Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling (Seven Kingdoms trilogy, #1)

By Kristin Cashore

Publisher: Graphia, 2008

471 pages, paperback

Date Finished: 31/7/2011

Genres: Young Adult, Action, Adventure, Romance, Fantasy, Coming of Age

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "In these dungeons the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind."
~Last Line: "And outside, the world awaited them."

Review: I reread this book for some reason that I cannot remember. I believe it was for a challenge. Anyway, I read this last year and really liked it; happy memories :).

The main character, Katsa, is a Graceling, her Grace being fighting. She meets Po, an equally, if not better, skilled Graceling fighter. Her life takes an unexpected turn.

I loved Po's character. He genuinely cared so much for Katsa, and he always made you laugh at the right moments. Even though Katsa was very skeptical when she first met him, I instantly fell in love with the Lienid prince. Again :D.

The plot of this book is/was definitely original, although some things do kind of remind me of The Hunger Games. But that's another story for another day! Everything in this novel held my attention. Katsa's behavior in particular always kept me wondering. You never truly know exactly what she's going to do next.

Overall, this novel was agreesive, like Katsa, yet adorable, like Po. I will be trying to finally read Fire sometime before the year is out. :p

Guest Review #4 - Leanne

I invited Leanne back to do another GR! Here's her review of Fire by Kristin Cashore!

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I think this was an amazing novel. It takes place before Graceling because Leck is a boy. Fire is an outstanding creature, who can control the minds of others. She is like a Graceling but diffrent in many ways. There are parts that make you want to scream and parts that make you want to cry, but that just adds to the depth of the book. My favorite characters, other than Fire, are Archer and Hanna. Cashore is a beautiful writer and this novel shows that. I could not put it down. I liked this better than Graceling for some reasons but they are very diffrent, so you can't really compare them. I will be reading this in the near future. It is something you have to read! I would rate it 5 wings.