Graceling is a YA Fantasy novel, but the fantasy elements are extremely underplayed. Besides the pseudo-medieval setting, the only fantastical element is that certain rare individuals possess graces that give them special abilities. Gracelings are feared and hated for their powers. The tone is less Harry Potter and more Mutants from Marvel Comics.

Graceling is prime example of the contradictions of YA fiction. Its vocabulary and storytelling is so simple it could be aimed at younger teens, but it includes scenes of violence and deals frankly with sexuality in a way you would expect to be reserved for an older audience. Katsa, the main character, ticks off all the boxes of young adult psycho-social development in the course of the novel, achieving identity, independence, intimacy, and responsibility one step at a time. The author clearly feels that plot exists for the sake of character development, not as an end unto itself.

Despite the fact that its YA fiction scaffolding is very visible, I enjoyed Graceling. Katsa is an engaging character and I enjoyed watching her evolve from a feared thug into someone who genuinely cared about other people.

I enjoyed this fantasy novel which deals with Katsa, a young lady with a Grace, which enables her to fight with a great deal of success. She gets involved in other Graced people from different nations, all with different abilities. She discovers a good deal about her Grace and is forced to get involved in plots and conspiracies.

There's a lot of interesting characters, well-developed, and a good deal of action keeping the reader involved and wanting to know how the story ends. Despite being aimed at the YA readership, any fantasy lover should enjoy this - although it can get a bit "soapy" at times. Recommended

I really enjoyed this book! Graceling is the first book in the Graceling Realm series by Kristin Cashore. Our main character is Katsa. She has been gifted with the Grace of killing. In this world people who are gifted with Graces are looked down upon, at least where Katsa grew up. Graces are basically superpowers that develop in childhood and turn your eyes different colors.

Due to Katsa having the Grace of killing people, she has been the King’s thug since she was young. Katsa is sent out to do horrible things to people for the King and she hates every second of it. Her way of rebelling is to take part of the Council. This is a group of people that do good things for others in their world, which most of the time would thwart the plans of the rulers of the world.

During a council mission, Katsa meets another person with a Grace, Po. Po is from another kingdom and is trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of his grandfather. Po and Katsa align against a common enemy and become friends. During their journey to figure out what is really happening with Po’s grandfather they develop a deep rooted relationship that has to stand the test of their trials.

I really enjoyed this book. It was shelved and described as young adult, but there is an adult scene or two that would make me argue otherwise. I liked Katsa’s resilience and her final determination to stop being the King’s bitch and do what was right for herself and the people of the world. Katsa’s Grace was a bit annoying at first, but once we got to read about what her Grace really was, I was all in.

Side character development was fascinating. I really loved reading about all of the people Katsa and Po met, as well as the different lineages of each royal house! I loved and hated so many people in this book! I won’t give any spoiler’s away, but this book definitely made me think about what Grace I would want to have. One of the people’s Grace’s in this book is horrifying and I loved every second I read about it.

Overall, if you are looking for a book with a historical fantasy feel laced with superpowers and treachery, look no further! This book had me up all night reading, just to find out what was going to happen next. The romance between Katsa and Po helped with that, but honestly it was well written and developed enough to suit my interest.

I was kind of hoping for more with this. 

The idea of graces was an intriguing one, and thus the world had the potential to be interesting, but that potential was not really fulfilled. The politics of the situation seemed overly simplistic, although they were a central point of the plot, and the political characters (those that were important to the plot but that we don't really see often, which is actually a lot of them) were rather two-dimensional. 

I didn't care for the main characters, either. I don't mean I didn't like them, I just didn't care either way, honestly.

The romance fell completely flat for me, and it was clearly supposed to be a driving force for the characters. Katsa in particular is kind of messed up in terms of romance, which is fine, but if that is so then the "romance" portion of the book was way too big, because there was other stuff much more interesting going on than a romance that isn't satisfying. It doesn't add to the book and just feels weirdly tacked on, like the author was told a YA book required a romance and it didn't fit but was shoehorned in anyway. 

The twists were not terribly twisty--I saw everything coming pretty early on, and I was never surprised by what I had guessed. It dragged in places as well, especially those parts concerning the mountain.

In the end, I did like the book, but mostly because of the ideas presented and not really because of the characters or even the plot. It was a predictable but pleasant read, and I don't regret reading it, but I'm unlikely to pick up the next two in the series (especially as I have heard that they are not quite on the same level). 

I absolutely loved this book! From the first chapter on, I was addicted. The only downside I find, is that I absolutely disliked the ending. I personally think the author could have made such an amazing ending to the book, but ended up with an average one that, as I mentioned before, did not like at all.

A full review will be posted soon.