best one yet

Somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars. There were elements of this I really liked. I enjoy Bitterblue and Giddon and Saf. I appreciated the opportunity to explore the impact of Leck on Monsea and it was fun making connections before the characters did. But the pacing was off. There was so much going on and yet so little happening much of the time. For as many pages as it was, it fell short in terms of plot and character development. Also, Katsa and Po were extra and annoying any time they were both present. Bleh.

Like the two before it, this book is stunning! I highly recommend it, I love this series so much.

Fantastic

I think this is a more mature followup to Graceling and Fire, but it's entirely too caught up in the head of one adolescent girl while all the good stuff is going on elsewhere. Interesting musings on grief and abuse.

I loved Graceling, and liked Fire. Bitterblue falls somewhere in between. By the end I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was very slow starting. I wondered how the city had managed for the eight years between Graceling and Bitterblue. I felt that Bitterblue had lost a lot of her calm pride and leadership potential from Graceling. I really disliked how Katsa has not appeared to have matured at all in eight years.

However, I very much enjoyed everything having to do with Po, Giddon, Raffin, and Bann. Bitterblue's love interest was not all that interesting, but some of the other new Gracelings were, as was Saf's friend Teddy.

The best new thing in Bitterblue is of course Death the librarian and his cat Lovejoy. (Although, since Death's name is pronounded "Deeth," I wish the author had just named him Deeth.) I wish Death could narrate whatever book comes next (I hope there is one) - I loved his "Specious, Arbitrary, and Altogether of Doubtful Purpose" list of characters at the end of Bitterblue. (Ror: King of Lienid. Father of Prince Po and Prince Skye, uncle of Queen Bitterblue. Presumably not the ass the other kings are.)

the villians continuous effect on all characters throughout the book is insane

I seriously LOVED THIS BOOK! I had the first two first and didnt stop reading them for a second. When I heard about Bitterblue, i got lightheaded and almost fainted i swear.
when i started reading i was so captivated. the plot kept getting thicker and thicker to a point where i would actually have to close the book and step away to avoid a spaz attack. no joke! I loved it!!!

I've never given five stars to a book that tore me apart so much but it still deserves it. It's so well written that even during the sad parts I wasn't ever bored. If haven't yet read the series in this order: Graceling, Fire, Bitterblue. They are amazing books! *spoilers* I feel like I've been through an emotional roller coaster that just kind of kicked me off at the end. I don't feel like I had enough of a resolution in this book. I have so many unanswered questions. Especially the unanswered questions about Saf and Bitterblue. I refuse to believe that they are just gonna be friends. No. They can't. I need to know what happens when he comes back. They need to be together. I understand that she needs an Heir but she doesn't have to marry does she? I feel like their relationship was too open ended. And maybe if she doesn't marry Saf, and she has to marry, she would probably marry Giddon. And that's nice and all but Giddon isn't Saf. This book has ruined me. I want answers that I know I can't get so I'm just gonna have to imagine my own happily ever after for the future. Also, wish I knew how Raffin and Bann's relationship plays out.... Anyway I loved seeing Katsa, Po, AND Fire in this book! That made me extremely happy.

I just finished this, and I must say that Kristin Cashore has a great way of writing trauma. It is visceral and believable. As someone who had a traumatic childhood because of the actions of their father, I can sympathize with Bitterblue a lot. My earliest memory is of my parents fighting, and that’s pretty much all I remember before some bits and pieces around 1st/2nd grade. But like Bitterblue, that is part of my story, just as much as who I am today is.

I’m getting a bit teary-eyed as I write this, but I think that just goes to prove how effective Cashore’s writing is. All three of the original Graceling Realm books deal with heavy topics, and they’re all very well done. I will say, there are times in this book where it felt like Cashore was juggling too many plotlines at once, and I do think the stories structure could be a little better in terms of not all the plot lines wrapping up in the last 100-150 pages. But I couldn’t imagine the book being as effective without every single one of the plotlines, so make of that what you will.

Over all, I think this original trilogy (I don’t know if Winter Keep is to be a stand alone or if there will be more coming to the Graceling Realm after it) is honestly a masterpiece of writing and Cashore has been very under appreciated for her novels. Katsa, Fire, and Bitterblue all are compelling, complex characters that I think have helped me learn more about myself by reading of them.