Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Eight years after watching her father, King Leck, be killed and inheriting the troubled kingdom of Monsea, Bitterblue still feels a long way from being settled as Queen. Secrets surround her. Secrets from her father's reign of terror, secrets about her own memories of her childhood, and the secrets seemingly everyone seems to hide in Monsea. Well Bitterblue is tired of secrets and the endless drudgery of pushing papers and signing documents -- she wants a chance to truly understand her people and their struggles. And so one night she decides to secretly leave the castle to do just that. Disguised and alone, she begins her exploration of Bitterblue City. What Bitterblue discovers on her nighttime wanderings is confusing, exhilarating and depressing all at once. In the secluded story rooms her people gather to recount tales of Leck's reign (often different from Bitterblue's own memories) and the adventures of renowned Gracelings such as Katsa and Po. There she also meets Saf and Teddy, two thieves who only steal what has already been stolen and who slowly teach Bitterblue about the real underlying problems of Monsea. Underscoring all this new information is the fact that as much as everyone seems to want to forget Leck and his horrible legacy, Bitterblue begins to understand that her people must uncover their hidden past before they can ever move forward.

Well, well, well. Talk about your emotional read. Like many of you I'm sure, Bitterblue is one of those books that I have been building up in my mind for a long time. Graceling effortlessly wowed me and Fire left me stunned beyond recognition so that I have been earnestly waiting this sequel of sorts ever since. What Kristin Cashore delivers is extremely different from her previous novels although strikingly similar at the same time. Bitterblue centers around many of the same characters we've come to love, like Katsa, Po, Giddon and even Fire makes an appearance but Bitterblue is decidedly a more quiet novel filled with political maneuverings and inner turmoil. For much of the book, Bitterblue is frustrated by her lack of understanding for what her people faced during her father's reign. Especially since she feels that to finally overcome their struggles, she has to know what demons they face daily. This is never more apparent within her own set of advisers, talented men who also served under Leck but who cannot seem to help Bitterblue move the kingdom in the direction she knows it must go. I'm sure partly this is intentional, but I became extremely frustrated with the runaround Bitterblue got from her advisers. Too much time was spent agonizing over and over the same details that I wish certain parts had been resolved a little more quickly.

Although I cannot say enough about the quality of Kristin Cashore's writing, in my opinion Bitterblue is not as strong a book as either Fire or Graceling. While excellent at developing feelings and the unraveling of secrets, I felt as if too much time in Bitterblue was devoted to political intrigues and the quest to understand history. I was not able to spend as much time with the people I really wanted to learn more about: Saf, Death (a fearful librarian who utterly stole my heart), Teddy, Giddon and many others. Frankly, although I was pleased with how Bitterblue's story was concluded as far as Monsea is concerned, I was not at all pleased with how we left her personally. Especially since Ms. Cashore gave us over 500 pages to get to that point! In the interest of not getting spoilery, suffice to say I feel like I still need yet another Bitterblue book to assure myself that she is truly going to be alright. I understand that such an emotional book was not meant to wrap up everything in a pretty little bow but I would liked to have seen a bit more resolution regarding her personal relationships. But that is not to say that Bitterblue isn't a beautiful book full of drama and ciphers and danger. It is. It's just not what I was expecting -- for good or bad.

series reading order:
~ Graceling - my review
~ Fire - my review
~ Bitterblue

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
The Book Smugglers review
Chachic's Book Nook review
Good Books & Good Wine review
The Readventurer review

book source: ARC from the publisher

Bitterblue Winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered my Bitterblue giveaway hosted by Penguin! 

The winners of a copy of Bitterblue are:

Shelfworn

&

Charlotte

Please send me your address and I'll make sure a copy gets on it's way to you!

Bitterblue Giveaway!

Thanks to Penguin today I have TWO copies of the newly released Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore to give away. This book is one of my most anticipated reads for 2012 seeing as I totally devoured Graceling and Fire. I'm sure you all want to get your hands on a copy of this lovely book too, right? 

All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me which Grace you'd like to have if you lived in the Seven Kingdoms. Please be sure to leave a contact email as well.

All prizing provided by Penguin.

Giveaway open to US addresses only, open until May 28, 2012.

About Bitterblue:
Bitterblue is the long-awaited companion to New York Times bestsellers Graceling and Fire.

Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck's reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle--disguised and alone--to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn't yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

Find out more!

Graceling Realm trailer http://youtu.be/S4CxMgsppEw

Graceling Realm website: http://www.gracelingrealm.com

Kristin’s website: http://kristincashore.blogspot.com/
Graceling Realm Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/gracelingrealm
Excerpt: http://www.scribd.com/doc/88018992/BITTERBLUE-by-Kristin-Cashore-sequel-to-GRACELING

Friday Linkity-Links

Since I wasn't able to get any sort of review post up for this week, I thought I'd share some of the links I stumbled across this week.

~ First off, Pottermore. Anybody else started in on this yet? I just finished exploring Book One and must say I'm impressed. Especially with the 'extra content' from J.K. Rowling (did you know Professor McGonagall had been married?!?) Currently however I have no friends (and I'm feeling a bit like Neville Longbottom in Book One), so if feel free to 'friend' to me if you are puttering around there as well, I'm LumosRune5872. I'll send you one of my poorly made potions or something. Any guesses which house I landed in?*

~ May is almost here with the arrival of Bitterblue. It's one of my most anticipated 2012 reads and the most lovely Ms. Kristin Cashore has put out a free eSampler with teasers for all three books and some letters that take place before Bitterblue. It is possible to be even more excited than before?

~ Then there's this video that I've seen a couple of places and finally sat down to watch over at Chachic's place. Oh, I do love me a good P&P retelling. Especially when it's done in video diary form a la Easy A. Don't be like me and wait any longer to watch Episode 1. Look at me being all nice and posting it RIGHT HERE for your easy viewing pleasure...I'll wait till you're done.



And then go here for Episode 2: My Sisters: Problematic to Practically Perfect, Episode 3: My Parents: Opposingly Supportive, and Episode 4: Bing Lee and his 500 Teenage Prostitutes. Let the hilarity commence.
------*Yeah, it's gonna be Ravenclaw. Nerdy, bookish, and a wee bit eccentric. They got me pegged.

See Michelle Read in 2009

2009 was a pretty busy year for me and full of firsts. I quit my dream job as a librarian to be a full-time mom, I moved 3 times (to 3 different states), and started this here bloggy in order to keep my sanity while I stay at home with a toddler. Of course, I also read a monstrous pile of books (over 180) and thought I'd pick out some of my favs to share.

****drumroll****

Best YA...Period: Fire by Kristin Cashore

Some of the most beautiful and original writing I've come across in a while, surrounded by characters who will just about break your heart with their loyalty, love, and courage. Love, love.

Best YA Fantasy: The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

Just knock me over and tie me up, cause Nick takes the cake in this book. At one point I alternately either loved or despised each and every character and could not have been more caught off guard by the ending. Can. Not. Wait. For. The. Sequel.

Best Urban Fantasy: Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

What began as a promising kickbutt heroine UF set in a magic-ravaged Atlanta has turned into one of my favorite UF series to date. Kate and Curran keep circling each other and even though they aggravate each other to no end, I have a feeling things are just going to get more interesting in the much anticipated sequel, Magic Bleeds.

Best Sequel: Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater

James' tragic love story with a rockin' soul-sucking faery was nothing short of drool-inducing, heart rate-spiking, grade-A Book Crack.

Best Throwback to 2008: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Frickin' brilliant writing that I am still trying to wrap my brain around. I think Marchetta should also get an award for creating one deliciously flawed cast of characters - every one is a ringer.

Best Classic Novel: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

I picked this one up after loving Amy Adams in the movie remake and promptly got lost in the clever dialogue and gorgeous vintage illustrations. A laugh out loud feel-gooder that will remain a keeper.

Funniest Non-Fiction: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs

One New York man trying to live every single law in the Bible for an entire year? Hilarity will ensue.

Best Author Discovery: Ellen Emerson White

Hands down this goes to Ellen Emerson White along with a big thank-you to Angie at Angieville for bringing her to my attention. After devouring The Road Home, I quickly moved on to her Echo Company series and then straight into the President's Daughter books. Seriously, anything that woman writes is solid gold and if you haven't had a chance to dive into her books yet, please DO!

The Elusive Question: What to Read Next

Holly here!

Have you ever felt like you would have had a completely different reaction to a book if you’d read it after a different book? Just a few months ago I had a relatively unfamiliar and unpleasant experience with one said decision. This summer I read the The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale and I had a very strong and unfavorable reaction to it. Thinking any book I was giddily looking forward to would both restore my loss of book-faith and placate my usual need for a compelling read, I eagerly followed it up with Fire by Kristin Cashore, a read I’d highly been anticipating since reading Graceling last year. Though undeniably well-written and better than its predecessor, I found myself nick-picking and being easily offended by elements of the story and characters that normally wouldn’t faze me. (FYI loyal readers: Michelle saw it more clearly than I did and LOVED it.)













So I’m tempted to think that my dissatisfaction with Fire was just a coincidence, but the fact that I remained so unsettled after only a book’s length away from The Actor and the Housewife definitely smelled fishy to me. Realizing my mistake, I immediately sought to remedy the situation by sitting down and seriously pondering not which title from my TBR pile I was most anxious to get to next, but what kind of story I really needed in the fickle, jaded reading mood I was in. And the descriptions which emerged surprised me. Happy Ever After, sweet, predictable; even fluffy. Luckily I knew exactly which slightly (and cozily) formulaic author would fit the bill. After studying in Oxford, traveling to the Amazon, performing Swan Lake and falling in love with the dark and mysterious Rom, Eva Ibbotson’s A Company of Swans successfully brought me out of my funk.
Anyone else have a similar harrowing but happy-ending book choice they'd like to share? How do you go about deciding which book you should read next, particularly after an especially brilliant or glaringly awful read?

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Sequels or prequels have never been my favorite thing because they are always bound to disappoint in some way or other. They may not follow the same characters or just in general, may not live up to the awesomeness of it's predecessor. Which is always disappointing. When I got a hold of Graceling earlier this year, I was in complete love - Katsa and Po's story was amazing and as soon as I heard a prequel was in the works, I agonized over Kristin Cashore's ability to top or even equal it. After tearing through Fire, however, I can tell you she has reinvented the standard for sequels. Turned it on it's head. Made me so completely fall in love with Fire and the Dells that I have no hesitation whatsoever in saying: Bring on the sequels Kristin Cashore, because I will read simply anything you publish now. ANYTHING.

All Fire's life she has wanted nothing more than to not become the monster her father Cansrel was. But in the Dells, monsters are a part of everyday life: brightly colored monster raptors, monster cats, and even monster bugs attract humans with their unique scales or fur and by using their mind to force their will on others. Fire is the last living human monster, a young girl with hair like fire and a face that can make others fall at her feet in rapture or fear or simply make them want to kill her. She's lived in an isolated portion of the country next to her childhood friend Archer for her entire life, trying to use her mental capacities for good rather than evil. See, she's had to work hard to destroy more than a few misconceptions about monsters since her father (a deranged, pleasure-seeking monster) had wrecked havoc as the King's twister adviser - eventually leading the the King's death and the region's current state of unrest. Even though Fire couldn't be more different from her father, she's developed an overactive conscience and has worked extra hard to keep her abilities in check. But as war looms closer and closer for the Dells, Fire is sought out for her mental abilities by King Nash and his brother, Brigand. Agreeing to help these men may be the most taxing thing she's ever done seeing as nobody in the King's City want to trust her and everyone is harboring more than a little fear, desire, and hatred for her alone.

What killed me most of all reading this book had to be the depth and complexity of emotions. Nothing surface here. Fire's desires and hopes are all firmly rooted in her past and each is clearly thought through, leaving me with a sense of knowing Fire as if I'd grown up next door to her and Archer. On top of this brilliant display of complicated feelings has to be the exquisitely slow development of relationships and events. Ms. Cashore knows how to take her time. No forced encounters, no rushed big reveals, just a slow and steady buildup until such a solid foundation is in place that when you finally uncover the truth, so many little details click into perfect place. I seriously could not put Fire down and if I wasn't reading it, all I could think about was when I'd get to read it next. It was the perfect combination of action, love (all types), and the desire to make things right in times of war and heartache - establishing itself as one of the best books I've read this year.

series reading order:
~ Fire
~ Graceling - my review

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
Angieville review
The Book Smugglers review
Bookworming in the 21st Century review
Steph Su Reads review
TV and Book Addict review

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

In all the Seven Kingdoms no is feared or revered as much as Gracelings -- individuals who are born with an innate talent to do something extremely well, be it to sing perfectly, outrun a horse, or even to read minds. Gracelings are immediately discerned by their different colored eyes, often to their disadvantage since most people distrust and even dislike them. Katsa is born with one green and one blue eye but has no idea what her grace is until after her seventh birthday, when she accidentally killed a man. With the unlikely grace of killing Katsa is turned into her uncle's (King Randa) personal thug and enforcer - sending Katsa off on missions to 'punish' his vassals through pain, torture or even death. For herself, Katsa views her grace as a burden -- more often than not seeing herself as a monster. That is until she begins planning and executing her own secret missions with the help of her friends to combat the oppressive reigns of various rulers. One such mission to rescue the kidnapped grandfather of another ruler doesn’t go exactly as planned when Katsa encounters another Graceling almost as talented in fighting as she is. A Graceling who will challenge every belief Katsa holds about the world around her and herself.

Boy, oh boy, Katsa kicks butt. Really. She's not happy unless she's taking out an entire battalion of bad guys. She doesn't feel feminine (she even cuts off all her hair - I can totally sympathize!) but she still possesses this incredibly soft inner self which is slowly uncovered as she opens herself up to others. In her struggle to define, and perhaps more importantly, learn to control her Grace, Katsa strives to find the courage to take control of her own life. This fast-paced book practically flew by but still took the time to address even minor characters which left me feeling satisfied and thoroughly engaged throughout. Graceling is an adventure story, a fantasy, a mystery, a political suspense, a romance -- it has it all and doesn't stop for a second. I found myself thinking about Katsa long afterwards because by golly, how fun would it be to be able to KNOW you could take down anybody, I mean anybody, before they even noticed you had two different colored eyes?

reading order:
~ Graceling
~ Fire