The Bursting Bookshelf

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.

Review:
After reading, and loving, Graceling and Fire, I had been dying to read Bitterblue. I was insanely curious about how she would turn out after growing up since Graceling. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of it and it was so worth the wait.

Can I start by saying how much I love this cover? The blue-ish and purple colors really appeal to the eye and go with the title. It has a certain old feel to it with the old style keys (where can I get one?) and the darker flower outlines. Back to the keys, they are all beautifully intricate and of bronze, silver and gold. The font of the title also helps to embody the feel of the book, giving it an old world feel, with a nice gold foil. Finally, the girl (I'm assuming Bitterblue) peering through the key ring has a look of curiosity that Bitterblue often had within the book.

Character-wise, the book both excelled and didn't at the same time. I greatly enjoyed reading of Bitterblue, she had matured a great deal since Graceling and was a very interesting character. She wasn't afraid to get into the grit of her kingdom, often going in by herself, to see what needed improvement and what she could do about it. Saf was enjoyable as well, he shared an intriguing relationship with Bitterblue that hooked me into the book further. Most of the secondary characters were great, especially Teddy, making the story flow better than it would have without them. The characters that let me down, were those from previous books. Katsa and Po seemed to lack the fire and sparks that drew me to them initially as well as the depth they had showed previously. Fire was OK, but she just didn't seem as interesting as I recall her being.

My main issue with this book was the fact that it sometimes slowed to a crawl, diminishing my interest slightly. There were times of great excitement which then lead to times of slowness, like when the court politics were being spoken of. The part of the book that I most enjoyed was having many of the characters from previous books all meet, some for the first time, for others it was simply a reunion. Though I didn't necessarily enjoy the characters as much, it was still amusing to have them meet for the first time. As always, Kristin rocked the writing, using her usual style to draw the reader in. By the end of the book, I was quite satisfied by where the story had gotten to and how it ended, altogether I think it will make fans of the series quite content with the closure it provides.

Who would I recommend this to? Anyone in need of a good fantasy or who want to try something different and utterly unique. I give this book a 4/5 for being a well written finale to the amazing series that will leave fans satisfied and happy.

Review:
This was a book that I had been planning to pick up for quite some time. I was waiting for it to go into paperback before I picked it up. After I read it, I was left with a few great thoughts and some not so great thoughts. The first being how long it took the book to get any where. The plot was good in this book, but it moved at a sluggish pace. A positive thought I had was how strong the main character, Fire, was so strong in personality. I also loved how well developed the characters were and what a great hint of romance there was. I also really enjoyed the different perspective you received in this book, but it was still set in the same world as Graceling. It was very cool to see how perspectives about the Gracelings had changed through the ages and how they differed in different lands. When all was said and done, Fire got a 4/5 for being an excellent companion novel to Graceling.

Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Release: October 1, 2008
Rating: 5/5
Pages: 471
Series: The Seven Kingdoms #1
Synopsis:
Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight — she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme, and in her case horrifying, skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace — or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away... a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Review:
I got this book a while back and didn't think much of it. I hadn't really heard of it too much and I hadn't read the summary. But the more I started to look into it, the more excited I became. when I actually read it, I finished it in three days and loved every second of it.

The cover of Graceling really represents the time era that is used well. With the sword and the partial reflection of Katsa's face, it really shows how fighting is a big thing in Katsa's life. When we first meet Katsa, her world totally revolves around fighting and doing the king's orders. And I think the picture of Katsa looking into the sword might have something to do with her thinking about what the king makes her do and whether she will follow him anymore. I also just love the font for the title. It looks so script-ish. And the flowers in the background and stains really give this book an old look to it.

The characters in Graceling really brought the story together for me. They were perfect for the world they lived in. Never once would you catch Po being like a guy today, or would you find any of them slipping up and using slang or speaking in modern tongue. They also were so in depth! When you read about any character, you felt like you had this real relationship with them; not just that you were reading about them from a book.

This book truly had me hooked from the very first page. I started reading and was intrigued by the writing style of the author. It drew me in where other books usually are all description. But Kristin had this way of filling in the blanks on the go, so you never had to wait for the story to pick up the pace or get going at all. And the storyline was just so perfect! The way something was always happening whether it be minuscule or book changing, something was always happening. I also loved the way the writing was so well put together and how it took these sharp turns, plot wise, and it never failed to amuse with it's brief flashes of humour.

If someone were to ask me for a book recommendation, this would definitely be one of my highest recommendation for any age range. And once you read it, I'm sure you'll understand why it got a 5/5 in my opinion.

On My Wishlist is a weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. This week I have chosen the book Fire by Kristin Cashore.