You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.5 Stars
First of all, I liked the characters in this book. Well developed and interesting to read about. Second, I like the world, it is well developed as well. The plot, in general, is good, albeit slow. My largest problem with this book is the pacing. It was very slow. Usually, I don't mind slow books, and this book uses its slow parts to develop a romance, that's fine, but I wished it went a bit quicker. Another thing I found odd was Katsa's odd stubbornness when it came to marriage. She considered marriage binding, as it is, but as an independent woman she is, she refuses to be tied down, even when she finds someone she can perfectly love and who has no reason nor desire to pin her down. Typically I didn't think this too out of line from her character, someone who with an almost cold heart and very introverted, yet I find it weird that, in some way, marriage would undermine her power or something. Katsa, for all her personality, is uncompelling when you reach the middle of the story, as it seems she fails at almost nothing. I think there always is a balance between a strong character and an OP one, and I felt like the author was getting VERY close to the latter. Another thing this book suffered from was a quick climax. For such a long book, the ultimate climax was short, and while done interestingly enough, it was too short to resonate with me. The base work for the magic system also confuses me. People just have a Grace, and uh, that's it. The world, like I said, is developed fine, yet I think there is such little we know about the actual Graces. It gives you heterochromia, and the powers tend to vary, ranging from useless to powerful. There seems to be almost no structure to it. For a character like Katsa, her powers in themselves are somewhat vague, and her ultimate Grace makes her super powerful. All in all, a slow paced story, with some definite story and plot flaws, though makes up for it with a unique world and some fun characters, it is a decent first book to the Graceling realm.
First of all, I liked the characters in this book. Well developed and interesting to read about. Second, I like the world, it is well developed as well. The plot, in general, is good, albeit slow. My largest problem with this book is the pacing. It was very slow. Usually, I don't mind slow books, and this book uses its slow parts to develop a romance, that's fine, but I wished it went a bit quicker. Another thing I found odd was Katsa's odd stubbornness when it came to marriage. She considered marriage binding, as it is, but as an independent woman she is, she refuses to be tied down, even when she finds someone she can perfectly love and who has no reason nor desire to pin her down. Typically I didn't think this too out of line from her character, someone who with an almost cold heart and very introverted, yet I find it weird that, in some way, marriage would undermine her power or something. Katsa, for all her personality, is uncompelling when you reach the middle of the story, as it seems she fails at almost nothing. I think there always is a balance between a strong character and an OP one, and I felt like the author was getting VERY close to the latter. Another thing this book suffered from was a quick climax. For such a long book, the ultimate climax was short, and while done interestingly enough, it was too short to resonate with me. The base work for the magic system also confuses me. People just have a Grace, and uh, that's it. The world, like I said, is developed fine, yet I think there is such little we know about the actual Graces. It gives you heterochromia, and the powers tend to vary, ranging from useless to powerful. There seems to be almost no structure to it. For a character like Katsa, her powers in themselves are somewhat vague, and her ultimate Grace makes her super powerful. All in all, a slow paced story, with some definite story and plot flaws, though makes up for it with a unique world and some fun characters, it is a decent first book to the Graceling realm.