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ambeesbookishpages's review against another edition
3.0
Alright, so I have a love hate relationship with this book. My full review will come soon
alyssaindira's review against another edition
4.0
**NO MAJOR SPOILERS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS REVIEW**
“It isn’t a choice when you don’t have the freedom to say no."
Hey guys, so I powered through this novel. it is actually a quick and decent read. The descriptions are just enough to get you in the story, but not enough to be overwhelming. In fact, the descriptive scenes are almost..bare? in a way, or they are filled with easy information so you do not have to take the time to analyze it. The most descriptive scenes were the sisters remembering or their thoughts and the fights. I actually did like the fight scenes, I was able to follow along with them nicely, it wasnt a chaotic jumble like some scenes are. Additionally, I like how fast paced the book is. Fast is great for easy read, but for story/character building, it almost makes some things seem a bit unbelievable.
Some things that I thought were a bit unbeliveable, but I just had to roll with it, was the sudden nefarious plot, the attraction, and the change in Serina. I feel like these things need proper time to get established. I know it is difficult in an introductory novel, so I gave it a pass and just sat back and enjoyed the story. I know it was heavily hinted that Noami was a rebellious spirit, defiant, etc, but forher to just...yea I was like, 'okay, sure'. Same with the attraction, I spotted those a mile away, like please. But least they were all semi intriguing, had more to offer than just a mere plot point. Though, their specific plot point was heavily influenced by Red Queen, I do believe. So I was not as shocked as I could have been.
I admire both sisters in different ways. They both have a sense of duty and honor and obligation. Naomi a duty to herself, Serina a duty to her family and her province. Naomi seeks to change the status quo in an explosive way, while Serina just wants to change it just enough to be able to be helpful. I also love Noamis love for books, how could I not?? I do not really think Naomi's character changes that much personally as the strong progresses, just a slightly deeper dive into a trait that was already there, loyalty and rebellion. But man, I think its Serina who really changed during the book. She was trained to be a grace and fight that way for her family. NOw she just found a different way to fight. I admire that strength.
The world they live in, is definitely an echo of older times, which grates on my nerves. But makes me glad the characters are trying to fight against it and to change the world. Anything can happen if you put your mind to it. Remember, this is all my opinion, if you want your own, read the book.
“It isn’t a choice when you don’t have the freedom to say no."
Hey guys, so I powered through this novel. it is actually a quick and decent read. The descriptions are just enough to get you in the story, but not enough to be overwhelming. In fact, the descriptive scenes are almost..bare? in a way, or they are filled with easy information so you do not have to take the time to analyze it. The most descriptive scenes were the sisters remembering or their thoughts and the fights. I actually did like the fight scenes, I was able to follow along with them nicely, it wasnt a chaotic jumble like some scenes are. Additionally, I like how fast paced the book is. Fast is great for easy read, but for story/character building, it almost makes some things seem a bit unbelievable.
Some things that I thought were a bit unbeliveable, but I just had to roll with it, was the sudden nefarious plot, the attraction, and the change in Serina. I feel like these things need proper time to get established. I know it is difficult in an introductory novel, so I gave it a pass and just sat back and enjoyed the story. I know it was heavily hinted that Noami was a rebellious spirit, defiant, etc, but forher to just...yea I was like, 'okay, sure'. Same with the attraction, I spotted those a mile away, like please. But least they were all semi intriguing, had more to offer than just a mere plot point. Though, their specific plot point was heavily influenced by Red Queen, I do believe. So I was not as shocked as I could have been.
I admire both sisters in different ways. They both have a sense of duty and honor and obligation. Naomi a duty to herself, Serina a duty to her family and her province. Naomi seeks to change the status quo in an explosive way, while Serina just wants to change it just enough to be able to be helpful. I also love Noamis love for books, how could I not?? I do not really think Naomi's character changes that much personally as the strong progresses, just a slightly deeper dive into a trait that was already there, loyalty and rebellion. But man, I think its Serina who really changed during the book. She was trained to be a grace and fight that way for her family. NOw she just found a different way to fight. I admire that strength.
The world they live in, is definitely an echo of older times, which grates on my nerves. But makes me glad the characters are trying to fight against it and to change the world. Anything can happen if you put your mind to it. Remember, this is all my opinion, if you want your own, read the book.
jj_05's review against another edition
5.0
What I don’t understand is why this book is rated so lowly. Personally this story was super enjoyable for me. I felt, Of course, that the whole Asa reveal was predictable but that’s mainly because I’ve learnt to never trust the ‘nice’ guy. But overall this book was very passionate and I enjoyed the twisted similarities to the prison and the palace. Malachi confuses me a bit. I originally thought he was just bipolar haha. But now I think he has this twisted way of expressing his feelings as he hasn’t been raised another way! A scene that reeked a lot of tension for me was Serina’s fight. Of course it was anticipated that she would win but I loved how she yielded. Anyway that’s my review. Leave me alone
rafinou's review against another edition
3.0
3,5 kept me on edge, was very intriguing, but slightly predictable in a Red Queen way
leaaaaaa's review against another edition
2.0
Easily sucks you in, defo YA; as in, could have more indepth personality development but the story telling is great.. that is, til you realize the simplicity of the plot and you tell yourself, oh please, that can’t have been it, that’s so ultra predictable.. but as I was literally at sea with no internet for a few days, I decided to finish it despite that. And there was indeed 1-2 little surprises, which at least made me appreciate the rest of the plot execution apart from the super obvious part. In fact, it was decent enough, that I then proceeded to read book 2 (which was better).
abi56's review against another edition
4.0
Nomi and Serina, although they are sister's have been raised very differently. Serina was raised to become a Grace and Nomi a handmaided, but when Nomis rebellion catches the Heirs eye, everything changes.
"For every woman who has been told to sit down and be quiet... And who stood up anyway"
**SPOILERS**
In this fantasy world, women are stripped of all their rights and privileges, expected to either serve or act as incubators for children.
Everything changes when Serina takes the blame for a "crime" Nomi committed. I found that Serina managed to mould into her new found role very well, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story from her point of view, aswell as the relationships she formed and the new found strength she found (compared to how she was seen/portrayed on the boat to her trying to form a rebellion and taking over the guards)
On the other hand I struggled with Nomi as a character, her story felt predictable and was something I had seen before.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style, you definitely got a feel for the World and the Characters, even the secondary characters became an integral part of the story.
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars
I mean who doesn't love a book about kickass women?!
"For every woman who has been told to sit down and be quiet... And who stood up anyway"
**SPOILERS**
In this fantasy world, women are stripped of all their rights and privileges, expected to either serve or act as incubators for children.
Everything changes when Serina takes the blame for a "crime" Nomi committed. I found that Serina managed to mould into her new found role very well, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story from her point of view, aswell as the relationships she formed and the new found strength she found (compared to how she was seen/portrayed on the boat to her trying to form a rebellion and taking over the guards)
On the other hand I struggled with Nomi as a character, her story felt predictable and was something I had seen before.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style, you definitely got a feel for the World and the Characters, even the secondary characters became an integral part of the story.
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars
I mean who doesn't love a book about kickass women?!
crimk's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
ladytiara's review against another edition
4.0
Grace and Fury is a compulsively readable, deeply feminist YA fantasy.
Sisters Serina and Nomi live in Viridia, a country with a very repressive government run by the Superior. Women are not allowed to attend school or learn to read. Most people are poor, and for most women, their only options are working long hours in a factory or marriage (and marriage is no guarantee that you won’t also have to work in a factory). For the very beautiful, there is one chance at a different life, being chosen to serve as a Grace for the Superior or his son, the Heir. Graces are sort of like a harem; there are many of them and they bear the Superior’s children, but they also have a public, ornamental role at the court. The Superior chooses three new Graces every 3 years, and women from all over the country compete for the “honor.”
Because Selina is very beautiful, her family has groomed her to compete to be a Grace. She’s given more food than the rest of the family, to give her curves, and all of their limited resources go toward training her for this role. She is chosen to represent their town, and she and Nomi travel to the capital city of Bellaqua for the selection, which will be different this year because the Heir is choosing his first three Graces. Nomi will serve as Serina’s handmaiden, but she hates the whole concept of Graces and doesn't want to be there. She also has a very big secret: she knows how to read.
Once they arrive at the Superior’s palace, things go horribly wrong. The Heir chooses Nomi as one of his Graces, and Serina is caught with a book that Nomi stole and arrested. Now Nomi has to figure out how to survive as a Grace on her own, while Serina is sent to a horrible prison on a volcanic island, Mount Ruin.
The story is told in a dual narrative, with alternating chapters from the points of view of each sister. The dual narrative works well for the story, since there are obvious parallels between the sisters' circumstances: Serina is fighting for her life in a vicious prison, and Nomi is in a far more luxurious, but just as dangerous place. Mount Ruin is as awful as it sounds. The prisoners live in caves and the ruins of buildings that were destroyed during a volcanic eruption. The women are forced to fight each other in an arena, for extra food and the entertainment of the (all male) guards. For Serina, a young woman who has spent most of her life learning to be ornamental, it's a brutal place and she has to figure our how to survive. Serina's character arc is the more interesting one, as she goes from being a sheltered, pampered young woman prepared to live within the system and not rock the boat to someone who yearns to rebel and fight for change.
I found Nomi a bit less sympathetic, because she's hopelessly naive and does some things that were such obviously bad ideas that I cringed. She has a lot of high ideals, but she tends to rush into things without thinking them through. Her position at court is an odd one. The other potential Graces were mostly desperate to be chosen, and no one, expecially Nomi herself, can understand why the Heir chose a handmaiden who doesn't seem to want to be there at all. The Heir, Malachi, is stiff and formal, and Nomi can't get a read on him. His brother Asa is far more appealing to Nomi, but can either of them be trusted?
Grace and Fury was very entertaining. It's a scary look at a world where women have no rights (shades of the Handmaid's Tale), and I'm excited to see where the sequel goes. The ending sets things up for a very interesting next book.
I received an ARC from Amazon Vine.
Sisters Serina and Nomi live in Viridia, a country with a very repressive government run by the Superior. Women are not allowed to attend school or learn to read. Most people are poor, and for most women, their only options are working long hours in a factory or marriage (and marriage is no guarantee that you won’t also have to work in a factory). For the very beautiful, there is one chance at a different life, being chosen to serve as a Grace for the Superior or his son, the Heir. Graces are sort of like a harem; there are many of them and they bear the Superior’s children, but they also have a public, ornamental role at the court. The Superior chooses three new Graces every 3 years, and women from all over the country compete for the “honor.”
Because Selina is very beautiful, her family has groomed her to compete to be a Grace. She’s given more food than the rest of the family, to give her curves, and all of their limited resources go toward training her for this role. She is chosen to represent their town, and she and Nomi travel to the capital city of Bellaqua for the selection, which will be different this year because the Heir is choosing his first three Graces. Nomi will serve as Serina’s handmaiden, but she hates the whole concept of Graces and doesn't want to be there. She also has a very big secret: she knows how to read.
Once they arrive at the Superior’s palace, things go horribly wrong. The Heir chooses Nomi as one of his Graces, and Serina is caught with a book that Nomi stole and arrested. Now Nomi has to figure out how to survive as a Grace on her own, while Serina is sent to a horrible prison on a volcanic island, Mount Ruin.
The story is told in a dual narrative, with alternating chapters from the points of view of each sister. The dual narrative works well for the story, since there are obvious parallels between the sisters' circumstances: Serina is fighting for her life in a vicious prison, and Nomi is in a far more luxurious, but just as dangerous place. Mount Ruin is as awful as it sounds. The prisoners live in caves and the ruins of buildings that were destroyed during a volcanic eruption. The women are forced to fight each other in an arena, for extra food and the entertainment of the (all male) guards. For Serina, a young woman who has spent most of her life learning to be ornamental, it's a brutal place and she has to figure our how to survive. Serina's character arc is the more interesting one, as she goes from being a sheltered, pampered young woman prepared to live within the system and not rock the boat to someone who yearns to rebel and fight for change.
I found Nomi a bit less sympathetic, because she's hopelessly naive and does some things that were such obviously bad ideas that I cringed. She has a lot of high ideals, but she tends to rush into things without thinking them through. Her position at court is an odd one. The other potential Graces were mostly desperate to be chosen, and no one, expecially Nomi herself, can understand why the Heir chose a handmaiden who doesn't seem to want to be there at all. The Heir, Malachi, is stiff and formal, and Nomi can't get a read on him. His brother Asa is far more appealing to Nomi, but can either of them be trusted?
Grace and Fury was very entertaining. It's a scary look at a world where women have no rights (shades of the Handmaid's Tale), and I'm excited to see where the sequel goes. The ending sets things up for a very interesting next book.
I received an ARC from Amazon Vine.
amybraunauthor's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a ton of fun, and made me glad to be a girl. Though it is a familiar story, it was told in a rewarding way with fantastic characters and great twists. It moved quickly between the two perspectives of two very different sisters.
I loved their adoration for each other, despite the vast differences in their personalities. The action scenes are intense and pulse pounding, the budding romances are sweet, and the message makes for powerful reading for all girls. Between the strong personalities of Nomi and Serina, it moved me. Their fire and tenacity and growth was truly inspiring and I was genuinely sad when this book was over!
Definitely a must read for feminists and supporters of equality, and anyone looking to read about strong willed girls fighting for their rights.
I loved their adoration for each other, despite the vast differences in their personalities. The action scenes are intense and pulse pounding, the budding romances are sweet, and the message makes for powerful reading for all girls. Between the strong personalities of Nomi and Serina, it moved me. Their fire and tenacity and growth was truly inspiring and I was genuinely sad when this book was over!
Definitely a must read for feminists and supporters of equality, and anyone looking to read about strong willed girls fighting for their rights.