Return to the world of Graceling in this third brilliant tale from Kristin Cashore. Bitterblue brings us back to the land of the first novel, and introduces us to a world of political manoeuvring while re-embracing the original cast.
From the blurb;
'Eight years have passed since Princess Bitterblue and her country were saved from the vicious King Leck. Now Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea, and her land is at peace.
'But the influence of her father, and his mind-altering abilities lives on. Her advisers believe in a forward-thinking plan: to pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck's reign; and to forget every dark event that ever happened. Monsea's past has been shrouded in mystery, and it's only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle - curious, disguised and alone - to walk the streets of her city, that she begins to realise the truth.
'Her kingdom has been under the spell of a madman, and their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.
'Whatever that past holds.'
Opening eight years after the close of the first novel, Bitterblue brings us an older, wiser, and more determined Bitterblue than we knew before. Once the scared little girl in desperate need of saving, Bitterblue has grown into a righteous queen. But enemies we thought long buried still lurk in the shadows of her kingdom and it is only with the help of old friends that Bitterblue can finally lay the devils of her and her countries past to rest.
Bitterblue is a culmination of the two previous books, bringing back star characters Katasa and Fire as Bitterblue fights to bring a long-overdue peace to her nation.
Bitterblue steps fully into the political intrigue that has been shown briefly in the previous books, and positions itself within this world to reveal the dark underbelly of the political manoeuvring that has allowed for so much wrong-doing to take route within this fantasy.
Although based mainly in court Cashore still treats readers to the action scenes she has swiftly become renowned for and never fails to incorporate more intrigue into the fantasy elements of this world, expanding on the powers and the unknown's of the fantasy elements to create a fuller fantasy story.
Bitterblue, like her female-lead predecessors, is a strong willed female character with a good heart despite having suffered hardships, who readers can get behind and cheer for.
We give Bitterblue Four Stars
ISBN - 978-0-575-09719-3 Cover Price - £7.99 First published in Great Britain in 2012 by Gollancz an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group