Wednesday, May 02, 2012

2012 book 127

Kristin Cashore's Bitterblue
YAY the third book in the Graceling series is finally here, and it does not disappoint! It is, of course, the story of Bitterblue, about nine years after the events of the first book, as she struggles to make her kingdom work, and with being a queen in general, and with her horrible childhood memories. Of course things get shaken up a bit when she starts sneaking out at night, meets a couple of thieves, and starts to learn what's really going on in her kingdom. This was stellar stuff--I really liked Bitterblue as a character (though for someone so smart, it took her a little too long to figure out a couple of important plot points, which was a little frustrating--but this was tempered by her decoding skills, something I always enjoy in fiction for some reason), and it was nice to see Katsa and Po and other beloved Cashore characters again, and to read a YA book where romance isn't at all the main thing. AND there is a pretty great librarian character. I don't know if Cashore is planning on writing any more books set in this world, but I'd definitely read them if she did. A/A-.

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