Grace and Fury (Grace and Fury, #1)

by Tracy Banghart

Bold, brutal and beautiful, this is a must-read with the glitter and romance of The Selection and the thrilling action and intrigue of Red Queen.

In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other on an island prison where women must fight to survive.

Serina has spent her whole life preparing to become a Grace - selected to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining example of the perfect woman.

But her headstrong and rebellious younger sister has a dangerous secret, and one wrong move could cost both sisters everything.

Can Serina fight? And will Nomi win?

• ISBN10: 0316471429
• ISBN13: 9780316471428
• Publish Date: 4 June 2019 (first published 26 July 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[alisoninbookland]

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-In some ways the story was SO cliche. Sibling doing everything possible to rescue the other sibling? A love interest who isn't what they seem?
-The sister relationship is really great.
-Nomi is so stupid at times. I'm all for rebelling about expectations but don't be stupid about it.
-GIRL POWER
-The relationships between all the women is really awesome.
-I'm not too keen on the idea of Graces but I did like how they mostly looked out for each other.
-The story was a pretty quick read.
-Not amazing but kept me hooked.
-Can't wait to see what's next in the next installment.

[tweetybugshouse]

Amazing thought out story with twists and turns and at the heart a relationship that will be tested beyond all imaginings.

[catiebug]

When this book was coming out I was so intrigued by the synopsis so I pre-ordered it. After I received it I was seen quite a bit of not so good reviews. Most of them saying this was book was boring. I still decided to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did. I loved this book so much. There was so much growth in the characters and I needed to find out what happened to them. I saw the twist towards the end coming but I still couldn't wait to see how it was going to unfold. I thought this was suppose to be a standalone bute there is a second book coming and I can't wait to read it!

[Beth C.]

Out of the frying pan, into the fire...that's pretty much where we are at the end of the book. No spoilers, so I won't say anything more. An interesting book to read in the current political climate right now, where women have no rights and are basically subjugated - no reading or writing allowed, subject to the whims of whatever males happen to choose. There are some definite parallels, and some vibes of Handmaid's Tale, but the story is interesting and its own entity. I had a feeling I knew what was going to happen before we got there, however I was interested enough to continue reading. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would certainly be interested in reading the next one when it comes out!

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

Grace and Fury caught my attention when I heard people describe it as both fantasy and dystopia, two of my favorite genres. This book is set in a world where women don't have rights and live solely to fill the preexisting roles laid out for them. And this book is an amazing feminist fantasy.

Nomi and Serina are sisters. Serina has prepared her whole life to be a Grace, but at the last moment the heir to the throne chooses Nomi instead. From there the two sisters are set on completely different paths and Serina finds herself fighting for her life.

These two characters were complete opposites, but both were incredibly strong. I loved that neither fit the stereotypes you would expect upon first being introduced to them. They both took the hands they were dealt and did everything they could to make their worlds better. There are, of course, love interests, but I loved the characters individually and sibling relationship even more than the romance. I am also happy to say that romance didn't play a major role. Still, it was nice to see a book classified as feminist do a good job of balancing the romance and the female relationships without sacrificing either.

The world building in Grace and Fury was also really well done. Much of the story takes place between the palace where Nomi lives and the island where Serina has been imprisoned, but even with the limited setting, I felt like I had a good feeling for the world. The hopelessness the women feel is tangible and it's heartbreaking to see how resigned they have become to it.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I'll admit that it did start off a bit slowly for me. It was also a bit forgettable. Although I really liked it while I was reading it, I did have to look back at my notes to remember character names and key points for this review and that's never a great sign. Still, I'll be picking up book two to see what happens because that ending left me wanting!

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

[Kelly]

In the Kingdom of Viridia, young women compete for the prestige of Grace, chosen to reign without influence or authority. Gender inequality is prevalent throughout Viridia. Attractive young women are cultivated to become subservient, representing the throne and Kingdom respectfully. Women are refused an education, disciplined as concubines or handmaidens, both subservient positions.

Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves
Serina Tessaro is a Grace, a young woman of impeccable benevolence and revered for her physique and sensuality. Nomi Tessaro is a young lady of servitude in her position as handmaiden, ensuring Serina is overindulged. To be chosen as concubine to their heir of Viridia is an accomplishment, families are reimbursed monetarily, surviving poverty and low socioeconomic conditions, incentive for labour weary families. Nomi advocates for gender equality, the freedom to be educated, to be literate, to eradicate concubines and the female voice to be acknowledged and celebrated. Rebelliously, Nomi has learnt to read, a crime punishable by life imprisonment, her defiance capturing the heir, Prince Malachi and brother Asa, as Nomi is chosen to become a Grace in Serina's place.

And Though She Be But Little, She Is Fierce
The essence of Grace and Fury is liberation against the patriarchy and oppression of women. Although a Grace, Serina is a resilient young woman accused of concealing forbidden literature and removed as the appointed handmaiden, incarcerated on Mount Ruin, an island prison for women ostracised from society. Nomi is reluctantly navigating her new position as Grace, determined to pursue the disappearance of Serina as revolution within the palace begins to rouse.

Serina's awakening is remarkable. Viridian women are sentenced to the island penitentiary, patrolled by armed and opportunistic male wardens. Estranged women are segregated, contending for meagre rations to survive. Girls are competitively conditioned throughout their lives, prevalent on the island where violence reigns. Afflicted by an insurmountable loss, Serina invokes change inspired by Nomi and her own defiance.

The Tale Of Two Princes And An Extra Guy
Prince Malachi is heir to the Viridian throne, a restrained, commanding presence. Asa is tender young man, unequivocally determined to revolutionise society, challenging inequality. His ideals captivate Nomi, sharing his fear for a tyrannical reign as the health of his father deteriorates. Supposedly, Nomi is an elementary challenge for Malachi to conquer as heir as the young Grace is manipulated and exploited.

On the island, Serina finds companionship in Valentino, a young soldier under the command of the Viridian monarch. Entrusting Valentino, Serina is desperate to escape the island, fearing persecution for inciting revolutionary conflict. The imprisoned female population of Mount Ruin is uprising.

Misogynist Bastards
Deception and betrayal reign within the kingdom, the patriarchy have ensured women remain docile and ignorant. Viridia hides an abhorrent history of misogyny, women in positions of authority were eradicated and now viewed as subordinate, deserving of servitude or to be aesthetically pleasing. Nae feckin' way. Rise up ladies.

Author Tracy Banghart has created a scintillating narrative, young women non conforming, demolishing the confines of traditional societal positions. Empowering, captivating and inciting until the final page.

For every woman who has been told to sit down and be quiet... And who stood up anyway.

[Kat @ Novels & Waffles]

💛Full review to come. 💛

“For every woman who has been told to sit down and be quiet... And who stood up anyway.”

Grace and Fury is a fabulously feminist fantasy novel about empowering female relationships, defying oppression, and sticking it to The Man™. While it may not be perfect, it’s a powerful love letter to all the women of the world who have ever stood up for what they believe, even when others tell them to stand down.

Things I Liked:

✑ It's a feminist fantasy novel → girl power all the way! Woot!
✑ The unexpected reversal of the sisters’ roles and their respective journeys was extremely clever
✑ Can we just take a moment to appreciate Serina’s amazing character arc?

Things I Liked... Less:

✑ It was a *TAD* heavy-handed
✑ The worldbuilding was meh???

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[liz089]

Well this one was a surprise ! I did not expect to like it as much as I did... It was a quick, but good novel. I liked the MC's very much, the plot.. though not very surprising, very entertaining. I liked some of the romance built up... but really liked how it was mostly about sisterhood and family.
Give me the second one !!

[chymerra]

Grace and Fury is one of those books that caught me by surprise. I don't get taken by surprise by books. I can usually see a plot twist coming a mile away. I can usually see when an author is foreshadowing. I can usually see who the bad guy is in the book. I can usually call who is going to die. But not in Grace and Fury. The author did a fantastic job at keeping me in the dark with everything I stated above. And I loved it!!!

Grace and Fury starts off with Serina being chosen to go to Bellaqua to compete with other girls to become a Grace. Serina has worked her entire life to become a Grace. That dream is shattered when Serina's younger sister, Nomi, is chosen instead. It is further shattered when Serina takes the blame for something that Nomi did. That something has Serina shipped off to a prison island. There she is forced to fight to the death for food. Back on the mainland, Nomi decides to embrace her role as a Grace. She does that with the hopes that she will get Serina off the island and back with her. But Nomi is soon caught up in a dangerous plot. A plot that could end everything that she has worked so hard for.

I couldn't believe the injustices that the women in that society endured. They weren't allowed to go to school. They were dominated by the men in their lives. So, I loved it when Nomi bucked the rules. Learning to read was her way of thumbing her nose a the society that was keeping her down. Even as rebellious as she was, she was loyal to Serina. Using her position as a Grace, she did try to get her sister off that island. I was as surprised as she was when everything went down the way it did.

I didn't like Serina, at first. She had trained to be a Grace since she was a child and had no clue how the real world was. Being a Grace meant that her family would never go hungry. She also loved her sister. My turning from not liking her to liking her happened when she took the fall for Nomi. She could have taken Nomi down with her. And when she got to the island. Instead of having a breakdown, she did what she had to do to survive.

There are several twists and turns in the plotline. I wasn't ready for any of them. I thought that this was going to be one of those typical YA fantasy book that would be heavy on the romance and teen angst but would have no twists. Yeah, I was wrong. This book had more twists than a mountain road.

The fantasy angle of the book was fantastic. Set in an Italian-like country, the author did fantastic world building. The world was 3D, as was the character.

The YA angle I didn't feel. Yes, Serina and Nomi were in their late teens but it didn't read like it. If I didn't know their ages, I would have placed Serina in her mid 20's and Nomi as the teenager. This book also didn't have much angst that most YA books. Which was refreshing.

I do want to touch upon the amazing girl power vibe that was going on in this book. It was fantastic and I loved it!!!

The end of Grace and Fury was insane. Everything happened at once. I was surprised at what happened with Nomi. Very surprised. Surprised to the point that I had to wake up BK and tell him about it. He wasn't impressed...lol. I will say that the book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Which means that I need to read book 2 when it comes out.

Onto why I gave Grace and Fury a 4-star rating. I loved how I was taken surprised time and again in the book. I liked Nomi and her rebellious ways. I loved the strong girl power vibe throughout the book. I didn't like how the women were treated in the book. I didn't like Serina at first. I also didn't like the cliffhanger.

What I liked about Grace and Fury (to recap):

A) Being taken surprise by the different elements of the book

B) Nomi

C) Girl Power

What I disliked about Grace and Fury (to recap):

A) How the women were treated in the book

B) Serina, the first half of the book

C) The cliffhanger

I would give Grace and Fury an Older Teen rating. There is no sex. There is kissing (that's about it). There is violence, sometimes graphic. There is no language. I would recommend that no one under the age of 16 read this book.

I would reread Grace and Fury. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for allowing me to read and review Grace and Fury.

All opinions stated in this review of Grace and Fury are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I loved the sound of Grace & Fury by Tracy Banghart when I first heard about it - a world where women have no rights, with two sisters who have very different fates, one in a the palace, the other in a prison. It sounded so intriguing! I wasn't expecting it to be quite as good as it was, though!

In a world where women have no rights, where women don't get to choose their jobs, who they marry, and are forbidden from reading or standing up to men in any way, two sisters' lives are chosen for them. Serina has spent her whole life training to be a Grace - a wife to the Heir to the throne, to provide children, and be an example to the world of the perfect woman; submissive, docile, and eager to please. As a Grace, enough money would be sent home for her old, tired mother to give u[ work as a seamstress in a factory, and for her brother to be able to pay for a wife. Her younger sister, Nomi, however, is the complete opposite of Serina. Nomi has spirit and fire in her belly, and doesn't believe it's right that women have no choices. She's rebellious and rash, acting or speaking without thinking, and getting herself into trouble. Her rebelliousness has led to a secret - one that could ruin everything for herself, her sister, and her family. When Serina arrives at the palace to join the other prospective Graces, with Nomi in tow as her handmaid, Serina believes the perfect life of parties and glamour could be in her future, with a job secured for Nomi, too, where she wouldn't have to work herself to death, or be chained to a man she cannot choose. But when Nomi is unable to hold her tongue, behave well, and keep her secret under wraps, the two are separated - one a Grace, the other sent to an island prison where it's fully expected she will die...

Oh my god, I can't tell you just how much I loved this book! There's so much I want to say, but things get moving very quickly from the very start, and saying too much would spoil things. What I can say is that it's when the two get separated that each sister is really tested. Life at the palace isn't everything Serina thought it would be, and life on a island prison isn't what anyone would expect either. Women there are separated into crews, and each time new prisoners arrive, a woman from each crew is chosen to fight the others - to the death. The guards place bets, and rule with an iron fist. Life on the island reminded me very much of the life of a gladiator; days on end of training, leading to a fight to the death. While life at the palace is full of parties and glamour, it's also full of competition, scheming and plots, and the expectation that the Graces will do whatever the Heir desires - whether they want to or not.

The story is dual narrated by both Serina and Nomi, and I loved them both! Nomi has such a spark and fire to her, and she's so strong in her convictions, her beliefs that women should have and deserve more. That women should have choice in their lives, be allowed to read, and allowed to speak their mind. She's just brilliant, and it's wonderful to see a character like her in this world where women keep their faces down. It's such a terrible world that they live in, and it's so awesome to have a character who is against it from before the story even starts, rather than just accepting it, and waking up to the injustice as the story goes on. Which is what Serina does. She doesn't think there's anything to be done, so she's decided to make the best of the life she has, and go for the better of the few options available to her. Both girls grow throughout the novel; Nomi discovering a softer side to herself, and Serina realising how wrong their world is - how it's not acceptable, and shouldn't be accepted, and discovers some iron in her blood. Both girls fight in their own ways, and it's wonderful seeing them both trying to make change.

There's also such a strong theme of sisterhood throughout the novel - but not just between Serina and Nomi, although their relationship is beautiful! They are so different, and they are often on the opposite sides of an argument, but they genuinely care about each other, and the other is the driving force behind everything they do. But there are also so many other women in this novel, who are brilliant, caring women doing all they can to survive, but looking after their own at the same time. Women are forced to compete in so many ways, for so little, but there are times when they really stand together and fight for each other, and it's so beautiful to see!

I did find Serina's story a little more interesting that Nomi's, because I didn't know entirely how her story would turn out - I had an idea, but nothing concrete. With Nomi's story, however, I had my theories right from the off. However, while it turned out I was right, it was more gut instinct than anything that was overtly obvious, so I was never completely sure if I was right, though I did have very strong suspicions.

I also loved how it was written. As it's dual narrated, Serina and Nomi have alternate chapters, and almost every chapter ended on it's own mini cliff-hanger, so you'll be dying to read Nomi's next chapter when Serina's starts, but by the end of Serina's chapter, you're desperate to know what happens next for her, too. I really think it takes such skill to keep the tension flowing throughout a story like that, to have so many moments where you catch your breath at how a chapter ended for each an every chapter. It's just brilliant!

And the ending! Oh my god, I loved the ending! The two endings, for each sister! I can't say anything, but things are going to be very interesting in the sequel! I was vindicated in one respect, amazed and overwhelmed in another, and kind of hopeful with a side dish of apprehension overall. Such an incredible story, and a fantastic debut! Really can't wait for the next book in the series, and to be back with these two incredible sisters again!

Thank you to Hodder Children's Books via NetGalley for the eProof.