Scan barcode
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Suicide
rubyhosh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Grief
Moderate: Violence and Death of parent
lubotomy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Outing, Sexual harassment, and Classism
kllyholt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I think Bitterblue may be one of my all time favorite characters and I loved seeing her again in this book, and especially because all the parallels between her and Lovisa’s upbringings were really interesting. But I absolutely hated that Giddon and Bitterblue ended up together- mostly because of the age gap. I mean I saw it coming, and yes she’s older in this book, but he met her when she had just barely turned eighteen and he’s literally in his thirties. It gives me the ick- the author makes it obvious that it’s alright because “Giddon is a such good man” but that feels like such a cop out and really poor excuse, especially given how he has been in almost a mentorship role with her the entire time. It just reeks of grooming in my opinion. It’s not the most egregious display of it I’ve ever seen, but it’s still disappointing. It’s why I’m rating this book a little lower than I might have otherwise. I liked everything else about this book though, especially the political and environmental commentary- it was really interesting and fun to read.
Also, Lovisa’s character seemed very autistic to me- there’s one quote where she says, ‘“Why shouldn’t I ask about it directly? Would it be so terrible for everyone to say what they mean when they do things, and what they want, and why? Wouldn’t it make things simpler, and create fewer disasters?”’
Growing up I must have cried about that exact same thing hundreds of times- because I couldn’t understand why everyone around me would be upset or read into what I say all the time when I was trying my hardest to communicate with them the only way I am really able to. Anyways, I don’t know if this was an intentional thing by the author or not, but I definitely saw myself in Lovisa because of that and it made me love her character so much more.
Also, the Keeper and the silbercows? I’m obsessed with them. Love them.
Also, Lovisa’s character seemed very autistic to me- there’s one quote where she says, ‘“Why shouldn’t I ask about it directly? Would it be so terrible for everyone to say what they mean when they do things, and what they want, and why? Wouldn’t it make things simpler, and create fewer disasters?”’
Growing up I must have cried about that exact same thing hundreds of times- because I couldn’t understand why everyone around me would be upset or read into what I say all the time when I was trying my hardest to communicate with them the only way I am really able to. Anyways, I don’t know if this was an intentional thing by the author or not, but I definitely saw myself in Lovisa because of that and it made me love her character so much more.
Also, the Keeper and the silbercows? I’m obsessed with them. Love them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Animal death
lwooters's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and Vomit
Drowning. Slut shaming. Starvation. Relationship between characters who are currently both adults, but almost definitely met when one was around 10 and the other was an older teenager/adult.aseel_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
loved all the twists and turns this plot, big fan of how the world expanded and loved the characters as always
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
augustrogue's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
A bit disappointed and frustrated with this book, which I fully expected to be at least a 4-star read based on my enjoyment of the rest of this series. Unfortunately it was "just okay" overall - the prose itself flowed well and was generally pretty good, and there were a few moments I really enjoyed, but not enough to get past a lot of the worldbuilding and character motivation issues.
Things I did enjoy:
* Some of the world building was pretty cool! I liked the concept of the ambles, the description of the landscape, and the politics of the different airship fuel sources.
* Enjoyed getting more Giddon and Hava! Their parts were probably my favorite; I wish there was a bit more of it.
* The action, when it happened, was exciting. Like the escape from Lovisa's family home, and the fox figuring out how to help Bitterblue. Actually, Adventure Fox was one of my favorites too.
Here are some of the things that bothered me about this book:
* Why does it seem like all world exploration is happening during the main characters' lifetime, despite things like boats and apparently airships already being in existence? Bitterblue and Co. really didn't know the Dells or Winterkeep even existed, nor had anyone ever visited from those places, until just now? I repeat, there are AIRSHIPS.
* Apparently the language of the Middluns is called Lingian, after Gracelings. This is like if a country's language was named after like, a unique disease or mental health condition. But an outsider named their language. Did they not have a name for their own language before? What.
* Okay, so. Let's talk about race. The first couple of books only had white people and vaguely tan Lianid people. Sure. So in this book, the 4th in the series, you introduce a continent where everyone is dark-skinned/brown. Sure. They live in the far north, where it snows all the time and has glaciers. ...Pardon? (If this was the only worldbuilding issue, I'd shrug because I don't really care if having POC in particular settings "makes sense." Representation and diversity is a good thing. But it just feels like.. kind of a weird geographical choice, I don't know. The map in general has a clear "making this up as I go" vibe, especially with how squared off the Middluns are.)
* The blue foxes. Did you know they're not actually blue, they're gray? If you didn't know, you'll be told about 3 or 4 times. They definitely feel, hmm, a bit derivative of His Dark Materials daemons, though I do understand that Pullman's books don't have a monopoly on bonded animals that talk to you and spy on people. But honestly Lavisa's parents feel a lot like Lyra's parents, too. Down to the fur coats and traveling around on airships and uh, the abuse.
* Almost all of the characters have dialogue that has a shallow, slightly ditzy and childish vibe, to the point that I couldn't tell the difference in maturity between a 16 year old protagonist and the ones in their 20s or 30s.
* Characters have a... strange relationship with casual sex in this book. Don't get me wrong, I am 100% pro-casual sex if a person wants that. But what feels like a disproportionate amount of time is spent thinking about it compared to the actual plot. The way Bitterblue is like "oh yes, I have so many lovers but I don't actually care about any of them" doesn't really fit with how otherwise sensitive and empathetic she is. It at least makes more sense for Lovisa to kind of have a fucked up relationship with it, considering her upbringing and how manipulative the people around her are. There is also a very odd exchange where Nev asks her grandfather if he has "ever experienced sexual jealousy" and he's like, oh yeah, totally, your grandmother slept with lots of guys before me. (... Okay?) And then Lovisa leaves the room because it's making her feel weird/bad. There's really no point to this exchange other than that.
I feel a bit bad that this review is so negative, I really enjoy the Graceling series normally, but this one just wasn't it for me. Will I read Seasparrow? Upon reflection, even though I think it features Hava, who I do like... probably not. I think I'll stick with my nostalgia for the first book, as if it were a standalone.
Things I did enjoy:
* Some of the world building was pretty cool! I liked the concept of the ambles, the description of the landscape, and the politics of the different airship fuel sources.
* Enjoyed getting more Giddon and Hava! Their parts were probably my favorite; I wish there was a bit more of it.
* The action, when it happened, was exciting. Like the escape from Lovisa's family home, and the fox figuring out how to help Bitterblue. Actually, Adventure Fox was one of my favorites too.
Here are some of the things that bothered me about this book:
* Why does it seem like all world exploration is happening during the main characters' lifetime, despite things like boats and apparently airships already being in existence? Bitterblue and Co. really didn't know the Dells or Winterkeep even existed, nor had anyone ever visited from those places, until just now? I repeat, there are AIRSHIPS.
* Apparently the language of the Middluns is called Lingian, after Gracelings. This is like if a country's language was named after like, a unique disease or mental health condition. But an outsider named their language. Did they not have a name for their own language before? What.
* Okay, so. Let's talk about race. The first couple of books only had white people and vaguely tan Lianid people. Sure. So in this book, the 4th in the series, you introduce a continent where everyone is dark-skinned/brown. Sure. They live in the far north, where it snows all the time and has glaciers. ...Pardon? (If this was the only worldbuilding issue, I'd shrug because I don't really care if having POC in particular settings "makes sense." Representation and diversity is a good thing. But it just feels like.. kind of a weird geographical choice, I don't know. The map in general has a clear "making this up as I go" vibe, especially with how squared off the Middluns are.)
* The blue foxes. Did you know they're not actually blue, they're gray? If you didn't know, you'll be told about 3 or 4 times. They definitely feel, hmm, a bit derivative of His Dark Materials daemons, though I do understand that Pullman's books don't have a monopoly on bonded animals that talk to you and spy on people. But honestly Lavisa's parents feel a lot like Lyra's parents, too. Down to the fur coats and traveling around on airships and uh, the abuse.
* Almost all of the characters have dialogue that has a shallow, slightly ditzy and childish vibe, to the point that I couldn't tell the difference in maturity between a 16 year old protagonist and the ones in their 20s or 30s.
* Characters have a... strange relationship with casual sex in this book. Don't get me wrong, I am 100% pro-casual sex if a person wants that. But what feels like a disproportionate amount of time is spent thinking about it compared to the actual plot. The way Bitterblue is like "oh yes, I have so many lovers but I don't actually care about any of them" doesn't really fit with how otherwise sensitive and empathetic she is. It at least makes more sense for Lovisa to kind of have a fucked up relationship with it, considering her upbringing and how manipulative the people around her are. There is also a very odd exchange where Nev asks her grandfather if he has "ever experienced sexual jealousy" and he's like, oh yeah, totally, your grandmother slept with lots of guys before me. (... Okay?) And then Lovisa leaves the room because it's making her feel weird/bad. There's really no point to this exchange other than that.
I feel a bit bad that this review is so negative, I really enjoy the Graceling series normally, but this one just wasn't it for me. Will I read Seasparrow? Upon reflection, even though I think it features Hava, who I do like... probably not. I think I'll stick with my nostalgia for the first book, as if it were a standalone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
themoodreader's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
traceyanderson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism