Review: Seasparrow ~ Kristin Cashore

Image from Goodreads. Click on the image to learn more about this book.


Format I Used: Audiobook & E-book
Pages: 624
Running Time: 16h:37m
My Rating: 4 stars
Publication Date: October 27, 2022

 

As usual, random spoilers, some vague some not. Read on at your own risk.

 

So this book... was not my absolute favorite book of Kristin Cashore's... But at the same time, I also didn't hate it. I have very very mixed feelings about it. It felt like it was very anticlimactic. There were so many things that were happening, and it was building to something big, and then it kind of just fizzled out. (for me at least)

It was so hard for me to keep how old Hava was straight in my head. She's 21. She literally says it out loud (or maybe she thinks it when she's talking to Linny, I don't remember for sure) But her actions and thoughts, and the way literally everyone talked to and treated her made it hard to remember. It all made her feel very very young to me, and maybe that's the point? Because of her upbringing?

The thought of Hava and her Grace was so interesting to me. Maybe it's because I feel like a chameleon sometimes, so the fact that Hava can actually turn herself into things that will make her blend into the background and go unnoticed made me feel a kinship towards her. She was set up for failure from the beginning. She was so suspicious of everyone around her and only thought they wanted to use her for something, but that's because that's really all she knew. She never had the chance to make friends and learn about expressing herself, etc. etc. There were times I just wanted to shake her, because she was so focused on herself at times that it was detrimental to everyone including herself!

It was a very slow going book (a molasses kind of read is what I like to call it.) This was very much a character growth kind of story and not much of an action read (like Cashore's others) There's really no big bad guy that we're fighting against, and the biggest issue kind of just fizzled out (with the foxes).

SPEAKING OF THE FOXES THEY WERE ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT THIS BOOK. I was so invested in the safety and adventure of these little precious babies, and when the one died, I literally bawled and raged about it. 

Linny was my other favorite thing about this book. He was so sure and steady the whole way through and he somehow managed to sneak his way into my heart. He's PRECIOUS.

I thought it was funny that the most dangerous thing they encountered was a plain old polar bear. Yeah, the way they described it gave me chills too, but out of all the scary monsters and people with Graces, and plain ol' polar bear was one of the scariest things that appeared.

There was also a lot of crying in this book (almost as much as in Winterkeep)

 I would have sworn that Bitterblue was pregnant (spoiler alert: she wasn't) by how nauseous and whatnot she was for basically the ENTIRE book. But no. She was literally just seasick.

BRO we get to see my favorite Brigan again! He's the best, the bees knees, and no one can tell me otherwise.

Did It Make Me Cry? Yes. The aforementioned foxes caused me to cry QUITE A BIT.

 

Waiting On Wednesday: Seasparrow ~ Kristin Cashore

 Hello Friends!

When I first started blogging WoW was a pretty big deal. It was hosted by Breaking The Spine. I don't know if it's still an active thing, but I'm giving credit where credit is due.

This week I'm super excited to be sharing that my WoW is:

Seasparrow ~ Kristin Cashore (Book 5 in the Graceling series)

Expected publication:November 1, 2022

Summary from Goodreads:

The fifth novel in the bestselling and award winning Graceling Realm series focuses on Hava, Queen Bitterblue's spy, and her harrowing journey back to Monsea after the events of 2021's Winterkeep.

In the immediate aftermath of the events of Winterkeep, Bitterblue and her entourage begin the journey back to Monsea with the only copies of the formulas for the zilphium weapon. Bitterblue must decide what she will do with her world-shaping power. But before they've even made it halfway home, storms drive their ship off course and then wrecking them in the ice far north of the Royal Continent. The survivors must make a harrowing trek across the ice in order to make it back to Monsea.

Seasparrow is told entirely from the point of view of Hava, Bitterblue's personal spy and secret half-sister. And while Bitterblue grapples with how to carry the responsibility of a weapon of mass destruction, Hava must decide what she will do with herself in the new world Bitterblue will make.

Why I Can't Wait

When I say I did a happy dance when I saw that this was a thing, I'm not lying. Also, I felt like I was living under a rock, because I didn't even know that this was going to be a thing until... 2 weeks ago I think? Whatever. I adore this series. FIRE, is one of my absolute favorite books in the whole wide world.