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Winterkeep (Graceling Realm)

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The highly anticipated next book in the New York Timesbestselling, award-winning Graceling Realm series, which has sold 1.3 million copies. But Graceling, Fire and Bitterblue hold up so incredibly well, even in 2021, that there is no reason to skip those before you dive into Winterkeep. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed the Gracing Realm series by Kristin Cashore. Bitterblue in particular is a favorite character of mine throughout the series and so I was so happy to see that Winterkeep is another story that involves Bitterblue, years after she became the Queen.

That most definitely includes my absolute favorite character from the whole book Aventure Fox who is, you guessed it, a fox. I was not expecting to like him so much but, well, he was truly delightful to read and I couldn't get enough of his apparitions. The plot itself felt disjointed but I'm used to Cashore stringing us along on a wild ride that only starts to make sense near the end, but this one? I don't know. Basically everything from the characters to their motivations, and how it drove the plot and their machinations, nothing really felt all that solid. I both appreciated and yet hated the inclusion of yet another twisty and toxic emotional dynamic, because it's definitely important to shed light on and have young readers educated on how it's not acceptable, but combined with the fact that I wasn't enjoying the story, or the character who took the brunt of it all? Yeah, it was tough.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. Again, at the time of the book, both parties are already adults that can consent and have been friends for many years but it was difficult to wrap my mind around it. Which I did at the end. Because, honestly, they are really cute together and good for each other.

Though I initially had some trouble reconnecting with the world, it's been a few years since I read the first couple of books or since the last book was released, but I can say that it was absolutely worth it. The ending, after all, blew me away. Anyway, it was incredible, and I know I've said this multiple times already, but I just need to say it again. Cashore steps beyond the bounds of YA to bring in environmental issues to the Graceling-verse and even a darker element to politics than ever seen before. She's always been an author even before the 2010's that discussed topics not yet mainstream, but she uses her fantasy books as activist messages essentially. It's brilliant and valuable. I had the opportunity to review this book from an e-galley, thanks #NetGalley, #LibraryJournal #SchoolLibraryJournal, #DayofDialogue, #DialBooksforYoungReaders 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.Katsa: The main protagonist of Graceling. She has one blue eye and one green eye, as well as short dark hair. She is initially believed to be Graced with killing, but her real grace is survival as she later discovers with the help of Prince Po. In the beginning of this story Bitterblue, Hava and Giddon travel to Winterkeep, after envoys from Monsea drowned under mysterious circumstances. But we do not only follow their POVs but also a newly introduced character called Lovisa, who is the daughter of the president of Winterkeep.

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! Spring Sown Mixtures Summer Sown Mixtures Stewardship Mixtures Perennial Mixtures Weed Buster Range All Mixtures I was surprised by how little I hated the new romance plot. I think that's all I really have to say. However, in the beginning, I was not sure how I felt about the new characters we were being introduced to. Especially Lovisa Cavenda who was one of the main characters. I found her annoying and really immature and she got on my nerves quite a bit so it was really satisfying seeing her character growth and the place where we leave her made me incredibly proud, a feeling that I didn't think I could feel towards her.The highly anticipated next book in the New York Timesbestselling, award-winning Graceling Realm series, which has sold 1.7 million copies. 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.

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