Honestly, Kristin Cashore can do no wrong when it comes to this series, and I truly hope she continues with it. I loved that this story mainly focused on Hava and getting to understand her better. I've also really come to enjoy Bitterblue and seeing how fiercely protective she is of Hava.

Sadly this is a case of it's me, not you. I tried this book many times and I just am not feeling it which makes me so sad because I loved the other books in the series. Unfortunately it isn't the book for me but that doesn't mean it isn't the book for you.

This is good, don't get me wrong. But It's not as good as Winterkeep. And that's why it didn't get a 5.

Also I love Hava, I love her journey, literal and figurative since we are out at sea. But I don't like that this wasn't written in third person when the rest of the books were. That really threw me off and I kept waiting to get into the flow of it but never did.

"Seasparrow" immerses readers in an epic nautical journey filled with intrigue, discovery, and resilience. As Hava sails towards Monsea with invaluable secrets, the story takes unexpected turns. The revelation about a crew member adds layers to the plot, but it's the treacherous storms and the shipwreck that truly test the characters' mettle. The harrowing trek across the ice showcases their determination to survive against all odds.

This novel not only explores the weight of possessing world-altering knowledge but also delves into the personal evolution of its characters, especially Hava. Amid Queen Bitterblue's struggle with responsibility, Hava's quest to unravel mysteries and define her role in the emerging world adds depth to the narrative.

"Seasparrow" is a gripping tale of adventure, self-discovery, and the enduring human spirit, set against the backdrop of a changing world. It's a must-read for fans of epic journeys and intricate character development.

Loved it. Mostly set on a ship a ship returning home, Bitterblue's half-sister grapples with figuring out relationships, where she fits, and of course weapons of mass destruction. Once the sip is blown of course the crew and passenger strike out of foot. The must survive the elements and each other.

I love Kristin Cashore books and Seasparrow was absolutely no different.

I loved the journey out to sea and then beyond as they must survive.

I’m used to strong characters in Cashore books but Hava is so strong and I loved seeing the world from her point of view.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

Such a good addition to the series! I loved having Hana's perspective (and more blue foxes!) . Inspired me to re-read the rest of the series.

I am a bit embarrassed to say it took me almost a month to read this book, with school, other comittments, and the sheer length of this book. I often felt like I was reading so much and then it ended up being so little with the short chapters of this book. I enjoyed this one, and Hava was such a fun character to get to learn more about and the foxes!!! However, I think my dragging out of the book made it feel dragged out. If i reread in the future, I will be sure to not to that again.

I wanted to like this one but it felt forced compared to the others in the series. It was to much and the series’s should probably have stopped after 3.

Seasparrow tells the story of Hava, Bitterblue's sister, and spy, as they journey home from the events of the previous book. This was definitely the slowest Graceling book, and there's a lot of detail that felt superfluous. I also listened to the audiobook and thought it was strange that Hava's internal monologue had a British accent, but Hava's dialogue had a Scottish accent.

I sadly did not finish this one. I was super excited for another book in the Graceling world, but I had a hard time connecting with the new characters, and they spend more than half the book in a ship, and it wasn’t high stakes enough.

This author's writing style is simply not for me. However, I can definitely see how other's enjoy it! If you enjoy the author's other works, you'll probably like this, too!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an e-arc.

This is a fantastic continuation of the thrill filled fantasy! I enjoyed the faster pace of this read, and as always Cashore creates the best relationships in her characters. This was a great addition to a fantastic series!

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy!

Another incredible book that completely took me by surprise! I was not expecting to fall in love with Hava as much as I did, but it really is all because Kristin Cashore decided to write her pov in first person. I rarely enjoy first person pov, especially when it comes to fantasy, but I don't think this book could have been written in any other way. I don't think Kristin Cashore could have done Hava justice if this book wasn't written in first person.

To be inside of Hava's mind, to listen to every thought, suspicion, moment of self-doubt, anger, frustration...not only helps you understand the trauma Hava's been through and how that's shaped her every experience and interaction, but also connects you to Hava in a special way. It's almost confusing trying to understand why she acts the way she does, why she's always picking fights, and attacking people with her words. And trying to understand Hava trying to understand who she is and what she's supposed to do. Honestly, this book hit me in ways I was not expecting, because writing this out, I finally understand why Hava is so confused. She's spent her whole life surviving, and when she no longer has to survive, it's difficult to figure out who you are as a person without that fear and anxiety hanging over your heard. It's hard to trust people when you're not sure if they'll be taken away from you or if you'll be pushed to second-best.

God, I understood Hava's pain at not being told by Bitterblue directly that she's in love with Giddon and now they're a couple. Because while Hava would never admit it, she loves Bitterblue and sees her as <i>her</i> Bitterblue, and to have to share her with someone else is hard, especially when you grow up with having so little and what little you did have was taken away. To trust and be seen by one person for your early years, only for them to be murdered and be left alone, and then to finally be seen by someone or multiple someones, only to push everyone away constantly by being rude and questioning orders because all you're trying to do is protect yourself from getting hurt again...It makes so much sense. And Hava's anger makes so much sense. The scene we get with her and Hope at the end of the book where she goes to that abandoned castle and realizes that what she's seen her father do to her mother has made her so angry she can't differentiate that anger from other anger was such a pivotal scene for Hava. In some ways, Hava is so similar to her uncle, except he gets triggered by his memories and reacts with violence, whereas Hava has been keeping her trauma as a ball of anger that is constantly there, burning.

Every book Kristin Cashore has written focuses on trauma in different ways. And I think what I love about her books is that it helps you understand your own trauma/actions/experiences in a different light. I think it helps you understand yourself better, just like her characters come to conclusions about their own experiences.

Anyway, on to the rest of the book.

FIRSTLY...MAPS. We got a beautiful detailed diagram of the ship. And I, for the life of me, do not understand ships, but I think I now sort of understand them??? I might be the only one who appreciated the diagram of the ship, but I constantly referred back to it as Hava was exploring and sneaking around the <i>Monsea</i>.

I was not expecting so much of this book to take place at sea, but the pacing was perfect and kept me on the edge of my seat. This book reminded me a lot of Graceling, and we even get references to parts of that book with Grella's Pass and Bitterblue's journey across the mountains as she escaped Leck. In many ways, it felt like this series came full circle; Bitterblue starts off as a child trying to survive the horrible journey through Grella's Pass and finishes the series with surviving the brutal cold and glaciers of the north. (If this happens to be the last book in the series, it's kind of perfect).

Despite all the characters we get to know on the ship, I didn't have a hard time keeping track of most of them. They were all unique in their personalities and I enjoyed getting to know them and see Hava interact with them. Linny was probably my favourite of course. And I am glad we don't get a full-on romance between him and Hava, but a slower build-up at their own pace. It felt so realistic, especially for people who both have trauma.

THE FOXES. Okay this part was equally adorable but also sad. But I absolutely love baby foxes and seeing Adventure have to be a dad/grandfather and take care of them was so cute. Hope's story was so sad, but I love Hope so much and her <i>my girl</i> and <i>chocolate</i> comments made me want to cry. I'm glad she found a home with Hava. Blueberry's death was heartbreaking though. But I am obsessed with Moth and everyone trying to teach her how to be a "good tyrant" lol. She is so much like Hava and I love her so much for it.

While most of the book focuses on survival, once most of them actually survive, things become quite political again. To start off it, I almost cried multiple times. First, when they came out of the glacier tunnel. Second, when Fire stepped out of the carriage. THEN WHEN WE SAW AN OLD BRIGAN. And then when Bitterblue finally reaches Monsea and is met with her soldiers all waiting for her and everyone sobbing and then Katsa and Po come riding in and Ror is right behind them djsfldsjfsdkfj I could almost start sobbing now. Considering how much has happened between Winterkeep and Seasparrow, I cannot imagine the anxiety and heartbreak everyone else was going through. And the second we're back in Bitterblue City, things go back to politicking. I really enjoy these parts of the book and I was excited to see Raffin and Bann again since I knew Bitterblue needed chemists and they were the only ones she trusted. Seeing the whole gang together (or at least there) was so nice.

I was a bit worried about the decisions Bitterblue would have to make, because it is a huge decision on what to do when you have the formulas for a dangerous weapon that everyone wants. But I loved the solution she came up with, and I also love Bitterblue for writing out her answers to her arguments on paper to prepare herself. Why is she such a sweetie. ALSO SHE CALLS HAVA SWEETIE ALL THE TIME AND I REALLY CANNOT.

Hava has some really iconic lines in this book, which on reread, I will have to take note, but her telling Bitterblue "you have daddy issues" made me snort out loud. And then Instagram heard and showed me a real where a therapist was like "maybe you don't have daddy/mommy issues and its your dad/mom who had issues raising you" which huge mood, someone tell Bitterblue and Hava quick. Also, Hava just saying the wrong things and making everyone worried, especially at Bitterblue and Giddon's secret wedding where she's like "maybe I should be angry at myself instead of everyone else" and Bitterblue and Giddon are like "wait-no-that is not what we meant" and Hava runs away. She's so iconic really.

I don't know what else to say about this book. The survival aspects of this book, especially being inside of Hava's mind can be difficult to read. It's hard to truly imagine what she went through and seeing her brain shut down, unable to remember things or process things, felt so realistic to what actual trauma is like. Kristin Cashore does such a good job at capturing these moments and making them feel real. Hava being reminded of their journey constantly in the castle, and having to come to the realization that now she has trauma from her time living there under Leck, but also trauma from her journey back to Monsea that keeps coming back, and her need to get away and see something new. It all makes so much sense and is done so well. I think the one thing I take away from these books is how accurate the representation has always felt for me. These books aren't just stories, but experiences that are relatable to the reader.

Overall 4.75/5 stars. I cannot wait to read whatever else Kristin writes next.

I love this series and this book is another great addition to it. Kristin Cashore is such a fantastic storyteller that I can't wait to read her books. I loved the characters this book focused on and I love the world that Cashore was able to create. The book is easy to read but rich enough to feel like you are really transported into that world. I highly recommend this one.

Thank you Penguin my eARC of this thrilling installment in the Graceling Realm. Being in Java’s head made gave this book such an interesting lens. I am looking forward to seeing more of Bitterblue’s journey. 3 Stars

Let me begin by saying that nearly 3/4 of this book uses tropes that I actively dislike. And that is very much a me thing, not an objective opinion.

The first part of the book takes place on a ship and I'm a hard sell on ship books unless I'm super invested in the characters and plot. Then it turns into a journey/survival book which I also don't really enjoy unless I'm very invested in the characters and plot. Eventually we did get back to the political stuff that I like best from Cashore, but while there were a few threads that carried me through, a good portion of this book was tedious for me to read. That said, if you like books on ships, journey books, and survival stories, you might love this!

Here is what I did really enjoy about Seasparrow...

I like Hava as a character, though it took awhile for me to really see what Cashore was trying to do with her personal journey here. Ultimately this book is about reckoning with trauma, parental neglect (specifically from a parent who was themselves being abused), and finding a path toward healing and learning how to trust. And while that journey is really difficult for Hava, it's a beautiful one and by the end, Cashore deftly wove plot threads together in a way that made sense. Also the foxes are very cute and I love how Hava caring for Hope and helping her heal mirrors her own healing journey.

Given previous books in the series, I think I was expecting more thematically from Seasparrow. Usually we get multiple interwoven themes, but this is a quieter and much more personal book. And I think it works, but I don't know that I loved it in the same way that I have previous books in the series. Though to be honest, given how much was stacked against this book in terms of tropes, it is a testament to Cashore's ability to write amazing character arcs that I liked Seasparrow as much as I did. And it definitely leaves it open for more books in the series if she wants to write them! I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I have been reading the Graceling series since 2012 (5 years) I reread the first three books last year for the release of Winterkeep. This is essentially set in a fantasy world where people with Graces exist, Graces are like enhanced skills, the first book, we are following Katsa, who worked for the King Randa as spy and assassin, as she is Graced with killing. This is a kind of companion series as well. What I love about this series is how well written each of the characters are. They all feel distinct from each other, they are all flawed yet lovable, the world just keeps getting more and more lush with each book. There is a subplot of romance for each book that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE. I love each of our couples. I don’t know if there will be more books in the series, as of right now, there are no announcements that I’ve heard about more books but I would not be mad if there is more. I just love each book and I’m always left with extreme fondness for each of the MCs at the end of the books.

Another incredible addition to the Graceling realm. Kristin Cashore continues to write about compelling and real and complicated characters living in their real and complicated lives. She writes about healing in a way that allows it to be messy and difficult, and also hopeful and fulfilling.
In this book we follow Hava, other known and loved characters from the series, as well as new characters, on a harrowing journey after their ship is destroyed in a storm. The survival story aspect had me gripped, the characters and their relationships were such a pleasure to watch unfold, and of course we have more FOXES AND FOX BABIES that stole my heart right from the beginning. This book made me laugh, and also made me cry so hard. Just like the rest of the series, it was an incredibly emotionally fulfilling ride.

SEASPARROW is a story of adventure, survival and self-actualization. What I appreciate about Kristin Cashore's writing is how each installment of The Graceling Realm series is different from the next and it never quite loses its novelty. Hava is certainly a unconventional narrator and female MC, someone who thinks differently and who isn't necessarily likeable, but in the best of ways. Hava's unique perspectives make her even more compelling. Arguably, the strongest element of this book is the character development in Hava throughout the entire book, something we get a special in-depth glimpse into. Even though this book was a chonk, it wasn't hard to read, and the pacing is pretty good for a 600 page book. Also, I walked away with a deeper obsession with the telepathic blue foxes while meeting Hope and her babies. The relationship between Hope and Hava was just plain old precious and just warmed my heart. Overall, SEASPARROW is a solid installment to the Graceling Realm, though I do think it could have been a tad shorter, it was still really good!