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...
I expected so much out of Graceling, it was incredibly hyped up and had been noted as a fantastic YA Fantasy novel.
I was thoroughly disappointed.
In my opinion the strongest feature to a Fantasy novel (especially if it is the first in a series) is the world building, it is the foundation of the novel and without it, everything will crumble. Sadly, Graceling had very little world building, and the little that there was happened to be very jumbled, convoluted, and thrown in the reader's face at an alarming rate. Such a terrible way to start off the book.
I had hoped that since the world was lacking, that the characters would be strong and well developed. However, Katsa, our main character, was incredibly two-dimensional and so very unlikable. She didn't seem to develop at all throughout the novel, she was stubborn, rash, and so annoyingly immature. Her love interest, Po, is a little more likable and a tad more developed, but this isn't saying much. They're relationship has quite a few elements of "insta-love" and turns into a weird sexual relationship for reasons that honestly do not meld well with the time period. I am in no way bashing non-committal relationships or open relationships, however, in this fantasy universe it simply would not make sense for them to do the things they do and not get married (especially when Katsa's reasoning is so pathetic).
The plot was barely existent, it would have made more sense to provide some information earlier in the novel to make it a little more intense, but so much of the beginning of the novel was just flat, ugh. The ending was no better, who ends a book like that?! There was barely anything to it.
1 star
This was my first Brandon Sanderson novel, and holy cow! it most certainly will not be my last.
The Final Empire is an empire where ash falls constantly, the sun is blood red, the majority of the population is enslaved, and the whole world lives under the tyranny of an immortal man that they deem their God, the Lord Ruler.
This book was freaking phenomenal, one of the best fantasy books I've read in a while!
Let's talk about the characters, specifically our two main ones; Kelsier and Vin...
Kelsier is one of the best developed characters I have seen in a while, he is not the all out hero, he is flawed and vengeful, but he is good and kind. Although he didn't develop too much during the course of the novel, finding out about his back story and what lead him to the events of this book was extraordinary. He felt so human and real, and his relationship with all of the main cast of characters was usually very entertaining to read, he was a true antihero and I love that about him.
Vin is amazing as well, the way she changes in this novel felt very similar to the character development of Daenerys Targaryen in the ASOIAF series by George R. R. Martin. At the beginning she has been abused and beaten down, but she becomes so powerful and, for lack of a better term, such a badass.
As far as plot goes it felt fast paced and exciting (and certainly didn't read like a 600 page book), the magic was new and well thought out and everything flowed splendidly.
My only complaint is that there weren't enough female characters, I love a strong main female character, but Vin was really the only notable female, which is sad. I hope that more females will be introduced in the next few books, because the series is feeling a little testosterone driven right now, which I'm not a fan of.
5/5 stars!
It still is a little difficult for me to find words to describe this series and how beautiful it is. Let's start off with the writing style, which is a huge key point to the magnificence that is the Shatter Me series. The writing is poetic and is filled with breathtaking metaphors that makes you sit back for a second, just to process this one line that single-handedly blew your mind. This writing style is so important when in comes to understanding the characters and their psychology, the main case being Juliette, our main character. The most apparent expression of this is through the "crossed out" style, where a line will be written, crossed out, and then rewritten, showing how Juliette really feels. This is also a remarkable representation of Juliette's development, which leads me to my next topic. The character development in this series in extraordinary and inspiring. Juliette has had a horrible upbringing and had learned to shut so much of herself away, and her journey of learning to accept herself was so much more than I could have hoped for.
The relationships, for the most part, drive this series (which I am not complaining about). I adore the way that Mafi handled the comparison between infatuation and love, and representing the idea to do what is best for yourself, even if someone who you care about (or cared about) disagrees, which i think is so important for young women to understand. Juliette is strong all on her own, she doesn't need Adam or Warner to protect her, and I wish that I had read a series like this when I was younger and a bit more impressionable (rather than say, Twilight, which isn't exactly empowering to women). But I digress, my point is that I love the relationships, but I also love that Juliette is strong without having to be in one.
I do have one complaint though, I would have loved a bit more world building, and for the ending to have been a little longer. I want to see the entire Reestablishment be brought down, not just one sector. I am happy with the ending of the series, but I want more, so so much more (this might just be caused by the fact that I don't want to series to be over).
Definitely a new favorite series, and one of the best YA series I've read in a while. I whole-heartedly recommend :)
5/5 stars. The Book of Lost Things had everything that I needed in a novel. Although it is not a direct fairytale retelling, it does pull many elements from quite a few Grimm tales, which are woven together so beautifully that the story feels so incredibly familiar, yet brand new all at the same time. It felt so much like reading a new fairytale, and Connolly made sure to keep the darker aspects that are so prevalent in the Grimm tales. This novel took a concept that I had always imagined to be epic (becoming apart of the tales that you read) and made it so much darker and twisted. I, for one, would not want to journey into this universe, where the Grimm fairytales have taken a shape of their own. I loved how John Connolly developed the main character, David, who held so much grief and anger, and is able to look past those things, move on, and learn to accept the world he lives in. This is a truly incredible novel and I look forward to reading more of John Connolly's work.
