I received this book in early 2012 from Goodreads and have only gotten around to it now. To note, I am a huge fan of Kristin Cashore work my favourite being Fire. Bitterblue itself was amazing! It was such a long wait and totally worth it! Cashore made great improvements in her writing, which I found weak in Graceling but not in Fire or Bitterblue; this is the sort of improvement I love to see in writers. Bitterblue was an addicting read that I could not put down reading it entirely in one day and leaving me wanting more. It had action, romance and political intrigue that was well explained and yet complex while the characters were well developed especially Queen Bitterblue herself. I would recommend this book to everyone especially fans of Kristin Cashore work yet I don't believe its necessary for one to have read Graceling or Fire before devouring Bitterblue. Also as a side note, the cover is beautiful and brilliant!