Bitterblue (Graceling Realm Book 3)

I read Graceling, the first book in the Seven Kingdoms trilogy a couple of years ago, in between some quite weighty novels. I almost stopped as I failed to come to grips with Kristin Cashore's clear way of expressing complex notions using simple language. That would have been my mistake and to my disadvantage. Graceling ended up being a book I readily recommended and bought for friends. Bitterblue, the third in the trilogy moves the story forward to the end of the tyrannical reign of Leck, her sinisterly odd father and the usurper of a Kingdom, leaving his daughter Queen Bitterblue, trying to make sense of what Leck did and why he did it and struggling to unwind a tangle of lies and half-truths he bequeathed to her and her kingdom. It is poignant, in places disturbing and almost unendingly sorrowful, and yet somehow magnificent. Rarely have my emotions been so keenly tugged by what on the surface seems not to be overall a complicated story. All events dealing with the main character take place in an enclosed area, the Royal Castle or the streets and bridges of the town sheltering in it's shadows. There are no sweeping battle scenes, no travelling with Bitterblue's comrades and friends as they go off to explore, rather we are left at home with her, hoping she can break a cypher and make sense of the baffling emotions which threaten to overwhelm her. But she is a Queen, and is written as such! I was moved to tears at times and wished I could look away, but I couldn't. In truth what saddened me most was reaching the end of this wonderful book.

This is a really interesting read and not what I expected in terms of narrative style at all, based on the author's previous novels which I had read and enjoyed a lot.It didn't follow the pattern of the other two book. Strong woman defies all odds to find herself and someone else, while experiencing adventure and intrigue. I don't mean that to sound simplistic, because these are very exciting and well imagined books with many interesting sub plots and involving descriptions, but I was surprised in the deviation of the structure of the story telling.It's just that for the first half of this book I kept expecting this instalment to fall into this formula, and it didn't so I got a little lost until I finally realised that this was not going to turn into that kind of story. This is more about the self exploration of Bitterblue herself and her journey to become the Queen in her own mind, while stepping out of her father's shadow.There are old favourites such as Katsa and Po and their friends but there are also many new and interesting characters such as Death the librarian. This is largely set in Bitterblue's castle and I really enjoyed the familiarity of the many often visited rooms and characters. Although it took me a while to appreciate it, I was sad when I did eventually finish it. I would love to see another novel featuring Bitterblue and her castles residents.This is a stand alone novel and does require reading of the first two in the series and is definitely a highly recommended read.I finished this book very satisfied and am looking forward to the next book from this author.

This is the third book in Kristin Cashore's brilliantly imaginative fantasy series set in the world which was introduced in "Graceling" and revisited in the prequel, "Fire."The series is sometimes known as the "Seven Kingdoms" series though there is a slight problem with this title: in the first book the characters thought they were living in a world with seven kingdoms, but readers of "Fire" will be aware that there are another two kingdoms on the other side of a mountain range.Like the first two books, "Bitterblue" has an extraordinary young woman as the central character, but where the heroines of "Graceling" and "Fire" were remarkable partly for their magical abilities and partly for their strength of character, the eponymous heroine "Bitterblue" is remarkable, not for any magical powers, but for even greater courage and strength of character than the other two.In the first book the heroine, Katja, ran into King Leck of Monsea, a cruel tyrant with the "Grace" or special power to make anyone believe whatever he said. With some difficulty Katja rescued from Leck his young daughter Bitterblue and eventually overthrew him.The prologue to "Bitterblue" is set shortly before this rescue and gives an idea of what a nightmare Bitterblue's childhood had been, as the daughter of a capriciously sadistic monarch who could make anyone believe whatever he wanted. The main body of the story begins nearly nine years later: having become Queen in name after her father was killed, Bitterblue has recently reached adulthood and assumed actual power. She is now learning how to rule a country which is still badly damaged by her father's cruelty and lies.It soon becomes apparent to Queen Bitterblue that although it is eight years since her father died the people of Monsea have been unable even to start to repair much of the harm which King Leck did during his thirty-five year reign, because his power still keeps them in denial about many aspects of that harm.Queen Bitterblue's advisors, who were themselves among those who suffered worst from Leck's cruelties, believe that to move forward Monsea must recognise that many citizens were forced or tricked by Leck into perpetrating terrible crimes against one another, and that justice would best be served by an amnesty for all crimes committed on his orders. Bitterblue sees the sense in this, but the more she learns about the country she is trying to rule, the more she realises that her government and people must confront the atrocities of the past in order to start repairing them.Wandering her capital in disguise as part of her attempt to find out what her father really did, Bitterblue finds more questions than answers. Including a thief who only steals things which have already been stolen and a cypher which may help her understand her mad father's actions if she can break the code. Bitterblue will find allies in the most unlikely places but those who appear to be friends may be those who put her in the greatest danger ...There are some wonderful characters in the book, some of whom are heroes or heroines of the previous two books but most of whom are new: from Death, which is the name of a cranky and bad-tempered librarian to Saf, the thief with the unknown magic talent.A delightful book, particularly suitable for young adults but quite capable of being enjoyed by older ones too. Not as appropriate for younger children to read because some of the atrocities from which Bitterblue is trying to help her country move on were horrible enough to make the tone of the book quite dark in places. But still a joy to read.