Reviews with content warning for Death - Winterkeep

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore

42 reviews

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

Queen Bitterblue is on her way to Winterkeep, a distant nation that was only recently discovered by the Monseans, when she is thrown overboard. She is rescued by mysterious sea creatures, only to find herself held captive. Meanwhile, Giddon, Hava, and the rest of the Monsean crew reach Winterkeep, heartbroken at the loss of their queen. There, they encounter the bitter antagonism between Winterkeep’s two primary political parties over the issue of zilfium, an important fuel that could potentially boost the economy but cause environmental devastation. Lovisa is the daughter of two of the most prominent politicians in each party, but she is not so sure that either side has it right. Politics, family, magic, and loyalty: Winterkeep has it all.

Kristin Cashore’s Graceling has been one of my favorite fantasy books since I read it back in 2012 or so, and I have avidly consumed every other book she has published since then. I love how she has continued to expand on the Graceling realm, adding new characters, countries, and magical creatures. The worldbuilding was definitely my favorite aspect of this book; Cashore always comes up with the most unique and interesting creatures and powers. I absolutely adored the blue foxes (I would die for Ad), as well as the silbercows and the legends of the mysterious “Keeper.” I thought that the story was less engaging than Cashore’s other Graceling novels, because the pace of the plot was sacrificed to make way for a lot of new worldbuilding. The politics, while fairly relevant to real, modern issues, were also less enjoyable to read about. I also felt that the romance in this book wasn’t as compelling as some of Cashore’s other pairings.

Bitterblue and Giddon are a perfectly fine couple, but just didn’t have the same spark that I’m used to seeing in Cashore’s writing. Maybe it was the friends-to-lovers trope (which I usually don’t mind… as long as it’s done well), or the age gap (which I, personally, strongly dislike, though I know it doesn’t bother lots of people). Whatever it was, I just didn’t care as much about the two of them ending up together. Now Lovisa and Nev, on the other hand… I hope we get another installment just so I can see those two fall in love, because they clearly should!

Side note: I saw someone mention how they appreciated the way Cashore started including explicit descriptions of each character’s skin color as soon as you meet them, and after that I couldn’t help but notice it! It never felt awkwardly tacked on and flowed nicely with the story while also making sure that the diversity of skin color was clear and obvious to everyone.

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):

Happy! And even better, definitely room for another sequel!

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harrownova's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

geekmom's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

After a pretty clunky start, this novel delivers!

Content Warnings

ronan_lesh's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

Content Warnings

thenovelmaura's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Thanks to Penguin Teen for the eARC of this book, which was one of my most anticipated 2021 reads. I love the Graceling Realm series and I couldn't believe Cashore decided to continue the trilogy eight years after Bitterblue came out! While the plot of this book is standalone, I do think you'll have an easier time with the world building and large cast of characters if you've read the other books first. Honestly, I was confused by the beginning, since several perspectives are introduced and a few are characters we've never seen before. Although it was satisfying to see how everything tied together later in the story, it required a lot of patience to make it to that point.

I'll also say that this is a lot more political than the rest of the series (at least more than Graceling, which I re-read recently), and I was hoping for more action or exploration of the new continent, rather than descriptions of Winterkeep's political parties and their debates on legalizing a certain resource. Still, Cashore's writing kept me coming back for more, and all the characters, mysteries, and magical creatures started to grow on me. She is so good at describing grief and characters' responses to trauma that I'm left constantly in awe. I don't think this fully lives up to the rest of the series, but if you're looking for that 2010 YA nostalgia factor, you'll probably be as satisfied as I was.

I was going to give this a higher rating, but a friend pointed out to me that Giddon first met Bitterblue when she was 8 years old (and he stayed in Monsea with her while she was growing up). While I enjoyed the way their relationship was described in this book, I don't think I would have been able to view it in the same light had I remembered that information while reading it. A large age gap is fine, but I don't understand how you could be romantically interested in someone you met when she was 8 and you were in your 20's.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

3.5

As someone who loves the rest of this series, I had a difficult time getting into this one. Anyone picking it up be warned that the first half is incredibly slow moving, orienting you into this new world of Winterkeep while still remaining relevant to the rest of the world we already know. Cashore is known for her world-building. but there was a lot of information about the world and not enough about the characters in that first half of the book.

If you make it past that first half, the second half has what I love about Cashore's writing. Gutsy characters, intricate mysteries in politics, characters desperately trying to expose those who are abusing their power. There are actually quite a few narrators in this one, which also makes it difficult to follow the story at times.

This can be read without reading the other Graceling realm books, there will just be background information on some of the characters that you're missing. However, I probably wouldn't dive into this one first, if you aren't familiar with any of the previous novels. I think the previous novels give you context, and I would probably at least read Bitterblue before jumping into this one. There's a bit of a time jump, but I think it helps with a bit of the world-building.

All in all, I think this book could have been shorter and still get its point across. I'm curious of Cashore is going to keep exploring this world, though, because there are definitely avenues she could explore.

Content Warnings