readliftbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I am so impressed by the whole trilogy. Kristin Cashore goes into so much depth with her characters. She places them in so many scenarios where we get to better understand who they are by their actions rather than being told how to feel about them directly. I found myself loving and hating certain people in the story simultaneously. I really enjoyed that I couldn't predict the endings of each book. I couldn't predict what would happen within the next chapter. I had a hard time ever putting this book down and I have a "book hangover" because of that. I am glad I discovered this series so late, it allowed me to binge read them within a week.
jennifersiyuanzhou's review against another edition
3.0
tru 3 stars
argh i swear i ranted about this, wish i wrote it down
i was SO EXCITED to read about how Bitterblue would rebuild her country after that other kind i forgot the name of. and we got to see a lot of the problems but like i felt the story was 90% problems and 10% "solutions" it was a long book too so at a certain point i rly was like okay i get it, things are whack and more things were happening but it wasn't getting us closer to an answer and aosfhasdfads
AND I THOUGHT THE IDEA BEHIND THE FINAL REVIEW WAS SO GOOD
the country had different ways of dealing with healing: some wanted to burn everything and get rid of it, some wanted to preserve THAT'S SUCH AN INTERESTING THING TO EXPLORE. and Bitterblue's OWN journey of reliving and remembering parts of her childhood. there were some really good lines in there. this is rly what kepy me going
however.
and then the book just ends??? i thought this book was supposed to be about how we fixed all that but that was handwaved at the end of the book and were to assume it;s just gonna happen after the book ends. oh and we get a cameo from Fire et. al. but like I'm not sure that rly adds anything?? other than I guess a little smth for ppl who read Fire
oh and the romance was just. afioasfoad blargh. didn't feel it, nearly forgot it happened.
argh i swear i ranted about this, wish i wrote it down
i was SO EXCITED to read about how Bitterblue would rebuild her country after that other kind i forgot the name of. and we got to see a lot of the problems but like i felt the story was 90% problems and 10% "solutions" it was a long book too so at a certain point i rly was like okay i get it, things are whack and more things were happening but it wasn't getting us closer to an answer and aosfhasdfads
AND I THOUGHT THE IDEA BEHIND THE FINAL REVIEW WAS SO GOOD
the country had different ways of dealing with healing: some wanted to burn everything and get rid of it, some wanted to preserve THAT'S SUCH AN INTERESTING THING TO EXPLORE. and Bitterblue's OWN journey of reliving and remembering parts of her childhood. there were some really good lines in there. this is rly what kepy me going
however.
and then the book just ends??? i thought this book was supposed to be about how we fixed all that but that was handwaved at the end of the book and were to assume it;s just gonna happen after the book ends. oh and we get a cameo from Fire et. al. but like I'm not sure that rly adds anything?? other than I guess a little smth for ppl who read Fire
oh and the romance was just. afioasfoad blargh. didn't feel it, nearly forgot it happened.
sunny_with_0_chance's review against another edition
1.0
Disappointed.
No spoilers but the dramatic ending wasn't terribly surprising. Bitterblue has poor choice in men, I was confused the entire time but not in the who-done-it mystery way but in the what-the... sort of way!
I didn't appreciate the constant reminders of homosexuality and feminism throughout the book, repetitive and not needed. It showed the author trying far too hard to make a point of something irrelevant to the book.
I found Katsa annoying in this book too!
I was completely disappointed. It was far too long, the story just plodded along until the ending and that was rather predictable too.
No spoilers but the dramatic ending wasn't terribly surprising. Bitterblue has poor choice in men, I was confused the entire time but not in the who-done-it mystery way but in the what-the... sort of way!
I didn't appreciate the constant reminders of homosexuality and feminism throughout the book, repetitive and not needed. It showed the author trying far too hard to make a point of something irrelevant to the book.
I found Katsa annoying in this book too!
I was completely disappointed. It was far too long, the story just plodded along until the ending and that was rather predictable too.
mandykins007's review against another edition
3.0
Out of the three books in the Graceling series ( this book being the last), I was most disappointed with this one. Not to say that the story wasn't gripping and interesting, but compared to the other two, it just didn't hold the same kind of appeal for me. I expected more than this book gave. The heroines in the other book seemingly get their happy ending, but Bitterblue is left without her love and a piecemeal kingdom to put back together. The intrigue was compelling, and kept me reading, but it left me wanting so much more. I don't feel like this was a good piece to finish the 3 part Series with. It only left me with unanswered questions and anger at the author for not tying up her loose ends properly, or giving her audience what we were expecting-which is maybe what she was going for, but in my opinion- it didn't work well. Out of the three books, this one took my the longest, and was the hardest, to get through. I feel it could have been shorter, yet covered the same amount of ground. All in all the series was a good read, this book feel short for me though.
kendallthefire's review against another edition
2.0
I love the way Kristen cashore writes. That is why its confusing to have to rate this a 2/2.5. The book is detailed superbly but those details don't make up for the utter lack of activity in this book. I get that she's a Queen and there is only so much action a queen can do without seeming reckless and an endangerment to her monarchy but even the most exciting parts weren't that entertaining. This book just dragged on and on about how much bitterblue didn't know but at the end all the things that were uncovered in this book could have been told in way less pages. Also Safs grace...
rose0207's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-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
4.5
erinarkin20's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars on this one.
There was a lot going on in this book with the main story being Bitterblue trying to figure out who to trust. We get to see the characters Po, Katsa and Giddon again along with some new characters in Saf and Teddy.
Throughout the story Bitterblue struggles with being queen. In her trips outside the castle at night she runs into Saf and Teddy and begins to learn more and more about the Truthseekers. It is also very clear that Bitterblue feels separated from everyone by the fact that she is queen and doesn't really have a family (outside of her relatives). I liked how the relationship between Giddon and Bitterblue developed. It was also nice to read more about Po and Katsa. I was sad to see their story end in Graceling so it was an added bonus that they were brought back.
There was mystery and intrigue along with a story of how Bitterblue grows into her role and who she is.
There was a lot going on in this book with the main story being Bitterblue trying to figure out who to trust. We get to see the characters Po, Katsa and Giddon again along with some new characters in Saf and Teddy.
Throughout the story Bitterblue struggles with being queen. In her trips outside the castle at night she runs into Saf and Teddy and begins to learn more and more about the Truthseekers. It is also very clear that Bitterblue feels separated from everyone by the fact that she is queen and doesn't really have a family (outside of her relatives). I liked how the relationship between Giddon and Bitterblue developed. It was also nice to read more about Po and Katsa. I was sad to see their story end in Graceling so it was an added bonus that they were brought back.
There was mystery and intrigue along with a story of how Bitterblue grows into her role and who she is.