Review: Bitterblue

Title: Bitterblue
Author: Kristin Cashore
Genre: YA, Fiction, Fantasy
Pub Date: May 2012, Penguin Group (USA)
Format: Hardcover
Book Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

Synopsis (from BN.com)

Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck's reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle--disguised and alone--to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn't yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

My Thoughts

Kristin Cashore's companion books, Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue are some of the most incredible YA fantasy books I have read in the last few years.  Cashore's world-building is first-rate and she has given us a cast of characters that is truly unforgettable.  I loved how Bitterblue masterfully ties together the stories from Graceling and Fire, particularly towards the end of the book.  All of that said, I actually had a difficult time getting into this story -- it started off very slow and it took muddling my way through several chapters before I was finally hooked and didn't want to put it down.  (The slow start is what ultimately caused me to deduct a star in the rating.)

But once the story gets going, it moves along at full speed and doesn't let up or hold back.  Bitterblue is much, much darker than the first two books as we take a closer look at the consequences of Leck's disastrous 35-year reign and what it is going to take to heal the kingdom of Monsea.  I was left breathless by some of the dark deeds and events that are revealed.  No, this was by no means an easy read, but that level of twisted detail with which Cashore wrote this tale was absolutely necessary to do the story justice.

There are an abundance of new and familiar faces in Bitterblue.  We are introduced to Bitterblue's four advisors, Thield, Rood, Runnemood, and Darby,  their involvement in Leck's experiments during his rule, and the effect they have on Bitterblue and her own reign.  She also crosses paths with small band of "truthseekers," leading to a few side plots that complicate matters for her.  Perhaps my favorite new character is her cantankerous, crotchety librarian, Death (pronounced Deeth).  And of course, we have the return of Katsa, Po, Raffin, and Giddon as they they travel to and from Monsea.  With Bitterblue, Cashore again writes about a strong heroine -- this story is key to her growth and ultimately the truths she uncovers coupled with how she handles the discoveries is what causes her to truly come into her own as Queen of Monsea and the woman she has become.

As for the rest, one of my favorite aspects of this novel was the use of mathematics and ciphers -- that provided yet another fascinating bit of intrigue to the tale.  And once again we have a brewing romance, but as with Cashore's other books, the romance is not really a central theme.  Interestingly, I think this practice is an important part of what makes her stories so successful and leave you wanting just a bit more. (And I mean that in a good way.)

If you have not read these books, please be sure to read Graceling and Fire (in whatever order you please) before reading Bitterblue.  If you've already read the first two, you will absolutely want to get your hands on Bitterblue.

My rating:



 As always, if you have reviewed this book, please feel free to leave a link to your review in the comments section!

Saturday Snapshot (06.09.12)

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at Alyce's blog, At Home With Books.

Well, as I promised in last week's snapshot post, this week would be all about my daughter's big first birthday bash.  I couldn't pick just one photo, obviously, but I will do my best to limit it to just five (thank you to my cousin for getting so many awesome pics of the event)! :-)  We had an amazing time with family and friends, managing to cram about 17 of us in our rather small town home.  Luckily the weather was gorgeous, so people could hang out on our patio, as well.

We only had one mishap -- we gave my daughter a small cake to smash.  Well, she wasn't so much about smashing it as just trying to pick off the dots of icing around the edge.  It was pretty funny.  We soon came to realize that my husband hadn't managed to attach the highchair tray correctly, though, and the entire cake toppled off onto the floor, upside down.  We salvaged what was left and gave it back to Laura, and once all of that icing was out of the way, she wasn't quite so dainty as she ate it :-)

A great time was had by all, as you will see (click on the pictures to enlarge them):

My mother and I made cupcakes and a little cake, as well as homemade buttercream, which I colored to match the colors of the theme and used to decorate everything.

Most of the decorations -- the theme was Winnie The Pooh's First Birthday.

Laura actually wore her party hat longer than I thought she would.  This is one of my favorite pics of her in it.

Mmmm.... (not sure what the nose scrunching was about, haha). By the way, her hands and face were the extent of her mess.  We were fortunately to just be able to wipe her off and not have to take her away for a bath and wardrobe change!

Our neighbor was holding her up, love how the wind caught her skirt :-)

And I know I've promised not to always feature our daughter, but we did just take her to the pool for the first time, so you can probably expect to see pictures of that event next week ;-)

Catching up on Reviews: Along For The Ride

Title: Along for the Ride
Author: Sarah Dessen
Genre: YA, Fiction
Pub Date: June 2009, Penguin Group (USA)
Format: Hardcover
Source: I honestly don't remember -- I think I bought it back in 2009, likely from Amazon, but I couldn't swear to it.

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

My Thoughts

My, my -- this review is a LONG time coming, though I never actually got around to reading Along for the Ride until a few weeks ago.  Yes, this one is classic Dessen, though I'll start off by saying it doesn't quite rank among my Dessen Favorites.  I believe that honor still goes to The Truth About Forever with Just Listen, the first book I ever read by Dessen, a close second.  I've said it once (probably more than that), but I'll say it again, I wish that Dessen or someone like her had been writing contemporary YA fiction like these books when I was a tween/teen.  I know I would have enjoyed them at that age -- possibly even more than I enjoy her writing now.

This was the book I saw all over the place when I finally decided to give Sarah Dessen a try.  I didn't want to start with this one -- I wanted to read every other book she had written first.  I finally did that, and then my reading slowed down and the Great Blog Hiatus soon followed.  So, it was fun for me to pick up Along for the Ride and discover that I still enjoyed Dessen's writing, the incredibly realistic (and full-of-life) characters she creates, and the world they live in -- this time, it's the town of Colby.

I finished this book pretty quickly, but by the end I didn't have quite the same completely satisfied feeling that I normally get from what I feel is Dessen's best work.  I think that maybe I wanted a little more from the relationship between Auden and Eli than we ultimately got.  It is absolutely great fun to read about the quest that Eli takes Auden on, to experience all the "normal" things she missed out on when she was a kid, growing up and trying to meet the expectations of her rather neurotic mother.  I looked forward to every nighttime meeting between the two, anxiously awaiting their every conversation, but ultimately I just wanted a little more from them (for them?).

Naturally, if you love Dessen, you'll love this book.  I still rate it highly, even though it's not my favorite.  I can't wait to pick up What Happened to Goodbye and give it a go.

My Rating: 

In addition to those mentioned above, you can also read my other reviews of Dessen's Books:

Keeping The Moon

That Summer

Dreamland

Someone Like You

*I know I've read This Lullaby, but it must have been during The Great Blog Hiatus, so no review!

And as always, if you have reviewed Along for the Ride on your blog, please feel free to leave a link to your review in the comments section!

Saturday Snapshot (06.02.12)

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at Alyce's blog, At Home With Books.

Today's a big day at our house. It's my daughter's first birthday party (her official birthday is in two days on Monday).  We'll have a ton of family over in our somewhat tiny townhouse, so it is going to be a bit of an adventure. You can guess what next week's snapshot will be about, but today I thought I'd share a couple of pictures from when my daughter made her debut last year...

I can't believe our little Sweet Pea is almost a year old!  How the time does fly!

Release Day Review: The Fairytale Keeper: Avenging the Queen

Title: The Fairytale Keeper: Avenging the Queen
Author: Andrea Cefalo
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pub Date: June 1, 2012 (Happy Release Day!), Scarlet Primrose Press
Format: Paperback
Source: I received my copy from the author for review -- thank you so much, Ms. Cefalo!!

Synopsis (from the back cover)

Many called her Snow White, but few knew her as the Fairytale Keeper...

Snow White was a pet name her mother had given her, but her mother's dead now. Adelaide hates that name anyway.  A rampant fever claimed Adelaide's mother just like a thousand others in Cologne where people die without Last Rites and the dead are dumped in a large pit outside of the city walls. Adelaide's father is determined to obtain a funeral for his wife, but that requires bribing the parish priest, Father Soren. When Soren commits an unforgivable atrocity, he pushes Adelaide to her breaking point, but if she seeks justice against the cruel priest, she risks sacrificing everything: her father, her friends, her first love, and maybe even her life.

My Thoughts

This is really the first book that I've read where an author takes a fairytale and paints a story of historical fiction. Cefalo has written an intriguing, vivid story about a young girl in 13th century Cologne who would be immortalized to us as Snow White. Adelaide is a strong heroine whom you can't help but like and cheer for as she stands up for her family and what she believes is right. Her supporting cast of characters is colorful and varied, from her grieving father who spends much of his time drinking to that priest you love to hate, Father Soren. And of course, you can't ignore the sweet romance developing between Adelaide and her childhood friend, Ivo.

One of my favorite aspects about this book is how Cefalo is able to weave other well-known fairytales into the storyline. You will meet Cinderella, as one of the people in Adelaide's life, and hear Adelaide tell the story of Hansel and Gretel, just to name a couple of examples. By adding these other stories, Cefalo adds a touch more magic to Adelaide's world. The story might start off just a touch slow, though the opening scenes are certainly explosive.  But the pace picks up with those fairytale "asides" and the unfolding story of the corruption of the Church will keep you turning pages to find out what happens next. And while there is a satisfying conclusion to a major plot line, we are also left wanting more as the bigger picture takes shape.

If you love retellings of your favorite fairytales, be sure to pick up a copy of this first book in the Fairytale Keeper series. It's a quick, easy read -- perfect for this summer! I can't wait to see what Cefalo has in store for us next. And doesn't that gorgeous cover make you want to read this book all on its own?!

My rating:



If you have reviewed this book, please feel free to leave a link to your review in the comments section!