#Winterkeep

[luminouslumity]

[royalberryarts]

Quick painting practice with Queen Bitterblue 💙

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

[dramaticinsomniac]

University has been kicking my butt lately so October was a month of rereads!

Let’s all just take a moment to appreciate how pretty the 10th anniversary edition of Maggie Stiefvater’s The Scorpio Races is - it even came with a gorgeous poster and matching bookmark! This is forever one of my favourite novels and very much fits the October mood.

I especially really appreciate Finn (the younger brother of one of the main protagonists) as some autistic representation, even though it’s never named as such. Does anyone else read the character that way?

[onewhoturns]

This week I learned Kristin Cashore’s graceling realm series is religion-free and I love that for her. It makes it something I have to consciously watch out for when writing fic but what a cool and interesting detail. (More info can be found in a blog post from her about it, but I’m more impressed because it’s such a rare thing to find in fantasy imo)

[jessethejoyful]

“Queen Bitterblue wielded the letter opener in one hand like a sword, a calm, ferocious expression on her face.”

[pollinateme]

you are stronger than they make you feel.

-Kristin Cashore in Winterkeep

[feyrianedoesart]

Bitterblue & Adventure, from “Winterkeep”

[hatepotion]

[darknight1192]

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Those Books that Just Casually Reach into Your Chest and Tear Your Heart Out

So, as you may or may not know, I moved to Canada a few years ago, and had to leave some of my books in Alaska. Graceling and Bitterblue were two of those books, but SINCE I moved, Kristin Cashore has added two fantastic books to the series, and I wanted to talk about them today, because every single one since Graceling in 2008 has managed to just casually reach into my chest and tear my heart out.

Cashore's writing is a really fascinating balance between geopolitics and the intensely personal interior lives of her protagonists. From Katsa learning that her grace is the exact opposite of what she thought to Fire's acceptance of her heritage and actions, to Bitterblue's massive growth and Hava's recovery from just a stunning amount of trauma, these books are always a trip and always worthwhile.

Graceling came out in 2008, and it was a book I really had to sit with and read a few times, because Katsa's head was not necissarily easy to be inside--but taking the time to get there and understand her was immensely rewarding. Apparently they are also doing a Graceling graphic novel, for those of you who want to explore the story that way!

Fire is and will forever be my favorite entry in this series, which might be a bit strange because it functions more as a companion to the rest of the books--dare I say immensely relevant prequel that gets increasing nods in the subsequent books?--than a part of the main storyline. But what I will never forget about Fire is how physically present she is as a character, which was a really interesting switch from the other protaginists.

Bitterblue--it has been a lot of years since I read Bitterblue--is a masterwork in untangling and understanding the past and the true extent of the trauma that King Leck caused. I'm an English major for a reason, but Bitterblue made me appreciate math in a way that a string of increasingly desperate math teachers never, ever could.

Winterkeep expanded Cashore's world both in terms of geography and in terms of what authors can do in YA fiction now that it's not 2008 anymore (this book was released in 2021--LOTS changed in the intervening time...). This was more of an ensemble book--albeit with Bitterblue in the fore again--than the first three, and it was incredible.

Seasparrow is Hava's book, and literally everyone needs a hug. There are baby blue foxes, and everyone resolutely NOT becoming the Donner party. This book grabbed me by the heartstrings and hung on as Hava learned to forgive and to grow.

[now-that-i-saw-you]

Couples in Graceling Realm books as Taylor Swift songs

Katsa and Po - Call It What You Want

Fire and Brigan - Delicate

Saf and Bitterblue - Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version)

Bitterblue and Giddon - long story short

Hava and Linny - Sweet Nothing

[3lectra-he4rt]

does anyone else feel like the graceling fandom is dead even though Seasparrow is relatively new

[ladyofthedells]

crying over this collage of Ad and Winterkeep on Kristin’s website

[onewhoturns]

Honestly one of the funniest moments in Winterkeep— and there’s a lot of funny moments.

[siryl]

"Strangeness in the Woods" by Winterkeep.

[royalberryriku]

Ngl I don't particularly want to get into the animation industry since it looks so stressful and too much for me, but part of me wants to get into it JUST to make animated shows of my favourite books series.

Like, could you imagine this fluid animated battle scene of Xingyin where she's battling demon realm soldiers with the Jade Dragon Bow, stylised sky-fire raining down and using camera angles to accentuate her skill and technique with the bow??? Or a slow motion scene of Lovisa walking through the snow as she wonders what to do about her parents and her growing suspicions?? Katsa moving in the shadows as she works alongside Giddon??

The art direction that could be done for designing the cities and towns?? Like could you imagine Graceling, Winterkeep, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, etc all getting the Castlevania treatment with beautiful art and cinematography??

It'd be so cool...