Kristin Cashore, Oh How I Love You, Let Me Count the Ways.

I have also have Graceling as an audio book. 

Post overview…Read Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue. Read them all right now.

Incase you could not tell from the title of this post, I admire Kristin immensely. I admire her dedication to her craft and her ability to create such powerful stories. If I could write half as good as her I would die a happy woman.

 I’m embarrassed to admit, but Bitterblue has been sitting on my shelf since the day it was published in 2012, and I just now read it. Then once I started reading this fabulous tale I really took my time. I just did not want it to end! I could go on and on about how much I loved Bitterblue, but I want to talk about the series as a whole.

The strongest element of all of these stories is the world building. I’m not just talking about how many countries and mountain ranges are placed on a map, I’m talking about everything within the world. From the land, to politics, unusual animals, common beliefs, clothing, and everything in between, she thought of it. If you are a writer in the process of learning about world building, these books are a must for you.

All of these books have a perfect balance of action and romance. I would not say these are a “romance” by any means, but in every story there is enough of a love interest to keep you wanting more.

Let’s not forget about the notable characters. Every single character is unique and unforgettable. The writing style makes it so easy to feel for them. As a writer it is a good reminder that not all of your characters have to be the good guy for us to care about them. There were many times some of the characters did some pretty frustrating things, yet they were not frustrating characters. I should warn you though, she does not hold back when it comes to doing bad things to them, or killing them off if needed.

Kristin has a very unique writing style. Her scenes are pretty short and to the point. They move along at a fast pace, but are not choppy. That takes skill people. She can get her point across, with all the necessary visual descriptions needed, in half the time as many authors. That may seem easy because she does it  flawlessly, but let me tell you that it takes talent to write like that.

Overall, if you are a fan of fantasy, you need to read these books. From the plot to the characters they are unique in everyway. And take you time, these books are best if consumed slowly.