Reviews with content warning for Murder - Winterkeep

I love the additions to the Graceling world in this book! I especially enjoyed the Keeper(?) perspective and the interactions with the silbercows. I also thought that Lovisa as a character was very complex, and it was refreshing to see a teen in YA acting like a teenager instead of a small adult. very excited to pick up the next installment!

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gingerbread814's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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laurenkimoto's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I put off reading this for such a long time because I didn’t think anything could live up to the original trilogy but I regret that choice. Cashore expands the world and builds the characters deftly while dealing with some heavy and serious topics with nuance and care.

I was warned about the parents and wow I did not expect it to go like it did and how it evolved

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queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

5 ⭐ CW: violence, child abuse, sexual content, slut-shaming, suicide mention, murder, death of a parent, imprisonment

Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore is book 4 of the Graceling Realm series. I cannot stress how much I love this series! And it's completely underrated! I have loved every single one of these installments, and Winterkeep is no different.

We continue to follow Bitterblue a few years after the events of the previous book. We also get Giddon's perspective in this book, and he's a great character. Bitterblue and company travel to the newly discovered continent of Torla, a country made up of democratic republics and vast scientific advances. When Bitterblue is swept overboard on the journey to Winterkeep, she finds herself in the middle of a plot. We also get new characters, like Lovisa, the daughter of the Winterkeep President. Lovisa's life is turned upside down when she discovers what is hidden in her attic and what her parents are up to.

One of my favorite things about these books is that Cashore doesn't shy away from letting her female characters embrace their sexuality. Both Bitterblue and Lovisa are pretty open about having multiple lovers, and I suspect Lovisa to be somewhere on the Aromantic spectrum. I loved Lovisa's character and her growth throughout the book. She's tough, blunt, and honest and doesn't much care for expectations. I definitely related to her as someone who grew up in an abusive household without understanding how bad it actually was. I really felt for Lovisa when she finally figured out that's not normal. Giddon was such a sap this book. He cried so much, but it was kinda sweet. We get more from Hava too, and I read her as neurodivergent. We get sentient, telepathic foxes! And a sentient Sea monster that just wants to be left alone. I want to be able to talk to silbercows. They seem so cute and fun.

There is a lot of political intrigue in these books, and I'm a fan. I will say that this isn't the most fast paced books series, but it has so much in it. The world-building is just incredible. Cashore has expanded the world with each book and new character, and it just becomes fuller. Super looking forward to Seasparrow, but also dreading the end of this amazing series.

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