Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Graceling

This used to be one of my absolute favorite books growing up. I was putting off rereading it for a little while because I only own one book in the series (Fire), and I knew that after I read them I’d want to own all of them. When this was featured in a dream of mine, though, I finally bit the bullet, and it was as good as I remembered. The drama of it all! I don’t know that I would be shocked by the plot twists if I read it for the first time as an adult, but I don’t have to be surprised to appreciate the storytelling. It felt like a bit of a homecoming to reread this book.

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jinglesmell1337's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.0

Just lovely. An adventure fantasy I am glad I had the pleasure of getting lost in. Katsa is quite the character to follow, and her narrative voice is definitely distinct. I was concerned at the beginning that her character might sum up entirely to “ not like other girls” but that got lost quickly, and what then seemed like “YA main character syndrome” evolved into a unique and enjoyable person to follow. She’s brash, adventurous, determined, and brave, but still charmingly flawed in being adorably oblivious, impulsive and no-nonsense.

Po and Bitterblue were also so much fun to follow and see grow, and I have to say the best character development must go to Bitterblue, as it seems we watched a helpless little girl grow into a mature, capable young queen, in just 200 pages. Her relationship with Katsa had to be my favorite. Their bond and mutual respect is exactly what both of their characters needed.

I will say the world building is not the highlight of this book. It is effective in simplicity, and doesn’t need to be any more or less to give an immersive backdrop.

Overall this is super fun as a fantasy adventure!

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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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lahars_little_library's review

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.0

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mallorypen's review

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adventurous dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I had read this book before, several years ago, and it took me a few chapters to remember I had read it before.

I like the concept of the Gracelings, and I really love the characters of Brittleblue and Po. Katana, on the other hand … I wanted her to have a flaw. Being too hard on horses because she wants to get to her urgent, noble missions faster doesn’t count. Nor does being a killer for the man who raised you and has literal royal rule over everyone you’ve ever known, especially when you start a secret crime fighting/humanitarian Council to act against the evil king.

That said, when Katsa forced herself to carry Brittleblue into the mountain pass, it was damn cool and inspiring.

The relationship between Katsa and Po was really well done. I could go on and on about how hot/striking it was that Po have Katsa his most important ring without telling her what it meant … that was really juicy. I really enjoyed how Po dealt with Katsa figuring out his Grace, and the way they figured out their relationship together.

I think the author handled Po’s blindness in a sensitive way; the line where Katsa mourned the fact that he would never look at her in the way she had fallen in love with was poignant and felt very real, even as Po was accepting his blindness and the way his Grace enabled him to see in a new way.

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jselliot's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The first book of this series is just the best (though I'll grant that Bitterblue is a close runner-up - have not read the fourth book that was recently released yet). The main character is fleshed out well, if a little counter-culture defined by genre expectations of the time, and even the side characters beyond the love interest are equally well developed. I also found the magical system, Grace, interesting.

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cepbreed's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I will be honest I had low expectations and this book met them. It’s standard YA fantasy so how can I complain when I picked this up fully knowing what it was! A redeeming moment though happened when we learn

Po was blinded in his failed assassination plot on King Leck. It was a great twist to go along with his grace that continued to develop throughout the story.

Speaking of graces the power system in its entirety could be more clear. There are hardly any ground rules and powers vary so drastically it’s confusing. Maybe it’s meant to be convoluted? The book is too long yet some core scenes were lacking in detail while minor unimportant ones were fleshed out in pages. I have a neurosis about series though so I will be finishing it to satisfy my self.

Song:

Don’t Blame Me - Taylor Swift

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carleesi's review against another edition

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4.5

I loved the world and the magic of the Graces. The characters were wonderful and the creation of a villain without the need for specific graphic descriptions of his violence was refreshing to read.

I wish there’d been more female characters - in the beginning Katsa was giving me “not like other girls” vibes.

The ending is great and makes some amends for the lack of female characters in the story. I loved the challenging of heteronormative expectations as well - having a female protagonist who doesn’t want kids or care about marriage will always grab my heart.

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