Bitterblue cover art

Bitterblue

Seven Kingdoms Trilogy, Book 3

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Bitterblue

By: Kristin Cashore
Narrated by: Emma Powell
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About this listen

The long-awaited companion to the New York Times best sellers Graceling and Fire is finally here!

Eight years have passed since the young 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, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisers, who have run the country on her behalf since Leck's death, 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 become 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 own city, that she begins to realise the truth. Her kingdom has been under the 35-year long spell of a madman.

Now, their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past - whatever that past holds. Two thieves, who have sworn only to 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, who possess an unidentified Grace, may also hold a key to her heart.

©2012 Kristin Cashore (P)2012 Orion Publishing Group Fiction Romance Royalty Science Fiction & Fantasy Fantasy Heartfelt

Critic Reviews

"This is gorgeous storytelling: exciting, stirring, and accessible." ( School Journal)
"A WOW of a book. I HAD to know how it ended" (Tamora Pierce)
"Fresh, hopeful, tragic and glorious" ( Kirkus Reviews)
All stars
Most relevant  
Complex issues, explored simply through stories and the characters' experiences. Cashore creates beautiful, whole characters, and a rich, gritty, diverse story world. The narrative jumps around a little, but comes together nicely, and serves as a device to further support the effects of events on the characters. Mentally stimulating, emotionally engaging, and altogether enthralling.

Rich and enthralling. It was easy to get lost in!

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Very very disappointed, feel cheated. In the last book the budding beautiful romance between Bitterblue and Giddon was delectable and full of the promise of their realisation of true love. The whole book was a waste for me because that was the only reason I listened . Very weird and disjointed and zero explanation or even any mention of their previous love! Strange. The relationship with Saph..also weird and wrong. Not a short book either so a lot of wasted time by me. Never really got anywhere. Seems more like a tween’s book except for the sex stuff. I like the promise that the books hold, their potential, but they never really deliver.

I waited the whole story for the bitter blue/gidon love story but it was like it never existed in the previous book!!!

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If you liked Kristin Cashores other books, you will love this one. A bit longer than the others, but it's needed for the amount of stories it tells. A bit slow to start, but once it gets going you wont be able to stop listening, and trying to figure out what's really going on. I absolutely loved it!

Beautifully Written Story

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every book I read in this series so far has been fantastic and Bitterblue has a way of bringing them all together in a mesmerising way. a must read

A stella series

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It is the end of the tyrannical reign of Leck, Bitterblue's evil father and the usurper of a Kingdom, but she is Queen Bitterblue, and she is trying to make sense of what Leck did and why he did it. There are a lot of lies and half-truths she needs to untangle to ensure her kingdom prospers. Good to see Katsa and Po and a bit of romance for Bitterblue- or is there? Poignant and well written but not as good as the first two.

Alright

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What disappointed you about Bitterblue?

It was a good book. A bit long though.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Either Teddy because he was so friendly and encouraging or Saff because ge was interesting and had a lot of depth although he was quite annoying he was very sensitive.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It had good story.

Any additional comments?

Audible made this a very difficult process because i had already bought the book with 1 credit but it did not download onto my books even after I refreshed it. I would suggest making books easier/possible to purchase in the audible app on IPhones. This happened to me with another book as well. Please make it easier to download and purchase the book.

Good book hard to download

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I was enjoying this book until it became about sexual assault...again. I’m a rape survivor, I love the fantasy genre and try to read female writer’s work because they generally write stronger, more rounded female characters. But it’s a nightmare because even female writers seem to feel the only way a woman character can be brought low and built back up again is through sexual abuse. It’s cheap and easy and thoughtless writing and it causes your readers emotional damage. Please be inventive instead of this awful scenario again and again. I’m so disappointed and still having panic attacks thanks to lazy plot writing.

Why do all female fantasy heroines have to be sexually assaulted?

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