Reviewed by Amanda on
From listening to Kristin talk about her work, I figured I would probably end up enjoying her books. So far so good. My only concern about Graceling going into it was that a few people said that they weren’t fond of Katsa. I needn’t worry. I did not have any issues with Katsa. I think her character was true to form. There’s nothing soft and huggable about Katsa. And with her Grace, that’s the way it should be.
The pacing of Graceling surprised me. I’m not really sure why. I went into this without preconceived notions (I barely even read the synopsis), but I think what threw me was how the romance progressed. For some reason, I expect the romance to proceed right along with the plot, and the getting together part happening at the very end. It didn’t happen that way here. But I still loved the romance (and Po). And I hope that we can revisit both Katsa and Po in future stories.
Kristin Cashore really has a way with telling stories. I loved the concept of Graces, of Katsa struggling with her Grace, and finding herself. Because I started this book after both Fire and Bitterblue have released, I was really intrigued and captivated by Bitterblue, knowing that she has her own story. And I wanted to skip Fire and head straight into Bitterblue after finishing Graceling (I didn’t, and I won’t, but I wanted to). I definitely want to immerse myself in this world more. I do remember Kristin saying at her signing that she wish she would have spent more time on world building in this book, so I’m hoping with Fire and Bitterblue, I get an even better sense of the world.
If you’re a fan of fantasy and kick ass heroines, Graceling is a book you want to look out for. Though this is probably more of an older YA book (think like Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder), I can see it appealing to a broad range of ages.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 15 May, 2012: Finished reading
- 15 May, 2012: Reviewed