#The Graceling Realm

[haveyoureadthismgyabook]

Series info:

Book 1 of The Graceling Realm

Book 2: Fire

Book 3: Bitterblue

Book 4: Winterkeep

Book 5: Seasparrow

#books #the graceling realm #graceling #kristin cashore #ya #fantasy #poll

[now-that-i-saw-you]

I'm just casually thinking about Hava feeling so much grief because of her mother and so much hate for her father that she feels like she's drowning and Hope saying "Girl is breathing." Just...the casual way in which she says it, the fact she doesn't really understand Hava and the truth she reveales. The pain might feel like too much, but she's alive. She's okay. Her lungs are full of air.

#seasparrow #the graceling realm #graceling #kristin cashore

[totallyshelfaware]

The brilliant and talented @noramejs drew baby Bitterblue as part of our book club’s reading of Kristin Cashore’s Graceling 💙 (Posted with permission, please show Nora some love by following her lovely art on Instagram!)

#graceling #bitterblue #the graceling realm #kristin cashore #art #fanart #book art #character art #look at her! she's so precious and BABY #please read these books I'm begging you #fantasy #ya fantasy

[thisisadecisionimayregret]

One thing I love about rereading books that were dear to me when I was younger is that I have a better understanding about Why I loved a particular book and what it meant to me. Like it used to be "oh this story makes me feel a lot of emotions and cry, but in a good way, idk" and now it's like "oh, yeah, this book makes me feel emotions and cry because one of the central themes of it is about having to reconcile the complexities of human people, and how you can love someone who hurt you or hurt others, you can understand the way someone can love you and still hurt you, deeply, and those two things do not cancel each other out and can exist at the same time" and, additionally, "that message is really going to resonate and hit for someone who has an abusive family, but hasn't recognized that they're abusive because they love her and she loves them, and hasn't realized both of those things can be true"

Like it's just funny to me that I remember saying to a friend who was reading these books for the first time "oh I just like the second book the most, I don't really know why, it's just my favorite and makes me cry the most" and then now, some years of therapy of later and a lot more introspection under my belt, I'm like "yeah the second book is my favorite and Still makes me cry the most, and I know Exactly why it does lmao"

The other fun about rereading books that were important to me as a child now is that I can also be like "hm yeah I was definitely still a horse girl when I first read that book and it had a non-zero impact on my appreciation for these characters"

#this is about #the graceling realm #fire by kristin cashore #lady fire #kristin cashore #listen i will never be ok about the lady fire and cansrel story like it is impossible and that's fine!! #i will also not be ok with Anything in that book but. that one reallllly hits me #samantha talks

[elliepassmore]

Graceling Review

5/5 Stars Recommended if you like: fantasy, magic, political intrigue, adventure, powers Fire review here

I'm shocked I haven't written a review for Graceling or Bitterblue yet considering I first read them almost a decade ago at this point, back when they were still called the Seven Kingdoms triloy and not the Graceling Realm, lol. This book centers on Katsa and Po, who also recur in 3 of the 5 books of the series, though not as main characters. There is a plot in the book, and a pretty big one, but like a lot of the books in this series, it's also very character-driven. A large portion of the book is dedicated to Katsa defining who she is and who she wants to be, all while also tackling the other parts of the plot. Katsa is very prototypically your average badass/strong female lead. That being said, she never does capitulate to the not-like-other-girls behavior that became common in the late-00s/early-2010s. Katsa is impulsive and easily frustrated, though her anger is something she works on throughout the book and she becomes better at holding it back. Despite all the terrible things she's done for her uncle, King Randa, she's desperate to do good things and will put herself on the line to do so. She definitely shows a lot of growth in this book as she figures out the limits (and truth) of her Grace and works on responding better to situations and growing beyond the role she'd felt relegated to her whole life. Katsa still has work to do at the end of the book, but she has a better handle on things and there's a clear difference in her reactions to things. Po comes in as a somewhat mysterious character from the beginning, but quickly emerges as one of the main characters of the book. Like Katsa, he's exceptionally good at fighting, and the two of them bond over their ability to spar relatively equally. He's fairly open for a character that holds some secrets, and he provides a more measured, calm foil to Katsa. He clearly respects Katsaand values her opinion, which is important. He has a generally amicable attitude that I find enjoyable to read. I like Katsa and Po together and have since I first read the book in middle school. I think it's good that they found a setup that works for them, and honestly don't understand why people get so huffy about it. They won't get married, sure, but they're definitely committed to one another and are satisfied with having a sometimes-long-distance relationship. Based on what both Katsa and Po say during the book, the solution they come up with suits them the best. Bitterblue is a nice addition to the 'main' cast about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through the book. She's Po's cousin and a princess (and 10 years old), but she's got a level head and handles the situations that get thrown at her with remarkable grace. Bitterblue understands the gravity of things and grows to trust Po and Katsa, and even becomes close to them. That being said, she also has her moments of levity or when she's a bit more kid-like, and she has some funny lines to add to the book. I was pleased when originally reading the series that she got her own book set when she's older. Raffin was also a side character who provided some levity, though he's mostly in the first third of the book. He's one of Katsa's few friends and another character that appears in most of the books. He clearly cares a lot about her and respects her opinion, and I enjoy reading their banter. Contrastingly, Giddon is not a character I (nor Katsa) particularly enjoy. He's frequently snarking on/criticizing Katsa, and on top of it he has some pretty male-centric views. Luckily he isn't in the book long, but he is a character that shows up briefly in Bitterblue, and then again in Winterkeep and Seasparrow as a more major character in both (and he is much more likeable in Seasparrow, tbd about Winterkeep). I like the little Easter eggs that connect this book to the sequel/prequel/companion Fire and how despite them, this book still stands on its own. The main antagonist is wrapped up in the plot in a couple of different ways, some of which aren't explained until fairly late in the novel. He's also a quality antagonist, and has a significantly different feel than the antagonists in the other books of the series. He's definitely the most sinister of them, imo based on the four books I've read, and I'd say he's definitely a quality villain. I greatly enjoy Graceling and find both the characters and the plot engaging. Katsa is a ball of energy and kind of larger than life, but I think she's balanced out well with characters who are more mild, but still individual, and you can definitely see her character growth over the course of the book.

#book #bookish #bookworm #bookshelf #bookblr #booklr #bookstack #bookstagram #book review #book recommendations #book lover #bookaddict #bookaholic #graceling #the graceling realm #kristin cashore #fantasy #fantasy book #ya fantasy #ya book #ya books #ya fantasy book #ya fiction #magic #political intrigue #adventure

[ladyofthedells]

“Truths are dangerous.” “Then why are you writing them in a book?” “To catch them between the pages.”

artwork by miaiminnis (insta) (tumblr)

#STUNNING ARTWORK #absolutely brilliant #bitterblue #queen bitterblue #graceling realm #fanart #lady fire #miaiminnis

[hatepotion]

ngl i'm not even doing inktober anymore, but here's giddon from graceling <3

#my obscure blorbo i will always love you #i actually drew these last year during the saudi arabia / arg match (to cope with the stress) #tiddies out 😌 #graceling #giddon #graceling realm #idk what else to tag so yeah that's it

[airyfrasc]

Got hit with my annual urge to paint Fire from the Graceling realm novels by Kristen Cashore 🔥

#lady fire #graceling #graceling realm #graceling series #Kristen cashore #fantasy books #fantasy art #portrait painting #digital painting #illustration #my art #artists on tumblr

[re-1124c41]

Katsa 100% taught Bitterblue how to cuss and thats a hill im willing to die on

#graceling #graceling realm #katsa #lady katsa #bitterblue #the sisterly vibes they develop did something so wholesome to my soul and i never fully recovered #i love them your honour #steal that pumpkin you funky king slayer you #mercy a speaks #mercy a's art #yes technically i still post my own art here occasionally #i know im surprised too

[carfuckerlynch]

rereading the graceling books and being like ohhh the country names are soooo uncreative why are they wester estill nander sunder and the middluns. and then remembering that england contains wessex essex sussex and the literal actual middluns (i think)

#odhran.txt #i swear i’ve heard it used. but hell if i know #graceling #graceling realm

[yombur]

hava from seasparrow: finally characters whose personalities are as unpalatable as their upbringing

#graceling realm #seasparrow #hava #kristin cashore #graceling #the fact that there are still graceling realm books coming out is such a gift to my teenage self. it is healing my inner child #the fact i have not found any hava art is criminal. must i do everything myself #in other news i still can't remember how to draw. anything working here is mostly by accident #i wish the color of her eyes were a bit clearer but i couldn't give up the dramatic lighting. it suits her

[now-that-i-saw-you]

Hava and Linny are very cute they make me wanna eat concrete

#seasparrow #the graceling realm

[99percentprocrastination]

me at age 12 starting Graceling: fun! a fantasy book about a girl who stabs people!

me at age 25 finishing Seasparrow: I Have Been Irrevocably Changed By These Characters

#graceling #graceling realm #seasparrow #kristin cashore #mp

[strawberryshortpace]

I’m definitely not crying over the authors note at the end of BitterBlue where the author acknowledges that earlier in the series she disabled one of her characters just to immediately magic cure him and when writing a later book had someone to consult with about if she could get around said magic cure and have him still be disabled character so she could show him being whole and happy while also being disabled

#‘it didn’t occur to me; until it was too late; that I had disabled Po; then given him a magical cure for his disability #‘thus implying that he couldn’t be a whole person and be disabled. I now understand that the magical cure trope is all too common in #‘[Fantast]/[Science Fiction] writing and is disrespectful to people with disabilities. My failings here are all my own’ #that last sentence fucking hurt #‘my failings here are all my own’ #bitterblue #graceling #graceling realm #Kristin Cashore

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote YES if you have finished the entire book.

vote NO if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

#fantasy #books #Graceling #Graceling Realm #Kristin Cashore #poll #result: no #l: English

[royalberryarts]

Quick painting practice with Queen Bitterblue 💙

Might work more on it later but I wanted to share regardless

#Queen Bitterblue #graceling realm #graceling series #kristin cashore #graceling #graceling fanart #bitterblue #winterkeep #digital art #artists on tumblr #art #artwork #digital painting #my art #royalberryarts