Winterkeep is the fourth Graceling Realm novel by Kristin Cashore.

Content Note: child abuse

Plot:
Bitterblue has been ruling her kingdom for five years. Years in which Monsea has drastically expanded its diplomatic relationships – now extending all the way to the continent Torla. The closest nation to Monsea on that continent is Winterkeep. Winterkeep is a wondrous lands to Monseans. A democratic republic where people can communicate telepathically with some of the animals. After the ship with her envoys sinks though, and Bitterblue receives intelligence that this may not have been an accident, she decides to visit Winterkeep herself, together with Hava and Giddon. But things don’t go exactly as planned. Meanwhile Lovisa Cavenda is the daughter of one of the most powerful families in Winterkeep. And she, too, wants to investigate some mysteries that happen around her family and that may also be key to Bitterblue’s mission.

Winterkeep is an exciting return to the Graceling Realm (after so many years, we get blessed again this fall with a fifth novel, so double yay) and I absolutely loved reading it. It was emotional and intriguing and expands the Graceling Realm in very interesting ways.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2022/08/05/winterkeep-kristin-cashore/ ( )

Five years after the events of Bitterblue, the Queen of Monsea sails to Winterkeep to investigate the disappearance of two envoys.

As a sequel about Bitterblue, this was pretty much everything I wanted. I particularly liked how, even during parts of the story when Bitterblue and Giddon are apart, there’s such a strong sense of what their relationship is like -- and how strong it is.

As for the other POV characters, I quite liked the blue fox and the ocean-dwelling Keeper. The chapters about Lovisa, the daughter of Winterkeep politicians, were compelling.
I was expecting more resolution from Lovisa’s story -- but it isn’t until the end that she properly has the space and the support to work out what she wants from her life and her relationships, or to come to terms with her past and her family’s legacy. (The sorts of things Cashore’s other heroines get to do during their books.) So although I didn’t find Lovisa very relatable nor her ending wholly satisfying, that’s very much a personal reaction. And it’s important that we also get stories which say, it’s okay if you’re sixteen and things are messy and you don’t know what you want!


[...] he saw that the dark marble stripes on the floor formed tentacles, belonging to yet another representation of that sea monster from the Keepish fairy tales.
“I think he’s called the Keeper,” Giddon said, saying the word in Keepish.
“She,” said Hava, with a small scowl.
“Okay, she. And this is the Keep, and the country is Winterkeep.”
“Wow, Giddon,” said Hava. “It’s like you have an advanced degree in etymology.”
“Not nearly as advanced as your degree in sarcasm,” he said, pretending to be less piqued than he was. ( )

After how gorgeous the rest of this series is, I was pretty let down by Winterkeep. Giddon, who was an asshole in Graceling and was redeemed in Bitterblue, seemed to have lost all character progress at the beginning of Winterkeep and a lot of gestures that seemed selfless previously felt more like entitled possessiveness and grooming in this sequel. I almost DNF’d this book around 30% in and while I’m glad I got some closure on this series there were definitely cringe moments further in as well (not all from Giddon, I would like to clarify that this is a more generic problem with the book). There were several oddly unpolished, clunky sections of dialogue that I found shocking, given where Cashore is in her career. While some scenes are diamonds in the rough, but I’m definitely glad I didn’t purchase this book and will not be re-reading it like I do with Graceling, Fire, or Bitterblue. ( )

Bitterblue is now Queen of Monsea, but is upset about the disappearance of two envoys to Winterkeep and a strange message about zillium. She decides to visit the small kingdom with her advisors and protector, Gibbon, when she is washed overboard by a rogue wave in a storm, and eventually held captive. Meanwhile, things are unsettled in Winterkeep over whether zillium should be used as a polluting power source or something worse. The Cavenda family is headed by a leading political figure from each party, who differ on zillium, and the mother rules the roost, terrorizing the children. Their daughter, Lovisa, is a main character as she has to decide right from wrong, especially about some of the illegal and immoral actions of her parents. The book builds suspense along the way, and there are some great animals, such as the sea dwellers, but Cashore misses the boat on fully developing the human-bonding foxes. Like other reviewers, I think the many sexcapades detracted from the story. Lovisa is a strong character, whom I hope to see more of in the next installment in the Graceling realm. ( )

Queen Bitterblue of Monsea must head to the nation of Winterkeep after her envoys drown in suspicious circumstances, and somewhere there, Lovisa Cavenda waits and watches while tragedy with devastating political and personal ramification strikes. ( )