Bitterblue, Kristin Cashore
Bitterblue, Kristin Cashore
8 Rating(s)
List: $30.00 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $15.00

Bitterblue

Author: Kristin Cashore

Narrator: Xanthe Elbrick

Unabridged: 16 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/01/2012


Synopsis

The long-awaited companion to New York Times bestsellers Graceling and Fire

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.

About The Author

Kristin Cashore grew up in the northeast Pennsylvania countryside as the second of four daughters. She received a bachelor's degree from Williams College and a master's from the Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Simmons College, and she has worked as a dog runner, a packer in a candy factory, an editorial assistant, a legal assistant, and a freelance writer. She has lived in many places (including Sydney, New York City, Boston, London, Austin, and Jacksonville, Florida), and she currently lives in the Boston area. Her epic fantasy novels set in the Graceling Realm--Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue--have won many awards and much high praise, including picks as ALA Best Books for Young Adults, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Booklist Editors Choice, and Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. In addition, Graceling was shortlisted for the William C. Morris Debut Award and Fire is an Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Winner.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Elle on January 11, 2019

This book is a narrative about how colonization can fuck you over. Starring a biracial and ambiguously queer woman of color, it follows Bitterblue as she tries to bring back the traditions, culture, & liberty her dictator father took away from the country of Monsea. Along the way, she must come to t......more

Goodreads review by Miranda on May 19, 2021

As it stands, Bitterblue was a bitter disappointment. After the brilliance of Graceling and Fire, I was really expecting a lot more from the third novel. Book 1 - we explore the Gracelings Realm (people with two different colored eyes have superpowers). King Leck used his grace to take over the realm.......more

Goodreads review by Erica (storybookend) on August 14, 2024

If you know me at all, then you know I have been DYING to read Bitterblue when I first heard about it. I honestly couldn’t bear the wait. This book was first slated to come out one year ago, in April, 2011. Then it got pushed to September. Then! The publishers pushed it even farther to 2012! I was s......more


Quotes

Praise for Bitterblue

New York Times bestseller
YALSA, Best Fiction for Young Adults 
ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults
A New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book
Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year 
The Bulletin Best Books of the Year
BCCB Blue Ribbon Title
A New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Book of the Year

"Some authors can tell a good story; some can write well. Cashore is one of the rare novelists who do both. Thrillingly imagined and beautifully executed, Bitterblue stands as a splendid contribution in a long literarly tradition." —The New York Times Book Review

* "Brilliantly detailed and brimming with vibrant and dynamic characters." —SLJ, starred review

* “A story that transcends the genre with its emotional and philosophical weight.” —BCCB, starred review
 
* “Devastating and heartbreaking.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* “Fans of . . .intricate political fantasies will relish this novel of palace intrigue.”— Publishers Weekly, starred review
 
“An exceptional book: heartbreaking, deep, and beautiful.”—wandsandworlds.com
 


Awards

  • Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award