The Graceling Realm series came out when I had started high school (once upon a time), and I devoured each book as it came out. It’s unforgettable worldbuilding and riveting characters just hold you in place, and you can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen next. Bitterblue, I thought, marked the end of the series until Kristin announced the arrival of Winterkeep, along with a whole new re-envisioning of the series covers. To say that I was excited is a severe understatement. Even with quite a bit of time having passed since Bitterblue, I was able to pick up this story and fall within its pages as if I had never left the Graceling realm. This book was not only captivating, but intense, and as Kristin did so many years ago, she made me fall in love with each of the characters despite some of their choices. I didn’t want this book to end. Like the others, Winterkeep does have some triggers, and if physical abuse (in regard to children) is one, I might approach this book with caution.
If you’ve never read this series, you will definitely want to pick up the original three, because while this is a new story, it does talk about some of the characters in the previous books/spoil some of the previous books. I’ll also say that after a ten year break, it’s refreshing to get to go back into the Graceling realm with fresh eyes to see if it holds up, and for me, it definitely did. But yeah, don’t spoil it for yourself!
Winterkeep takes place four years after Bitterblue, and deals with a new land to the east of Monsea, of which the closest place to them is Winterkeep. Winterkeep is a land that’s full of marvels unlike they’d seen before, where sea creatures speak to each other, people can adopt telepathic foxes as pets and fly across the sky in airships. However, something else seems to be underfoot, when Bitterblue’s envoys to Winterkeep turn up missing, she goes off in search of them with her half sister Hava and friend (and possibly more) Giddon in tow. Before she can find a clue, she’s kidnapped, leaving everyone to think she’s drowned. In Winterkeep, Lovisa is a teenaged daughter of a Scholar and Industrialist who longs to make things happen, but without a clue as to how. She’ll need to catch on before everyone else does though, especially if she wants to see change.
There’s quite a bit to unpack in the summary alone, but let’s start at the beginning. We begin in the water, where the sea monsters, and something else are observing things happen around them. It’s a fascinating way to set the scene of what’s to come, especially in regard to Winterkeep. The underlying sense of mystery waiting is what propelled me forward to turn the page, and then we start getting into the bones of this story. I’m all about the way that Kristin Cashore shifts and pivots from each character’s point of view in a pretty seamless way. I especially loved when we start getting perspective from Ad, the telepathic fox as well as Lovisa’s point of view.
Now, when you start looking at each character, what I love about Kristin Cashore is her ability to make them frustratingly loveable. Lovisa definitely falls in this category, she’s quite clever, but gets into trouble quite easily. She also looks for trouble, partially due to the circumstances surrounding her raising. While sometimes it can call for some pretty quick judgement, I encourage readers to give Lovisa some grace while reading. Of all of the characters, she’s doing the most emotional growth of most of the characters.
That isn’t to say that Bitterblue doesn’t do some of her own growth in this book as well. As I mentioned, this book is very intense (the entire series really), and deals with very heavy themes from the beginning. For Bitterblue, dealing with the past, and also allowing it to help guide her in the present is key to her survival. Both Lovisa and Bitterblue have closed themselves off emotionally, and have to figure out how to navigate those emotions when they’re faced with some very hard situations. Kristin also goes into some political drama as well, where an advanced nation is taking advantage of one more ignorant of its potential resources. There’s so many layers to uncover, and I wish I could help you go through them all. Just know, if you’re looking for a book with lots of substance, this is definitely one you’ll want on your list.
Something I loved about Kristin Cashore’s books was the fact that romance isn’t at the centre of these stories. While it does play a role, it’s minimal and keeps the focus on the characters and what they’re going through. However, if you’re a reader that doesn’t like sex in books (or in YA), it does have that. Personally, I appreciate that this story both delves into consenting sexual relationship and sexuality. It’s tastefully done, and I think is also another topic that is worthy of discussion.
If I keep going too much longer, I’m going to wind up with pages of this review, so I’ll keep it at this. This story is phenomenal. If you were looking to continue this series and worried that there’s been a lot of change, I can honestly say that I felt like I picked up right where I left off. This story is a 10/10 for me. Add it to your TBR, buy it, request it from your library, but you’ll definitely want to get this one in your hands.
Winterkeep is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of January 19th 2021.
Will you be picking up Winterkeep? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
The highly anticipated next book in the New York Times bestselling, award-winning Graceling Realm series, which has sold 1.3 million copies.
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.
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 Bitterbue is kidnapped. Giddon believes she has drowned, leaving him and Hava to solve the mystery of what’s wrong in Winterkeep.
Lovisa Cavenda is the teenage daughter of a powerful Scholar and Industrialist (the opposing governing parties) with a fire inside her that is always hungry, always just nearly about to make something happen. She is the key to everything, but only if she can figure out what’s going on before anyone else, and only if she’s willing to transcend the person she’s been all her life.
