Bitterblue (Graceling Realm, #3)

by Kristin Cashore

[nitzan_schwarz]

You can find this review and more on Afterwords!

Bitterblue is the long awaited sequel to Graceling and Fire... though I didn't really wait for it, having discoveredGraceling about a month prior to Bitterblue's release. Hearing it starts off eight years after the events ofGraceling and will feature Katsa & Po was all I really needed to know before I decided to forgo Fire and jump right into this one instead.

Bitterblue is a hard book to read and rate. It has political intrigue, action, romance, drama and delves into the mind of a madman. All those are adorned by beautiful words and stunning imagery. But unlike its processors, where I found all the elements on par with one another, here some of them fell flat. 

The best part of this book is probably the overall plot of exploring Leck's madness. Through various characters we truly get to see it in a way we didn't before; it's overwhelming and all consuming. It's brutal and dark. It's heartbreaking and for some bizarre reason utterly fascinating.

Is the madman really ever gone, when his effects carry on long after his death? Or is he even truly dead, when his name lives forever in the hearts and minds and those whom he destroyed and their loved ones?

We've always known Leck was evil and cruel, but now we grasp the full scale of it. The journey to figure this out is something we do alongside Bitterblue, who's searching for answers. None of them are things she wanted to hear, though all necessary to make her more than a queen by name only.

An instrumental part in opening Bitterblue's eyes to the lies and half-truth she's been fed is Saf, A graceling thief who knows far more about her country than she does. I would tell you more about him, but I honestly don't think I ever got to know him more than that.

He is also the romantic interest. Which is, incedentally, the most lacking element of this novel. In the first two books we had convincing and delicious slow-burn romances, but here it kind of springs at you out of nowhere and you have no actual idea why they're in love. 

The entire book I found myself wishing Bitterblue would get together with Gideon instead, who was such an amazing surprise! He captured my heart with his sweetness and the way he supported Bitterblue, making him a much better fit to her than Saf ever was. First time I ever wished for a love-triangle to present itself, I'll tell you that...

But, the worst part about this book was the ending--because there wasn't one. I'm alright with open-ended endings; I loved the way Graceling concluded. But Bitterblue's is more than just open-ended. It lacked conclusion and felt like a book that ended mid sentence, closing at the beginning of something huge. Something we spent the novel setting up.

It felt like a tv show that's been cancelled on short notice, leaving the heroes dangling at the beginning of something amazing but never actually getting there. It was simply unsatisfying in every way, leaving me with a mountain of unanswered questions and a the feeling there should at least be one extra book. I wish Cashore would write it.

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Old version:
To read the edited version of this review and more fun things go to my blog; Drugs Called Books!

3.5 Stars
Sadly, I could not give this book the five stars I gave Graceling.

Don't get me wrong, I loved this book very, very much, but whereas Graceling's ending left me satisfied (albeit still full of hope to read more about Po and Katsa's relationship), Bitterblue's ending left me with a sense of disappointment and that I had too many questions left unanswered:
What happened with Bitterblue and Saf's relationship?
Did Skye forgive Po? Did Po tell his entire family about his true Grace and how did it go?
What is going to come up with Katsa and Po? Are they never going to have children? (It'd be such a shame for a cute couple as themselves to never have children... I admit I wished this book will include a part where, due to some carelessness, Katsa doesn't take that pregnancy control plant and gets pregnant, since it's hard to imagine her getting pregnant any other way...)
What will be with Raffin and Bann? They were really cute...
How will Monsea cope? Especially with the discovery of Dell?
And so many others! This book basically ended at the start of something, which was frustrating. Also, so many sad, heartbreaking things happened in here, and we didn't have nearly as much cuteness and sheer adorableness (is that even a word?) to distract ourselves from all of it as we had with Katsa and Po. I sense that Saf and Bitterblue's love was also less grounded and founded throughout the story, as opposed to Katsa and Po's, and that I had a weird tendency to hope that in the future Bitterblue Marries Giddon, of all things, rather than Saf. Giddon has been such a sweetheart in this story, so nice and heart capturing... I wish him all the best in the world, honestly (If Bitterblue doesn't want him, I'm more than willing to adopt him). I want him to be happy, and I think he and Bitterblue might make a much better pair than Saf and her. I think she likes him a lot, and that the author might've thrown us a bone or two about the possibilities of that pair...
The madness in this book was... overwhelming. You knew, as a reader, that something was wrong all along, and yet it still broke your heart to find it out so plainly. And Leck's records... my god, they were horrible. It was so scary that if you cut some of the sentences and put them by themselves, they seemed to ordinary and human, and then in context... it was darn right chilling
Anyway, I love this author. Have no doubt I'm keeping an eye on her and her books, and I hope dearly for another Graceling Realm book that will answer a few of the maddening questions I have. A great, fantastic read, truly enthralling.