Check the Shelf Review: Bitterblue

Summary (From Goodreads)

Eight years have passed since the young Princess Bitterblue, and her country, were saved from the vicious King Leck. Now Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea, and her land is at peace.

But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisers, who have run the country on her behalf since Leck’s death, believe in a forward-thinking plan: to pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck’s reign; and to forget every dark event that ever happened. Monsea’s past has become shrouded in mystery, and it’s only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle – curious, disguised and alone – to walk the streets of her own city, that she begins to realise the truth. Her kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year-long spell of a madman, and now their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.

Whatever that past holds.

Two thieves, who have sworn only to 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, who possesses an unidentified Grace, may also hold a key to her heart . . .

Shannan’s Summary

Bitterblue is now Queen.  Being directed by advisers her Uncle put in place, she’s trying to figure out how to put her country back together in the wake of her father’s destruction.  The problem is no one wants to talk about the past, but the future might depend on the truth of what happened.  So Bitterblue starts seeking what that truth may be, no matter how dangerous the obstacles.

First Off…

I loved the first two books in this world, and bought this book as soon as it came out, but for some reason never got around to reading it.  So the TBR Challenge kicked me into gear and I finally hunkered down and read it.

Thoughts:

The worst part of this book was how long I waited to read it.  It took me a while to remember the important information from the previous two books.  This isn’t really a sequel as much as a bridge.  It connects the previous two books so you fully understand how everything fits together. So you get to see characters from the previous books and understand them better.  You also get to meet a lot of new characters.  Other people that were affected by Leck and see the reality of his affect on the the kingdom, Bitterblue, and her mother.

I love how you get to see Bitterblue develop through this book.  A girl who is thrown into a very precarious situation and has to figure out how to make sense of it all. Since Bitterblue doesn’t have a grace, this book doesn’t focus much on them.  Really it’s how a person who feels powerless deals with what feels like power all around.  Bitterblue’s strength comes from her desire to find the truth of her father. Where everyone else is happy to keep the past in the past, Bitterblue thinks their future depends on at least understanding what happened and won’t stop till she has an explanation.

In some ways I think it added to the story that I couldn’t remember clearly what had happened in the previous books, it put me right next to Bitterblue in her quest.  I could empathize well with her in wanting to understand what had happened.  That question definitely propels you to want to get to the end of the book.  If your a slower reader (like me) it might make you a bit frustrated at times.

Cashore does a great job weaving all levels of story lines together and bringing them to an acceptable resolution.  With that said, she doesn’t go with the what feels obvious or clean.  Cashore isn’t afraid to leave things a little messy in the resolution, which only adds to the believability.  While sometimes I want to escape reality, sometimes a little reality makes it possible to believe the world could possibly be real.

In the End

This is a rich world that Cashore built and different than other YA books out there right now.  I wouldn’t be sad if she added to these three books at all.  Add these books to your list if you haven’t read them yet.

10 Second Summary:

1. It’s about finding out what your strengths are: The strength of this book is discovering how a person finds their way in a world that seems stronger than them
2. Great Characters that are well developed:  The characters are well thought out and unique
3. Everything comes together at the end:  I loved how all the books are tied together by the end.

Hardback.  I need to upgrade the first two books so I have a pretty little collection.