Review: Bitterblue

Title: Bitterblue

Author: Kristin Cashore

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: DIAL

Published Date: May 1, 2012

Available at: Amazon – Barnes and Noble

Summary:

Bitterblue is now 18 and has advisers recommended to her by her uncle, King Ror. They are forward- thinking men and wish to obliterate all memory of her father, King Leck’s hateful reign.

The young queen starts to sneak out of the castle at night and comes upon two thieves that only steal what has been stolen. They teach her that the kingdom can only heal from the past if it revisits the past.

Review:

This was a charming book. I loved it from beginning to end. Bitterblue was enchanting as she learned what it was exactly to become queen of her people. She was at once, self-assured yet entirely self-conscious. A juxtaposition I found intriguing.

Teddy and Sapphire, the two thieves, were infectious. They were so likable I wished they had their own books with their own starring roles. They complimented each other so well. Teddy with his easy ways. Saf with his moody yet fervently loyal mien.

It was wonderful to see the return of many characters of old. Such as Katsa, Po, Bann, and Raffin. They stayed true to form and it was a joy to have a dose of them once again.

The plot was well crafted and kept me entertained. There was a part where Bitterblue discovers a cipher her mother embroidered in the linens. I think that was one of my absolute favorite parts even though it was not vital to the plot. Cashore kept it realistic enough for me to believe it all the way through by making sure that Ashen abbreviated words. Otherwise it just wouldn’t have been realistic for a woman to have embroidered whole sentences into linens in cipher as a diary of sorts.

There were bittersweet moments and tense moments of action. There were brilliant moments of joy and even moments of laughter. You couldn’t have asked for anything more from a book.

Except the book was open-ended and there were some questions left unanswered. You can only hope there are more books to come at some future date.

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