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Christina (A Reader of Fictions)

http://readeroffictions.blogspot.com/

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Christina (A Reader of Fictions) is Currently Reading

Christina (A Reader of Fictions) is currently reading

Vision in Silver (The Others #3)

by Anne Bishop

bookshelves: on-my-shelves, owned-print-copy, owned-audiobook-audible, currently-reading

Reading for the 3rd time

read in February 2015

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May 19, 2025 04:44PM

Christina (A Reader of Fictions) is currently reading

To All the Dogs I've Loved Before (Pine Hollow, #3)

by Lizzie Shane

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Oct 22, 2025 08:15PM

Christina (A Reader of Fictions) is currently reading

Bitterblue (Graceling Realm, #3)

by Kristin Cashore

bookshelves: on-my-shelves, owned-print-copy, currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in July 2015

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Christina (A Reader of Fictions) said: " I waited in line at my first BEA for this hardcover of Bitterblue. I was so excited to meet Kristin Cashore and to read the third book in one of my very favorite series. Yet, I didn’t read it. Not until just now. The long wait for the third book turn I waited in line at my first BEA for this hardcover of Bitterblue. I was so excited to meet Kristin Cashore and to read the third book in one of my very favorite series. Yet, I didn’t read it. Not until just now. The long wait for the third book turned my anticipation to levels that I knew the book couldn’t possible meet, especially after the mixed reviews began to roll out. Partly, I also saved Bitterblue because I didn’t want to run out of Cashore books, which turns out to be a somewhat valid concern. Still, the time finally came to give Bitterblue a try. This will be a review of Bitterblue but also somewhat about the series as a whole, which I just reread.

Oddly enough, Graceling, which had been one of my favorite books for so long, the one I always thought was technically superior to Fire has ended up my least favorite of the three. Fire I think the strongest on many levels. Bitterblue falls in the middle, featuring all the things I love about Cashore’s writing but also a bit messier than Fire.

Bitterblue surprised me. I expected her to more greatly resemble the child she was in Graceling: hesitant, fearful, loath to trust. In the years since, however, she has grown into a kind, trusting, adventurous, and happy person. She has pain beneath the surface obviously, but there’s a lightness in her spirit compared to either Katsa or Fire. The difference lies, I believe, in the fact that Bitterblue was rescued by good, reliable people and she had that decade to sort of recover. Also, she buried a lot of her pain, allowing her to carry on more easily. Of course, those things are going to be hers to face throughout the book.

Bitterblue starts out rather lighthearted, with the young queen sneaking out of the castle to find out what her city is really like. She goes on adventures and meets a street rat thief named Sapphire, or Saf for short. (Cashore’s great strength as an author does not lie in naming characters; the names are so ridiculous they’re almost charming.) Bitterblue felt cooped up in the castle and disconnected from what life in her kingdom actually meant, so she wanted to see for herself.

As one might predict, she befriends Saf and his good friends, the adorable Teddy and Saf and Teddy’s sisters who are in love. She and Saf are totally shippable. I can see, though, why readers would be surprised by Bitterblue and potentially disappointed in the romance. The last book in the series fails to deliver an HEA for the main ship. Personally, I’m a fan of this because 1) these kids might work it out in time, inspired by the Dells where the king married a commoner 2) I wouldn’t mind if she hooked up with Giddon instead and 3) Cashore really considers the practicalities of their relationship. Queens aren’t always free to do what they wish and people don’t always fall end up with their first love, so I feel like leaving it open adds a dash of realism.

The plot is a bit of a mixed bag. Lots of things happened that blew my mind with their cleverness. Twists surprised me, like (view spoiler). At the same time, though, I feel like the biggest mystery was really obvious. From the very beginning, I was suspicious and my suspicions proved correct. (view spoiler) That said, I do really like the way that Bitterblue handles the fall out.

What I love most about the series as a whole is how aspirational this fantasy world is. Terrible rulers exist but good people are working to improve the world. There are powerful women working to ensure that women are treated equally. There’s no double standard about sex and every culture the reader has encountered in these books is completely sex-positive. There remains some discomfort with homosexuality in certain kingdoms but that’s obviously in the process of changing. Fantasy often reinforces medieval social constructs even though the worlds are fictional and don’t need to be that way, so I admire Cashore so much for not doing that.

I’m happy to report that I thought Bitterblue was wonderful. I adored getting to see my favorite characters from the first two books again, and I loved the new additions too. Now begins the torturous wait for more books from Kristin Cashore. ...more "

Oct 22, 2025 08:13PM · see review

Christina (A Reader of Fictions)’s Quotes

“Otherwise, it would have been much easier to just shoot you and be done with it.” I disagreed. The fact that I was still alive after so many combat tours was a testament to exactly how hard it is to “just shoot me and be done with it.”
― Rachel Bach, Honor's Knight

5 likes

“You deserve all that and more. It made me happy to see you suffer. I would do it all over again if I could." I realized I was shaking as the words tumbled out of me. "I would do it again and again. Every night I would torment you and laugh. Do you understand? You are never safe with me." I drew a shuddering breath, trying to will away the sting of tears.

He opened his eyes and stared up at me as if I were the door out of Arcadia and back to the true sky. "That's what makes you my favorite." He reached up and wiped a tear off my cheek with his thumb. "Every wicked bit of you.”
― Rosamund Hodge, Cruel Beauty

tags: flaws, honesty, love

304 likes

“Feelings don't try to kill you, even the painful ones. Anxiety is a feeling grown too large. A feeling grown aggressive and dangerous. You're responsible for its consequences, you're responsible for treating it. But...you're not responsible for causing it. You're not morally at fault for it. No more than you would be for a tumor.”
― Patrick Ness, The Rest of Us Just Live Here

tags: anxiety, mental-health

375 likes

“You can love people, and you can befriend them, but the only person you can ever one hundred percent depend on is yourself.”
― Trisha Leigh, Winter Omens

tags: independence, self-reliance

19 likes