the castle to find out. This one decision leads her down a path filled with first love, assassins, and the truth behind who Bitterblue really is and what she had to do for her kingdom.

I enjoyed this sequel to Graceling. I had wondered about Bitterblue and how she was going to handle becoming the queen of Monsea. And this book explores that and more. Katsa and Po have roles in this though Katsa only makes a few appearance while Po is in the book the majority of the time with a much smaller role that in Graceling.


Bitterblue was basically the story of a kingdom unable to come to terms with the terror and atrocities that took place during Leck's rule. Some wanted to talk about it. Others were unable to deal with it and wanted to hush up the "truthseekers" fearing blame and recriminations from them. Bitterblue is confused and sort of straddles the line between the two. She wants to remember but remembering hurts and no one really knows why Leck did what he did. There is, of course, more to the book than that. Bitterblue finds and loses love, her advisers are deeply traumatized and she doesn't know what to do with them, there are conspiracies in every kingdom and the Council makes many an appearance. And there is an awesome librarian named Death.

(SPOILERS) I had assumed (rightly so it turned out) that the events in Fire would be tied into Bitterblue somehow and they were to a degree. I wish there'd been more with Fire instead of a few chapters if that. I don't know what I wanted but I wish she'd been a little more involved.


 

Graceling (audio)

I've reviewed Graceling before, but I felt like listening to it after reading Fire recently.  So I'm just going to say a few words about the audio book.

First of all, it is done by Full Cast Audio so there are actors for each person and the main narrator is David Baker and he does an excellent job.  Everyone does an excellent job and I really felt the emotion in each scene, more so than even just reading it.  So that was great.  I really like audio books with full casts.  It adds more interest to the story.

Second, they add music to the story which always adds drama to a story.  I love sound effects in audio books and while there weren't any per se in Graceling there was some appropriate music interspersed through the story.

So thumbs up for the Graceling audio book and for Full Cast Audio for doing an excellent job.  Now I need to see if they've done an audio of Fire!

Hogwarts: Defence Against the Dark Arts
Audio

Fire (Graceling Realm #2)

Goodreads:
Fire, Graceling's prequel-ish companion book, takes place across the mountains to the east of the seven kingdoms, in a rocky, war-torn land called the Dells.


Beautiful creatures called monsters live in the Dells. Monsters have the shape of normal animals: mountain lions, dragonflies, horses, fish. But the hair or scales or feathers of monsters are gorgeously colored-- fuchsia, turquoise, sparkly bronze, iridescent green-- and their minds have the power to control the minds of humans.


Seventeen-year-old Fire is the last remaining human-shaped monster in the Dells. Gorgeously monstrous in body and mind but with a human appreciation of right and wrong, she is hated and mistrusted by just about everyone, and this book is her story.

Human monsters, on the other hand, tended not to live long.  Too many predators, too many enemies.  It was for the best that Fire was the only one remaining...    p.56

I've been anxious to read this one.  I liked Graceling so much and finally it came to the top of my list.  I enjoyed this one too.  Fire was a different sort of character than Katsa.  She is weaker almost in a way, unwilling to use her powers to harm someone, afraid of what people will do to her.  But she is strong too because she can withstand torment that others can not.  Fire's power is the ability to read and control minds as well as attract them with her great beauty.  As a monster, she is alluring and wonderful making people dropped their guard around her.  With the animal monsters, this is a great thing since they don't have to work too hard for their food, but it is a disadvantage and an embarrassment to Fire.  Summoned first to the Queen's home and then to the King's City to interrogate someone who has tried to kill her, Fire is drawn into the politics of her country and she begins to understand that she can put her powers to good use and that it doesn't have to be this monstrance thing.

The plot moved right along and I only felt bogged down on a couple of the million times that Fire is shown to be monstrously beautiful, blah blah.  I liked the subplot with her father and how that turned out.  And I liked the romance part.  It was sweet and natural though not unexpected.

Graceling (Graceling Realm #1)

Born into a world where some people are born with special "Graces," Katsa discovers at an early age that she has a Killing Grace. Made into her uncle the King's special enforcer, she decides to do some secret good to counteract the orders she carries out for the king. In the midst of rescuing a noble, she encounters Po, a prince for another kingdom and also Graced although harboring a secret. This sets off a chain of events that lead to an epic adventure and to Katsa discovering the truth of her own Grace.

I'd seen Graceling reviewed in a couple of different places and I knew I had to read it. This book certainly did not disappoint. I love when the female character is the strongest and can kick some serious butt. Katsa, despite doing some questionable things, is a sympathetic character and I enjoyed her. She is strong and willful, but doesn't recognize her true power in the beginning since she has been treated as an attack dog by her uncle and the people around her fear her. Po brings out the best in her and the way he treats her like a person makes her understand that she is more than how she was raised. Po was also an awesome character. He is strong and determined and tries to do right by Katsa. I loved him. I loved them both.
Now I can't wait for Fire, the companion novel.