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katiemulcahy122's review against another edition
A soft DNF because audiobook wasn't working for me but I still want to give this another go.
beforeviolets's review against another edition
A deeply underrated whimsical sapphic fantasy.
In the assumed future of Earth, land is scarce. Those who live among water, also known as damplings, are looked down upon by the privileged landlockers, safe on their steady land.
In The Gracekeepers, we primarily follow two characters:
North, a dampling who lives on a circus boat, where every night she dances with a bear in front of landlockers for food. She is engaged to the ringmaster’s son, a self-entitled brat, and she carries a secret, ones she’s not sure anyone would even believe.
Callendish, a gracekeeper, which is essentially a mortician who performs funerary rituals for damplings, though she herself is a landlocker. And like North, she harbors a secret of her own.
Though despite mainly following these two, this book features an eclectic ensemble cast, most of the characters having at least one chapter of POV throughout the story. Each character was so interesting, fully realized, and well-defined. It was a cast peppered with personality, and all tightly woven together like the ribbons of a maypole. I especially loved the members of the circus, and could tell that Kirsty Logan definitely has at least some clowning experience, if not further cirque experience. Circus performers such as clowns have a history of subverting societal standards and questioning authority, and it was really lovely to see that history honored here.
This book has a lovely underbelly of climate and class commentary, but applied in an open-ended, and thought-provoking way. It offered a fabulist-style approach to a dystopian literary trope, utilizing metaphor and ambiguity. Rather than seeking to solve problems or provide some sort of statement on these issues, The Gracekeepers simply provides questions and perspectives. This approach worked well for this story, using the narrative to show the initial drop in the water, and then using the audience to carry out the ripple effect. It caused a reflective and thoughtful tone to shine through the fun and whimsy.
The romance was sweet as well. Though it was most definitely a subplot at best, it held a lot of hope and tenderness and provided a balancing softness to the narrative.
I do wish we had a little bit more of a glimpse into the world of the mermaids (?), but I understand they were primarily meant to exist as a metaphor or idea, something intangible like a dream. I may have to check out some of Logan’s other work, as I think some of her other books are set in this world and I desperately want to know more.
Overall, I really enjoyed this sweet and whimsical story, featuring punk clowns, a dancing bear, mysterious sea-people, sapphics, a circus boat, sea funerals, climate and class commentary, and lovely prose.
CW: classism, pregnancy, grief, character death, loss of loved one, drowning, animal death, amnesia, abusive parent, misogyny, imprisonment, fire, claustrophobia, parental death (past), alcohol, blood, religious bigotry & imperialism, child death (past), sexual content (implied)
In the assumed future of Earth, land is scarce. Those who live among water, also known as damplings, are looked down upon by the privileged landlockers, safe on their steady land.
In The Gracekeepers, we primarily follow two characters:
North, a dampling who lives on a circus boat, where every night she dances with a bear in front of landlockers for food. She is engaged to the ringmaster’s son, a self-entitled brat, and she carries a secret, ones she’s not sure anyone would even believe.
Callendish, a gracekeeper, which is essentially a mortician who performs funerary rituals for damplings, though she herself is a landlocker. And like North, she harbors a secret of her own.
Though despite mainly following these two, this book features an eclectic ensemble cast, most of the characters having at least one chapter of POV throughout the story. Each character was so interesting, fully realized, and well-defined. It was a cast peppered with personality, and all tightly woven together like the ribbons of a maypole. I especially loved the members of the circus, and could tell that Kirsty Logan definitely has at least some clowning experience, if not further cirque experience. Circus performers such as clowns have a history of subverting societal standards and questioning authority, and it was really lovely to see that history honored here.
This book has a lovely underbelly of climate and class commentary, but applied in an open-ended, and thought-provoking way. It offered a fabulist-style approach to a dystopian literary trope, utilizing metaphor and ambiguity. Rather than seeking to solve problems or provide some sort of statement on these issues, The Gracekeepers simply provides questions and perspectives. This approach worked well for this story, using the narrative to show the initial drop in the water, and then using the audience to carry out the ripple effect. It caused a reflective and thoughtful tone to shine through the fun and whimsy.
The romance was sweet as well. Though it was most definitely a subplot at best, it held a lot of hope and tenderness and provided a balancing softness to the narrative.
I do wish we had a little bit more of a glimpse into the world of the mermaids (?), but I understand they were primarily meant to exist as a metaphor or idea, something intangible like a dream. I may have to check out some of Logan’s other work, as I think some of her other books are set in this world and I desperately want to know more.
Overall, I really enjoyed this sweet and whimsical story, featuring punk clowns, a dancing bear, mysterious sea-people, sapphics, a circus boat, sea funerals, climate and class commentary, and lovely prose.
CW: classism, pregnancy, grief, character death, loss of loved one, drowning, animal death, amnesia, abusive parent, misogyny, imprisonment, fire, claustrophobia, parental death (past), alcohol, blood, religious bigotry & imperialism, child death (past), sexual content (implied)
mimi_gee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mybestfriendsarefictional's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
dilchh's review against another edition
2.0
I honestly felt bad about giving this a two star, because it made it seem like it’s on the same level as The Glittering World; while the story itself felt as stale and pointless as The Glittering World, The Gracekeepers had an interesting premise and at some point it did seem promising, even more so than The Glittering World. I like how the author weaved the world in this story, it was definitely interesting and felt very magical to me, sadly it almost feels like the author does not have any passion whatsoever as she was writing the story. It felt lifeless, I almost felt like this was an unfinished manuscript of a novel.
For a fantasy story, The Gracekeepers definitely is very interesting, but the story just felt pointless. I have been reading halfway through the book and I still am not getting the feel or the point on where the story is going. To make matters even worse, the characters were in no way making this story bearable. There’s not a single character that shine through, not even two of the main characters, Callanish and North.
Three chapters to the ending of the book, the speed of the story suddenly took its pace and it almost (emphasise on the word ‘almost‘) felt somewhat exciting. But then the story just ends like that. I’m very thankful for the author did gave us an ‘After’ or an epilogue to the story, but it just made everything worse. As I finished reading the epilogue, I asked myself, ‘so what is the point of the story?’. I seriously cannot grasp my thoughts on this book. I’m so very sad, because this book does have an interesting premise.
Oh one thing that I would like to complain is that I’ve seen several reviews of this book that mentioned about The Night Circus, in the sense that if you like the latter then you should give this book a try. Tell you what, don’t buy that! This book’s circus is in no way comparable to The Night Circus. I get that obviously the two offers different kind of circus, but what I’m complaining about is not the circus per se, but how lazy the circus was being portrayed in The Gracekeepers. Also, what’s with the title? The Gracekeepers. It insinuate that there were more than one Gracekeeper,which actually is true because there is Odell, who is also a Gracekeeper, but let’s be honest here, Odell is not even an important character to the story, so I don’t get the use of plural on the title. Alright, now I feel like I’m just complaining nonsense.
For a fantasy story, The Gracekeepers definitely is very interesting, but the story just felt pointless. I have been reading halfway through the book and I still am not getting the feel or the point on where the story is going. To make matters even worse, the characters were in no way making this story bearable. There’s not a single character that shine through, not even two of the main characters, Callanish and North.
Three chapters to the ending of the book, the speed of the story suddenly took its pace and it almost (emphasise on the word ‘almost‘) felt somewhat exciting. But then the story just ends like that. I’m very thankful for the author did gave us an ‘After’ or an epilogue to the story, but it just made everything worse. As I finished reading the epilogue, I asked myself, ‘so what is the point of the story?’. I seriously cannot grasp my thoughts on this book. I’m so very sad, because this book does have an interesting premise.
Oh one thing that I would like to complain is that I’ve seen several reviews of this book that mentioned about The Night Circus, in the sense that if you like the latter then you should give this book a try. Tell you what, don’t buy that! This book’s circus is in no way comparable to The Night Circus. I get that obviously the two offers different kind of circus, but what I’m complaining about is not the circus per se, but how lazy the circus was being portrayed in The Gracekeepers. Also, what’s with the title? The Gracekeepers. It insinuate that there were more than one Gracekeeper,which actually is true because there is Odell, who is also a Gracekeeper, but let’s be honest here, Odell is not even an important character to the story, so I don’t get the use of plural on the title. Alright, now I feel like I’m just complaining nonsense.
julianimal's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
christineb85's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This concept had a lot of potential, but the execution was weak. The plot was slow. There were too many POV characters and despite that, I cared about none of them.
There was an opportunity to develop a connection with North and her bear and it was underdeveloped and wooden.
The backstories were never really clear and neither was character motivation.
I wanted to like it, but it was a struggle to finish it.
There was an opportunity to develop a connection with North and her bear and it was underdeveloped and wooden.
The backstories were never really clear and neither was character motivation.
I wanted to like it, but it was a struggle to finish it.
cahlacarla's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I feel like this book had so much potential , that instead was drowned by too many ideas, too many voices, and a slow plot. The imagery and ideas were haunting and beautiful, but you couldn’t connect to a character or cheer them on when you only got snippets before you were interrupted . You don’t get to know the histories of characters , just snap shots. I feel like I picked up 4 fanfictions where the author abandoned them or lost their muse and then thought why don’t I shove these things together ?
The combination of waterworld, the circus, possible merpeople, etc. could have been so fabulous . Instead it’s 300 pages of wasted possibility.
The combination of waterworld, the circus, possible merpeople, etc. could have been so fabulous . Instead it’s 300 pages of wasted possibility.