Title/Author: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
Read by: Anna, Teen Central Librarian
Summary: Bitterblue first appeared in Kristin Cashore’s Graceling as a young princess running from her father, the king. She was ten years old then. Now she’s 18 and struggling as Queen to understand exactly what happened during her father’s reign and how it’s still affecting her people. During her search for the truth, she befriends a thief and realizes that King Leck used his grace to do the most unspeakable things to his subjects.
Series/Standalone: Book 3 in the Graceling trilogy
Genre/sub-genre: Fantasy
Diversity: yes (In reading Bitterblue, I’ve come to realize there is more diversity in the previous books than I originally thought, but they aren’t for the reader to know about, until book 3.)
Relatable characters: yes
Would I re-read?: Maybe-yes
Personal thoughts: This was a very difficult book to read, as much as it was very good. Bitterblue faces many obstacles in her search for the truth, and many of those obstacles bring her down, making her doubt herself. This was hard to read, but also finding out exactly why King Leck hired his healers as his main advisers was also difficult. I won’t sugar coat it, this book is dark, and a lot longer than the other two. However, that said, it does a nice job of ending the trilogy and wrapping up all the important bits, while leaving enough open to be realistic. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy with a lot of realism thrown in.
