Tag Archives: Kristin Cashore

Winterkeep (Kristin Cashore)

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Winterkeep is the fourth Graceling Realm novel by Kristin Cashore.
Finished on: 28.7.2022
[Here are my reviews of the other Graceling Realm novels.]

Content Note: child abuse

Plot:
Bitterblue has been ruling her kingdom for five years. Years in which Monsea has drastically expanded its diplomatic relationships – now extending all the way to the continent Torla. The closest nation to Monsea on that continent is Winterkeep. Winterkeep is a wondrous lands to Monseans. A democratic republic where people can communicate telepathically with some of the animals. After the ship with her envoys sinks though, and Bitterblue receives intelligence that this may not have been an accident, she decides to visit Winterkeep herself, together with Hava and Giddon. But things don’t go exactly as planned. Meanwhile Lovisa Cavenda is the daughter of one of the most powerful families in Winterkeep. And she, too, wants to investigate some mysteries that happen around her family and that may also be key to Bitterblue’s mission.

Winterkeep is an exciting return to the Graceling Realm (after so many years, we get blessed again this fall with a fifth novel, so double yay) and I absolutely loved reading it. It was emotional and intriguing and expands the Graceling Realm in very interesting ways.

The book cover showing a Black girl surrounded by waves and a blue fox with a key in front of her.
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Re-Read: Bitterblue (Kristin Cashore)

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Bitterblue is the third Graceling Realm novel by Kristin Cashore.
Finished on: 9.7.2022
[Here are my reviews of the other Graceling Realm novels.]

Content Note: gaslighting, abuse, rape, torture

Plot:
It’s been 8 years since the events in Graceling and that Bitterblue has become Queen of Monsea. But Monsea is still struggling with what Leck did to it and Bitterblue doesn’t have much idea of what is actually happening in her country. That is, until she decides one night to just slip outside the castle and head into town. The more she discovers, though, and the more questions she asks, the more secrets she seems to uncover.

When I first read Bitterblue, I was a bit disappointed by it. In the time since I had forgotten my initial disappointment and was able to approach Bitterblue with a fresh eye. And that fresh eye is much kinder. I liked the novel a lot on re-reading.

The book cover showing a keychain with three keys, gold, silver and copper respectively.
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Re-Read: Fire (Kristin Cashore)

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Fire is the second of the Graceling Realm novels by Kristin Cashore. It is both a prequel to and a spoiler for Graceling.
Finished on: 25.3.2022
[Here are my reviews of the Graceling Realm novels.]

Content Note: ableism, animal abuse, rape (mentioned)

Plot:
In the Dells, there are monsters: Animals that look quite normal, except that they are brightly colored and with the power to control the minds of others. Monsters are carnivores with a special hunger for monster meat. Fire is the last of the human monsters. She’s impossibly beautiful, has bright red hair and is jealously guarded by her childhood friend and lover Archer. Fire would have probably enough on her plate just by being herself – alternately admired and feared by everyone around her and struggling with the memories of a father who used his monsterness for cruelty – but she gets caught up in the young king’s struggle for the throne and has to worry about assassins with weirdly clouded minds.

It’s been a while that I read Fire, and much like with Graceling, I’m very happy that the book still holds up. I really loved returning to this novel as well.

The book cover showing a red-haired woman in a red dress with a bow and arrow in front of a dramatic sky.
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Re-Read: Graceling (Kristin Cashore)

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Graceling is the first Graceling Realm novel by Kristin Cashore.
Finished on: 30.1.2022
[Here are my reviews of the other Graceling Realm novels.]

Content Note: ableism

Plot:
Katsa is Graced: she has a special and extreme talent. Unfortunately, her Grace is to kill. She has suffered her whole life for it, constantly pressuring herself to get herself under perfect control, while having to work as a common thug and contract killer for her uncle, King Randa. But Katsa sees the injustices in the kingdoms around her and decides that she can atone for her Grace by setting some things right. Therefore she forms a council that works for the people. When Katsa and the council rescue an old man who has been kidnapped and Katsa meets another Graceling, a fighter, she soon has to see that something is really very wrong in her world.

Last year, a new Graceling Realm novel finally came out and since it’s been practically a decade, I decided it would be time to give the series another go. And I’m happy to report that it’s still a wonderfully engaging read.

The book cover showing a woman with a sword over her shoulder in a barren, green-tinted landscape.
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Jane, Unlimited (Kristin Cashore)

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Jane, Unlimited is a novel by Kristin Cashore.
Finished on: 26.1.2019

Plot:
Jane was raised by her Aunt Magnolia, a deep sea photographer. But Magnolia has gone missing on her last field trip in the Antarctic, and now Jane is at a loss. She has recently finished school and dreams of designing umbrellas as art. When new acquaintance Krian invites Jane to visit her family’s estate Tu Reviens, Jane recalls Magnolia making her promise that if she ever received an invitation to Tu Reviens, she’d go. With nothing holding her back, Jane packs her things and goes. But what waits for her there, she could have never predicted.

I’m a big fan of Cashore’s Graceling Realm novels, so I was curious to read Jane, Unlimited, the first thing she published that isn’t connected to that world. Would I love it as much as those novels? The answer is, yes. Holy shit, yes. Jane, Unlimited became an instant favorite.

The book cover showing an abstract design in metallic-purple shininess.

Slight SPOILERS follow. If you want to go entirely unprepared, just know that I loved the book and you should read it.

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Bitterblue (Kristin Cashore)

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Bitterblue is Kristin Cashore‘s newest novel, a sequel to Graceling (review 1, 2) and companion to Fire (review 1, 2).

Plot:
It’s been 8 years since the events in Graceling and that Bitterblue has become Queen of Monsea. But Monsea is still struggling with what Leck did to it and Bitterblue doesn’t have much idea of what is actually happening in her country. That is, until she decides one night to just slip outside the castle and head into town. The more she discovers, though, and the more questions she asks, the more secrets she seems to uncover.

After the pure delights that Fire and Graceling are, Bitterblue was pretty disappointing. The pacing didn’t work for me at all, but even more than that, Bitterblue didn’t work for me – she was just way too emo that I could really relate.

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Re-Read: Graceling (Kristin Cashore)

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Graceling is the first novel by Kristin Cashore, loosely connected to her novel Fire [which I’ve reviewed here and here] and followed by Bitterblue. I reviewed it here for the first time.

Plot:
Katsa is Graced: a special and extreme talent. Unfortunately, her Grace is to kill. She has suffered her whole life for it, constantly pressuring herself to get herself under perfect control, while having to work as a common thug and contract killer for her uncle, King Randa.
But Katsa sees the injustices in the kingdoms around her and decides that she can atone for her Grace by setting some things right. Therefore she forms a council that works for the people.
But when Katsa and the council rescue an old man who has been kidnapped and Katsa meets another Graceling, a fighter, she soon has to see that something is really very wrong in her world.

I wanted to read Graceling a little more slowly the second time round, like I did with Fire. It proved to be impossible. I fell into the book as much as the first time round and gobbled it up in only a couple of days. And again, there was laughing out loud and actual tears.

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Re-Read: Fire (Kristin Cashore)

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Fire is Kristin Cashore’s second novel. It’s a prequel to Graceling [which I’ve reviewed here] but stands on its own (and even spoils Graceling if you haven’t read it yet, so beware). Here’s my first review of it.

Plot:
In the Dells, there are monsters: Animals that look quite normal, except that they are brightly colored and with the power to control the minds of others. Monsters are carnivores with a special hunger for monster meat. Fire is the last of the human monsters. She’s impossibly beautiful, has bright red hair and is jealously guarded by her childhood friend and lover Archer.
Fire would have probably enough on her plate just by being herself – alternately admired and feared by everyone around her and struggling with the memories of a cruel father who used his monsterness for cruelty – but she gets caught up in the young king’s struggle for the throne and has to worry about assassins with weirdly clouded minds.

With the release of Bitterblue, I decided that a re-read of Fire and Graceling was in order before I delved into the new book. And I was just as caught up in Fire this time around as the first time.

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Fire (Kristin Cashore)

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Fire is Kristin Cashore‘s second novel. It’s a prequel to Graceling [which I’ve reviewed here] but stands on its own. Even though the events in Fire happen before Graceling it should nevertheless be read second because otherwise you’ll spoil Graceling.

Plot:
In the Dells, there are monsters: Animals that look quite normal, except that they are brightly colored and with the power to control the minds of others. Monsters are carnivores with a special hunger for monster meat. Fire is the last of the human monsters. She’s impossibly beautiful, has bright red hair and is jealously guarded by her childhood friend and lover Archer.
Fire would have probably enough on her plate just by being herself – alternately admired and feared by everyone around her and struggling with the memories of a cruel father who used his monsterness for cruelty – but she gets caught up in the young king’s struggle for the throne and has to worry about assassins with weirdly clouded minds.

Fire was a wonderful read. The story is exciting, the characters are wonderful and the romance… *le sigh*

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Graceling (Kristin Cashore)

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Graceling is Kristin Cashore‘s debut novel. It’s a stand-alone (young adult) fantasy novel, though Cashore’s second novel Fire is a kind of companion book and a sequel/spin-off is being written.

Plot:
Katsa is Graced: a special and extreme talent. Unfortunately, her Grace is to kill. She has suffered her whole life for it, constantly pressuring herself to get herself under perfect control, while having to work as a common thug and contract killer for her uncle, King Randa.
But Katsa sees the injustices in the kingdoms around her and decides that she can atone for her Grace by setting some things right. Therefore she forms a council that works for the people.
But when Katsa and the council rescue an old man who has been kidnapped and Katsa meets another Graceling, a fighter, she soon has to see that something is really very wrong in her world.

I totally and completely loved Graceling*. Katsa is a great protagonist, the story is interesting and kept me engaged all the time and the book not only made me laugh, it also made me cry.

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