Graceling (Kristin Cashore)

Graceling is a fantasy novel with a side romance story. It's quite a long story - reaching over 400 pages at relatively small font - and one that I did struggle to get into at first. I managed to persevere through my initial struggle, and aren't I glad I did! The plot grew and became increasingly captivating; by the end of the book I truly found myself itching to finish it and eventually read the last 50 pages in one sitting!

The Book Cover

Graceling follows the story of a lady named Katsa and her mission to discover herself, as well as to solve a mystery sweeping over her world. The world in which the story takes place is split into seven kingdoms, each led by a King or Queen. The title of the novel comes from those of the world who are "Graced"; this means that they posses a magical power and a pair of distinctly unique eyes. For Katsa, she is one of those Graced and therefore quite unique in her fighting abilities. The story develops as a young prince named Po enters her kingdom in search of help; he too is one of the Graced people among the world. As the two travel in search of answers, they grow close and begin to learn a lot from and about each other.

Hopefully my plot summary isn't too detailed in such a way that gives the plot away to you as a reader; I think it's a decent amount of description... I hope!

I'm not sure how far in it was that I truly began to feel myself becoming engrossed in the story, but it was the development of Katsa - and her journey with Po - that drew me in. Whenever a story shows a character's personal growth, I'm instantly in love with the story. I find it difficult to read books where all the characters remain in the cookie cutter shape that they were originally depicted as.

Katsa (From Alternative Book Cover)

There is a sequel to this book, entitled Bitterblue, that takes place eight years after this novel. Those who read Graceling will understand the title and I'm sure will be just as excited as I to read it. In addition to this sequel, there is a side story entitled Fire which takes place in the same world and kingdoms, but follows the story of a new character; my library does not stock this novel and therefore unfortunately will not be reading it, but please do and tell me your thoughts!

The Set of Three

I would rate Graceling 3.8/5 because I did struggle in the beginning to want to keep reading it, but it did become extremely good in the end!

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!

Forever (Maggie Stiefvater)

Forever is the third and final book in the Shiver series, and it is definitely by far my favourite of the three! This one is again a supernatural/fantasy romance novel, however it puts less emphasis on the romance between Sam and Grace and more on the wolves' survival; this is probably why it's my favourite.

The Book Cover

Just as the second book does, Forever alternates between the first-person perspectives of Sam, Grace, Isabel, and Cole; there is an addition of Shelby's perspective during the prologue, but that's the only time you get that. I didn't enjoy the four perspectives in the second book, however I didn't mind it too much in this one. It could be that I got used to it or maybe perhaps I was too quick to judge it badly when I first experienced it. All that aside, I definitely enjoyed having the full round of perspectives in this plot.

As I said in the second book's review, I can't talk too much about the plot - or the characters - without giving it away. So I'm not going to talk about plot!

What I will mention instead is my overall feel for this series and what I got out of it. Upon completing the full series, I feel uplifted in a sense. It could be the experiences that the characters face and how they grew from it, or it could be something entirely different, but I just feel grateful...? I'm not even quite sure if that's the word I want to use, but for me personally (having dealt with a lot of barriers to overcome) this book showed me that they can be overcome if you stick with it. I guess the moral of the story was to never give up on hope or the idea of a better future, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

I would rate Forever 5/5 because it was by far my favourite of the three in this trilogy and I was never left bored or wanting more. I was fully satisfied with the story and how it ended!

Definitely take the time to read the full trilogy: Shiver, Linger, and Forever!

The Shiver Trilogy

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!