Graceling by Kristin Cashore

from goodreads

3.5 stars

When it rains it pours. I don't know what it is but no matter how well I usually manage my holds in the library system there seems to come a time when I am deluged in books. Now being deluged in books isn't really that much of problem, unless you have to have them read in a certain amount of time or be doomed to be put to the end of the list! Of course this usually happens at the most inconvenient time, such as, a big project due, trying to get work done around the house, or some other life event.

Right now I am in the middle of that deluge. And of course I am in the middle of some house projects so trying to find the balance of needing to get these books read and organizing my house is pretty tricky, and I will admit I probably pick reading over organizing more than I should, but I know I will get through it. Both things will get done. Especially after I finish just one more chapter.

Synopsis

Enter a magical realm where people have super human gifts, or graces. Katsa is one of those. She has two different coloured eyes which means she has a grace. Her grace haunts her and is dangerous, she is a lean mean can kill/mame machine.

When she is sent a mission to save a man from prison her life changes unexpectedly. She learns more about her gift, and more about a secret that could poison the seven kingdoms of the realm.

My Thoughts

This was a great fantasy. This is the perfect book to start on your fantasy journey. It wasn't too weird and it was just fantastical enough. Some fantasy books are extreme and throw every mythical creature at you. This book just dealt with differing powers and no elves or fairies, so it was great. (Nothing against elves or fairies they just can be a bit hard core for the novice fantasy reader).

I liked that the characters were real, dealing with real issues. The adventure was believable and the outcomes didn't seem overly contrived.

This book did suffer from some first time author, not blunders, but issues. There were bits in the story that just seemed too jumpy or went from one extreme to the other. An example was, Katsa realized something about Prince Po, and while it may have been a bit upsetting she totally freaked out and I didn't get where this extreme anger came from. She seemed fine one minute and then was totally hating on him the next. It was hard to wrap my brain around. Another thing that was a bit weird was the climax of the story. It seemed almost too short and everything got wrapped up a little too neatly. I know that is better than a long drawn out story, but it almost seemed too quick.

All in all, I did enjoy the story. I really liked the world that Cashore created. There were some really neat ideas and dealt with some pretty cool moral dilemmas.

There are two more books in the series which I hope to get to at some point soon. From what I understand they are stand alone books that are set in the same realm. They focus on different characters but there are appearances from familiar characters from other books. I definitely recommend this book.