Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1) in And So It Begins Reading Challenge

Sep 17, 2008 A rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, young-adult, sci-fi-fantasy, top-10-of-2008, series, magic, creepy, tearjerker, page-turner, what-a-twist

http://www.gracelingbook.com

I think the trailer is bloody awful (cute girl, though).

The book is bloody wonderful and I can't wait for the next! ...more

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Jan 25, 2010 Nicole rated it liked it

I'm torn between whether this book was good or just eh. I really loved how it started out (the whole premise is extremely interesting and I really loved the characters and the plot), but then there was a particular scene that kind of ruined it for me. Cashore gives us this idea that Katsa is strong physically and mentally (especially after disobeying her uncle twice), and then totally destroys what she's built up when Katsa hears King Leck and is confused by his Grace so that she believes that h I'm torn between whether this book was good or just eh. I really loved how it started out (the whole premise is extremely interesting and I really loved the characters and the plot), but then there was a particular scene that kind of ruined it for me. Cashore gives us this idea that Katsa is strong physically and mentally (especially after disobeying her uncle twice), and then totally destroys what she's built up when Katsa hears King Leck and is confused by his Grace so that she believes that he did not kill his own wife even though she saw him do it in plain sight. My image of a strong, independent woman that could always take care of herself with little help from Po was completely shattered and I didn't see her as the strong woman she had been in the beginning for the rest of the book.

My problem is that this book could have been amazing. There could have been a much better romance and better plot details. For example, the first time Katsa and Po even kiss, they have sex right after! I'm not sure if that's the best message to send and it kind of gets all of the sexual tension out of the way in one strike and that ruined the book a little for me, a person who lives for that kind of thing in a book. At that point I just wanted to get the book over with in a way. And the plot was good enough, but there were times where I got a little confused as to how long they had been in the woods during winter. It almost seemed that near the end Kashore was running out of plot details and just made up something to fill up the pages.

Otherwise I did like this book, but there are things that could have been done to make it better. I feel like adding emotions and a lot of human element to a story is a big part of it, and this book would do that sometimes but just not enough. For example, when Katsa was sheilding her thoughts from Po she was also sheilding them from us, and the point of reading from her pov is that we get to know what she's thinking and no one else. I also thought it was unnecessary for Po to be blind to keep to the plot. He could have simply wanted to stay in the woods to be isolated. The characters had no real demension to them and I felt like you barely get to know Katsa.

The one thing I did love was how Po was able to break a little through the feminist barrier that Katsa was holding up for all her life, but then they kissed they had sex and it was over, another thing that ruined my image of the "strong" Katsa. There was no need for them to go any further than kissing at that point in the story.

Cashore's writing seemed like it lacked something, and I realized that it wasn't fluid enough. You should always use a thesaurus for writing but I thought she used it too much and was just trying to force her story into something it wasn't. I thought this would be a great novel (it's an amazing idea!) but it fell a little short of my expectations. ...more

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Dec 22, 2011 Zey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, hot-hero, kick-ass-heroine, book-boyfriend, sweet-hero, action-packed, romance, i-love-it, adventure, deserves-the-hype

There are 7 things I can say about this book.

First is that Katsa is a hard core, kick ass, heroine. Someone who makes sweater out of a lion's skin... which she killed after wrestling in a below zero temperature place, while carrying a child on her back. YOU WON'T MESS WITH THIS GIRL. Unless you want your nose thrust far back in your skull. I am so not kidding. You've been warned.

Second is that Prince Greening Grandemalion a.k.a Po, is a real babe. with his silver and gold eyes and that super ...more

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Mar 20, 2010 Skip rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Story of a "graced" woman named Katsa, who decides that killing for her uncle is immoral, and accompanies another graceling on a quest to find out who kidnapped his grandfather. Together they battle a skilled adversary with a surprising (and difficult to defeat) grace. Good fantasy writer. ...more

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Feb 07, 2025 Darlene rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, books-i-own, fantasy, young-adult, debut, audio-1000

3.5 stars

Took me a bit to get into, found my mind wandering and I had to rewind and go back to re-listen to the same portion a couple of times, but I stuck with it and ended up enjoying it. It is a bit slower paced. I will be continuing on with the series.

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