Book Review - Graceling

Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Series: Graceling Realm #1
Genres: Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date:January 22nd 2009
Publishers: Gollancz
No. Pages: 352
Source: Purchased
Rating:
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In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are both feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing.

Feared by the court and shunned by those her own age, the darkness of her Grace casts a heavy shadow over Katsa’s life. Yet she remains defiant: when the King of Lienid’s father is kidnapped she investigates, and stumbles across a mystery. Who would want to kidnap the old man, and why? And who was the extraordinary Graced man whose fighting abilities rivalled her own?

The only thing Katsa is sure of is that she no longer wants to kill. The intrigue around this kidnapping offers her a way out – but little does she realise, when she takes it, that something insidious and dark lurks behind the mystery. Something spreading from the shadowy figure of a one-eyed king...

Graceling... Where do I start with Gracelin? Its another book I have waited a long time to read, and was lucky enough to find in a charity shop in my local town centre for only £1. I couldn't believe it and thought to myself that if I didn't like it then it would be ok because it was only a £1 I'd wasted. Did I waste money? Hell no.

In this brilliant, brilliant book, when a child's eyes turn two different colours it can only mean one thing, they have Grace. What is grace I hear you ask? Well Grace is a power that comes from deep within, it can be a power to help in the ad of anything from holding your breath under water for much longer than humanly possible or it could be a Grace for killing, like Katsa. Just like the others who a Graced, she knows that having these talents don't leave them put on a pedestal and worshipped, it leaves them isolated and feared. Unlike most , Katsa has the 'protection' of her uncle King Randa. Everything comes with a price though, for her the protection of her own flesh and blood means being able to use her grace to rough up those who

Katsa doesn't like being a lap dog, but unfortunately her part of the seven kingdoms aren't kind to those Graced and she's left without many options other than to obey. That is until she meets Po, a Lienid with a grace of his own. After helping to rescue an import member of the Lienid family, Katsa and Po need to find the truth about the kidnapping, who is behind it and why they would want to do it in the first place. By doing so, they help uncover a truth about the seven kingdoms, one they never saw coming but was sitting in plain view from the start.

I loved this book, I loved the characters. Everything. There was just enough romance, adventure and secrets to keep you hooked from the get go. The friendships and relationships in this story grew perfectly, you didn't just turn a page half way through the book and it be there. You could see it slowly building and you got fall in love with them because of how perfect they were as character alone, but better together. Everything down to the secondary characters in these books were so well thought out that you couldn't help but like all of them. Even the villains, who had such a brilliant back story were people that you could look back on the book and think 'I know I should have hated him because he was evil, but damn he was a good character'

I was a bit disappointed at the end to find out the next 2 books weren't a follow on in the traditional sense, but to do with different characters. It seems to be a trend that a lot of authors are doing these days and while it doesn't make me dislike a book, I do love a good series I can sink my teeth into. In my eyes, the longer (if its good) the better haha.

The world set in Graceling was really unique and imaginative book that no matter your genre preference, there is a little in it for every one.