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.