2015 Reading Challenge
4. A book by an author you've never read before: Graceling by Kristin Cashore.
This was probably the easiest category in the Reading Challenge. Most of the books I read are written by authors I have never read or even heard of before. As previously stated in my last blog, I had acquired a lot of books from my cousin, Helen. This was one of the books that I had received that I immediately wanted to start reading so I have just squeezed it into one of the easy categories. I had seen this book on Goodreads and was looking forward to diving into it. I was not disappointed.
Graceling is set in an alternative universe in the usual medieval style standard of fantasy novels. There are people throughout this world who are born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace. These people are both feared and exploited. The protagonist of this story is Katsa, she has the unfortunate Grace of killing and her uncle, King Randa; makes use of her Grace. She despises having no control over her life and of the killing. She wants to use her Grace for good and not at the whim of a King. The story details how she does this and follows her part in the investigation into the kidnapping into the King of Lienid's father.
I really loved this book, I thought that Katsa's character was just the right amount of spunky and headstrong. I enjoyed her relationship with her love interest, Po. I was surprised how much I liked it because he was the perfect person, with no real flaws that I could see. Usually that frustrates me to no end but I didn't really mind. He was just such a good person and I loved that he had complete faith in Katsa's skills as a fighter. He never tried to play that chivalrous role, which I hate a lot of time. I found their romance really sweet and realistic. They didn't suddenly change their goals and opinions of love and relationships, despite their love for each other. It was nice to see a female protagonist that still had control over herself around the guy she likes.
The plot in Graceling was written really well, it flowed really nicely and wasn't predictable. There wasn't always a clear idea of where they were heading but that reflected how the characters were feeling themselves about the investigation. However, I found the end to the antagonist quite abrupt, it all happened rather quickly but it was unexpected so that was refreshing. I liked how Cashore sorted out all loose ends and that it was smoothly done, rather than lengthening the book for no reason.
This review ended being a bit smaller than usual. I really enjoyed this book so I'll give it a 4 out 5 stars. I highly recommend this book if you love fantasy books and especially if you enjoy any of Tamora Pierce books like I do.
Graceling is set in an alternative universe in the usual medieval style standard of fantasy novels. There are people throughout this world who are born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace. These people are both feared and exploited. The protagonist of this story is Katsa, she has the unfortunate Grace of killing and her uncle, King Randa; makes use of her Grace. She despises having no control over her life and of the killing. She wants to use her Grace for good and not at the whim of a King. The story details how she does this and follows her part in the investigation into the kidnapping into the King of Lienid's father.
I really loved this book, I thought that Katsa's character was just the right amount of spunky and headstrong. I enjoyed her relationship with her love interest, Po. I was surprised how much I liked it because he was the perfect person, with no real flaws that I could see. Usually that frustrates me to no end but I didn't really mind. He was just such a good person and I loved that he had complete faith in Katsa's skills as a fighter. He never tried to play that chivalrous role, which I hate a lot of time. I found their romance really sweet and realistic. They didn't suddenly change their goals and opinions of love and relationships, despite their love for each other. It was nice to see a female protagonist that still had control over herself around the guy she likes.
The plot in Graceling was written really well, it flowed really nicely and wasn't predictable. There wasn't always a clear idea of where they were heading but that reflected how the characters were feeling themselves about the investigation. However, I found the end to the antagonist quite abrupt, it all happened rather quickly but it was unexpected so that was refreshing. I liked how Cashore sorted out all loose ends and that it was smoothly done, rather than lengthening the book for no reason.
This review ended being a bit smaller than usual. I really enjoyed this book so I'll give it a 4 out 5 stars. I highly recommend this book if you love fantasy books and especially if you enjoy any of Tamora Pierce books like I do.
Thanks for reading.
Jenny
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