Fire (Graceling Realm, #2)

by Kristin Cashore

Review originally posted at Simply Adrift.

Fire is a companion novel to Graceling, which admittedly I did not know untill after I had read this but once I found out everything made much more sense, like the fact that it is set before Graceling. Whoops. Good one Jordon.

Fire is a very different story to Graceling, it isn’t an adventure story like Graceling is. It’s more politically involved and about the lands of Dell. This story was different and nothing like I had expected after reading Graceling yet it was still very enjoyable and I’m still reeling and how much I loved this book.

The Monsters

Fire is one of the human ‘monsters’ that roam The Dells. The Dells is full of them. The monsters are the forms of any animal yet they have brightly coloured fur and can control the mind, that is if the human is weak minded. They eat human meat so the power to control the minds of others comes in handy when they’re hungry.

Fire’s hair is an unnaturally bright red. It’s the sign of a monster. Her father was monster yet her mother a human. Everyone fears her, and when they see her they either fall completely in love if they’re weak minded or they instantly hate her and want to hurt her, most with the extent of killing her. All of the monsters are attracted to Fire by the power she controls so when they see her bright red hair they immediately attack her.

Fire’s being attracts the weak minded and other monsters but that is not her only power. She can enter and control other people’s minds, unless they they’re strong enough to block her out. And usually they aren’t that strong.

I loved the idea of the monsters. I found them incredibly intriguing yet scary at the same time. Monsters that can control your mind if you’re not strong enough to resist? That’s scary as hell!

The Romance

The romance in this book had my stomach in butterflies. I absolutely love that it took a lot for Fire and Brigan to fall for each other. You knew it would happen, you wanted it to happen yet it just wasn’t happening. Yet. They wouldn’t let it. It was difficult for Fire to let someone in, to trust someone. I just loved the way it built up.

I found myself getting very emotionally attached to this book. By the end of the book I was emotionally all over the place. I really felt what Fire had gone through, it was very touching.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was nothing like what I had expected yet it was very enjoyable on its own.

Fire is a book that pulls you through all sorts of emotions and leaves you feeling like you need more.

I recommend reading this book if you enjoy fantasy!

Always,
Jordon

This review was originally posted on Simply Adrift