Winterkeep (Graceling Realm)

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Four years after Bitterblue left off, a new land has been discovered to the east: Torla; and the closest nation to Monsea is Winterkeep. Winterkeep is a land of miracles, a democratic republic run by people who like each other, where people speak to telepathic sea creatures, adopt telepathic foxes as pets, and fly across the sky in ships attached to balloons. Kristin Cashore writes fantasy at exactly the level that I prefer--where there's a note at the beginning saying that she's using days and months of the Gregorian calendar as a shorthand and we should just assume they're "translations" from whatever calendar they use in these fantasy countries. You know what? THANK YOU Kristin, I absolutely have no interest in learning fake fantasy months. (I'm aware that other fantasy readers are extremely interested in that level of fantasy, and to you I say: you have plenty of other books, nerds.)

Kristin Cashore has revealed that the next Graceling Realm book is in revisions, and Hava is one of the characters. Imagine a whole book about war time espionage with this sarcastic BAMF. I CAN'T WAIT. I like the way it breaks the whole "your first love is your forever love" trend that we tend to follow in this kind of books, and it shows that mature relationships build over years of trust and friendship can also be a beautiful thing. To start Winterkeep takes place five years after Bitterblue. I know a lot of YA people are not big fans of the books after Graceling because they start to have a slower pace, hold more adult themes, etc. and to that I say they sure do.

For the past five years, Bitterblue has reigned as Queen of Monsea, heroically rebuilding her nation after her father's horrific rule. After learning about the land of Torla in the east, she sends envoys to the closest nation there: Winterkeep — a place where telepathic foxes bond with humans, and people fly across the sky in wondrous airships. But when the envoys never return, having drowned under suspicious circumstances, Bitterblue sets off for Winterkeep herself, along with her spy Hava and her trusted colleague Giddon. On the way, tragedy strikes again — a tragedy with devastating political and personal ramifications.

That being said, I think it did a magnificent job at showing Lovisa's journey and how all of that would, very realistically, be processed. Even if it's not pretty. Giddon and Bitterblue. They just didn't feel like people that I have came to know from Graceling and Bitterblue. (I have read all the other three Graceling realm books before reading this one). They almost felt like other people who pretended to be them.But when Bitterblue's envoys to Winterkeep drown under suspicious circumstances, she and Giddon and her half-sister, Hava, set off to discover the truth--putting both Bitterblue's life and Giddon's heart to the test when Bitterblue is kidnapped. Giddon believes she has drowned, leaving him and Hava to solve the mystery of what's wrong in Winterkeep.

So, yeah, I ship it, really ship, if it took me a little bit of processing time before I got there. Even though I honestly believed that the series was done with, it's been years since the last book was published, I've grown warmer to the idea and now I am truly into it. I mean, there's still plenty to explore in this world. And of course the 'monster' also believed by some to be the legendary Keeper and the silbercows and blue foxes all try to lend magic to the story, but don't really work in the end.

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When the characters are forced to deal with it, well, it is rawly and touchingly depicted going quite into the way it affects someone and just how devastating of a battle this kind of abuse can be. Am I infinitely more hyped to read these books just because it has a pretty cover? You bet I am. I just love the colors so much! One thing I think I needed to say from the get-go here is, well, this book should come with trigger warnings. It's heavy and dark and sad and devastating. It treats very difficult topics and the kind of things that are just a little too much and should never happen. Six stars for Adventure Fox's chapters. A million stars for Adventure Fox. All the baubles in the world for the Keeper. No stars or goodies for anyone else.

Kristin Cashore (born 1976) is an American young adult and fantasy writer, best known for the Graceling Realm series. Just like without Cashore's previous books they're some heavy triggers, and I'm going to list as many as I can recall. I have been a huge fan of the Graceling Realm Trilogy ever since I first read it after Bitterblue's release. The series means a lot to me because I discovered it right when I started becoming the reader that I am today and the series was something that so perfectly encapsuled all the things that I love in books. Bitterblue, the third book of the Graceling Realm series, was released in May 2012. [6] [7] As of 2017, the Graceling Realm series had sold more than 1.5 million copies and been translated into 33 languages. [3]With beautiful and deep connections and friendships to help navigate this complicated and thrilling story we also have something blooming and soft that makes it a perfect balance. Another aspect of the whole story that took me a while to warm up to was the romance, which is somewhat really important, and how awkward it felt to me. Generally speaking, I like Cashore’s characters and am happy to witness their interactions, even the relatively trivial ones. I also continue to love Cashore’s unique and lovely treatment of non-human/animal characters. And major points for diversity that feels natural and not like tokenism. a b "Kristin Cashore Books, Author Biography, and Reading Level | Scholastic". www.scholastic.com . Retrieved 2018-05-26. Rubin, Gretchen (2012-05-11). " 'Bitterblue,' by Kristin Cashore". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 2017-06-04.