Bitterblue and her delegation, which includes Giddon and Bitterblue’s half-sister and spy, Hava, are on their way their way to Monsea on a diplomatic mission but also to investigate the disappearance of two of their countrymen. Giddon, a courtier who is hopelessly in (secret) love with Bitterblue is an important supporting character and his POV is also included.Įarly in the book, Bitterblue falls off the Monsean ship bound for Winterkeep. Bitterblue, Monsea’s queen, whom readers of the earlier books are familiar with, is the third main character. A couple are new to readers in the series: sixteen-year-old Lovisa and Adventure (Ad for short), a sentient fox who spies on Lovisa and on others for her mother. Instead it takes place in another country, Winterkeep, which is separated from Monsea by the ocean. The story in Winterkeep is set outside the five kingdoms of the earlier books in the series. And all these books, even the ones I didn’t love, are far above most YA novels in their intelligence so despite their uneven track record with me, I wait for each new book with bated breath. At their best, your books are stellar and you are such an insightful author. I really liked Graceling, the first book in the Graceling Realm series, did not much care for Fire but loved Bitterblue, and Jane Unlimited, a book separate from this series and a kind of “choose your own adventure” story, was a dissatisfying mindfuck as far as I’m concerned. I consider myself a fan of your YA fantasy even though not all of your books have worked for me.

Janine B- Reviews / Book Reviews animals / bisexual heroine / Captivity / child abuse / environmentalism / fox / Graceling Realm / kidnapping / Kristin Cashore / political intrigue / queen / romantic-elements / sex positive / YA / YA fantasy 4 Comments

Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore