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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Erk...the characters actually spent time discussing the weather! That's not even interesting in real life.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Graceling is a classic YA fantasy for a reason. It's full of adventure, strong characters, lively banter, and high, believable stakes.
Lady Katsa is graced with the power to kill. She fights against the tyranny of her uncle's rule as king using clandestine connections throughout all the seven kingdoms - and a hearty amount of sharp wit. When a rescue mission takes an unexpected turn, Katsa finds herself faced with a challenge she can't fight with her bare hands: her feelings for a prince.
Katsa is such a strong female character. She's hardened from years of being misunderstood, but has an amazing arc as the story progresses. Her journey feels so believable and honestly relatable. The romance blossomed in all the right places - never feeling forced, too quick, or juvenile. There are a couple fade to black scenes but nothing beyond referring to one another as "lovers" is mentioned explicitly.
The setting was a typical European-middle-ages-based fantasy world, which makes sense given this book was at the forefront of YA fantasy epics. The kingdoms were still well-crafted. They lacked extensive worldbuilding or defining characteristics, and there were a couple longer political infodumps near the beginning. Neither of those things decreased my overall enjoyment of the book, but are still worth mentioning.
I listened to the full cast audiobook and WOW. It was magnificent. I've never listened to an audiobook with a full cast before, so it was a little jarring to jump back and forth in narrators in the beginning. Soon enough I was completely engrossed with it. I highly recommend the audiobook for an encompassing reading experience!
Listened to through my public library's Libby app access.
Lady Katsa is graced with the power to kill. She fights against the tyranny of her uncle's rule as king using clandestine connections throughout all the seven kingdoms - and a hearty amount of sharp wit. When a rescue mission takes an unexpected turn, Katsa finds herself faced with a challenge she can't fight with her bare hands: her feelings for a prince.
Katsa is such a strong female character. She's hardened from years of being misunderstood, but has an amazing arc as the story progresses. Her journey feels so believable and honestly relatable. The romance blossomed in all the right places - never feeling forced, too quick, or juvenile. There are a couple fade to black scenes but nothing beyond referring to one another as "lovers" is mentioned explicitly.
The setting was a typical European-middle-ages-based fantasy world, which makes sense given this book was at the forefront of YA fantasy epics. The kingdoms were still well-crafted. They lacked extensive worldbuilding or defining characteristics, and there were a couple longer political infodumps near the beginning. Neither of those things decreased my overall enjoyment of the book, but are still worth mentioning.
I listened to the full cast audiobook and WOW. It was magnificent. I've never listened to an audiobook with a full cast before, so it was a little jarring to jump back and forth in narrators in the beginning. Soon enough I was completely engrossed with it. I highly recommend the audiobook for an encompassing reading experience!
Listened to through my public library's Libby app access.