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“Are you determined to leave me in this world to live without my heart?” -Archer
I wasn't planning on finishing these books until I saw the entire set at a library sale for $5. So naturally I bought them and just now started to finish the series. Fire doesn't follow Graceling, rather it's a prequel and the origin story of King Leck and his history with the Dells. It focuses on a character named Fire, who is a monster woman and her journey to stopping war throughout the Dells.
Favorite Character: Archer 😭 I know that Fire's whole thing is that she's a monster who's unnaturally beautiful and everything and everyone wants her and immediately falls in love with her, but I really felt that Archer's love was true. Maybe he was just under the monster spell, but they had been friends since childhood and I loved their dynamic. Yes he was overly protective of her, to the point of controlling, but also literally everything in the Graceling Realm wanted to buy her, assault her, and/or kill her. His character was hilarious and so utterly human in comparison to Fire and her late father Cansrel, I just enjoyed his page time.
The Good: Leck needed an origin story and I loved how it didn't focus solely on Leck but rather the upheaval that was already going on in parts of the realm that led to his monarchy. The Dells is a huge area of land that was looking to usurp the current king, Nash, after the history of his father, Nax, and Fire's father basically taking over the Dells. They were the classic toxic relationship that caused nothing but chaos. Cansrel was a monster who loved to watch things suffer, and as monsters, was able to command minds. He and Nax were destined to fail and no one wanted the family to continue it's lineage. Leck was controlling the other armies throughout the Dells to overthrow Nash, causing war. Pretty straightforward and easy to follow.
The Bad: this is a younger YA book, and that means a lot more telling rather than showing. I was annoyed with the word monster after like three chapters but that wasn't the worst of it. Brigan, Nash's brother, DESPISED Fire and monster creatures. And he falls in love with her? How long is this war? I didn't feel like I saw any chemistry or yearning between them because it was focused on the war and understanding the King's court. Which, was confusing asf. Brocker, Archer's dad, isn't his biological dad. His mother was raped by a convict? For what reason? But Brocker WAS Brigan's dad? And that's why Brocker is in a wheelchair because he had an affair with Nax's wife? Archer fathered two children and was killed off? For what reason other than to establish that Leck is a crazy bastard?
Maybe Bitterblue will have more answers but I doubt it because these are somewhat stand alone stories that occur in the same realm.
I wasn't planning on finishing these books until I saw the entire set at a library sale for $5. So naturally I bought them and just now started to finish the series. Fire doesn't follow Graceling, rather it's a prequel and the origin story of King Leck and his history with the Dells. It focuses on a character named Fire, who is a monster woman and her journey to stopping war throughout the Dells.
Favorite Character: Archer 😭 I know that Fire's whole thing is that she's a monster who's unnaturally beautiful and everything and everyone wants her and immediately falls in love with her, but I really felt that Archer's love was true. Maybe he was just under the monster spell, but they had been friends since childhood and I loved their dynamic. Yes he was overly protective of her, to the point of controlling, but also literally everything in the Graceling Realm wanted to buy her, assault her, and/or kill her. His character was hilarious and so utterly human in comparison to Fire and her late father Cansrel, I just enjoyed his page time.
The Good: Leck needed an origin story and I loved how it didn't focus solely on Leck but rather the upheaval that was already going on in parts of the realm that led to his monarchy. The Dells is a huge area of land that was looking to usurp the current king, Nash, after the history of his father, Nax, and Fire's father basically taking over the Dells. They were the classic toxic relationship that caused nothing but chaos. Cansrel was a monster who loved to watch things suffer, and as monsters, was able to command minds. He and Nax were destined to fail and no one wanted the family to continue it's lineage. Leck was controlling the other armies throughout the Dells to overthrow Nash, causing war. Pretty straightforward and easy to follow.
The Bad: this is a younger YA book, and that means a lot more telling rather than showing. I was annoyed with the word monster after like three chapters but that wasn't the worst of it. Brigan, Nash's brother, DESPISED Fire and monster creatures. And he falls in love with her? How long is this war? I didn't feel like I saw any chemistry or yearning between them because it was focused on the war and understanding the King's court. Which, was confusing asf.
Maybe Bitterblue will have more answers but I doubt it because these are somewhat stand alone stories that occur in the same realm.