Publication Date: July 31st, 2018
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genera: YA, Fantasy
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD
Synopsis: In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison.
Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace - someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir's eye, it's Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding.
Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to release her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything.
My Rating
5/5 stars
My Review
Grace and Fury is an epic story of family, feminism and survival. Once I started reading the book, I could not put it down. I highly recommend this one.
Serina and Nomi couldn't be more different. Serina is the dutiful sister, told from an early age that she was a beauty and would be raised to one day become a Grace so she has a chance of being one of the many Graces the King and his heir have. Serina will stop at nothing to become the best Grace, in order to give herself a better life, and provide more income for her family. Nomi believes this is all a trap, raised to be her sister's handmaiden, Nomi does everything to make Serina's job easier, the only problem is that she doesn't want Serina to become a Grace and would rather live at home with her twin brother and continue with every day life. But when Serina goes to the palace and the heir chooses Nomi to be one of his Graces, their roles switch, and before the two can figure out how to their new roles, Serina is caught taking the blame for a crime Nomi commits, a crime that sends her to an all woman prison located on a remote island. Now Nomi must navigate throughout the palace, and entertain the prince without doing anything to sabotage her position, while Serina must find a way to stay alive in prison in hopes of returning to her sister once again.
When I first started this book, I was a bit worried I would prefer one main character over the other. After getting about 4-5 chapters into the story, I fell in love with not only the story line, but both of the characters as well. Nomi and Serina are both very different to begin with, but throughout the story they see each other's point of view and why their sister acts the way she does. Their character development is astonishing, its probably the best character development I've read about in a couple years. Serina goes from being the soft and reserved girl to a strong woman thats not afraid to speak her mind and do what feels right to her heart, and Nomi went from being rebellious and not really caring about consequences, to finally learning how to slow down, think over her plans and do things for other people rather than just for herself. I loved both characters equally and can't wait to see what they will do next.
I thought the pacing and the plot of the story were very well written as well. The story picks up only a few chapters in, and the twists are so good that they keep the reader interested. So I'm giving you a warning now, once you get a few chapters in, you won't want to put the book down, so read at your own risk.
Besides the characters, the thing I loved most about this book was the world building. The two settings of the characters are so vastly different. You have the palace where everything is so lavish and intricate. Then you have the volcano island where the prison is located, and you get a natural setting with wilderness. While the two settings were so different, the author did an amazing job and making the image so vivd that I could picture it clearly in my head.
Overall, this book was incredible. I loved the message that it sends, as well as the characters and the world. I highly recommend this to all fans of fantasy, feminism and strong female characters. I can't wait to read more from this series, and I can't wait to read more from this author.
Happy Reading,
Aneta
Serina and Nomi couldn't be more different. Serina is the dutiful sister, told from an early age that she was a beauty and would be raised to one day become a Grace so she has a chance of being one of the many Graces the King and his heir have. Serina will stop at nothing to become the best Grace, in order to give herself a better life, and provide more income for her family. Nomi believes this is all a trap, raised to be her sister's handmaiden, Nomi does everything to make Serina's job easier, the only problem is that she doesn't want Serina to become a Grace and would rather live at home with her twin brother and continue with every day life. But when Serina goes to the palace and the heir chooses Nomi to be one of his Graces, their roles switch, and before the two can figure out how to their new roles, Serina is caught taking the blame for a crime Nomi commits, a crime that sends her to an all woman prison located on a remote island. Now Nomi must navigate throughout the palace, and entertain the prince without doing anything to sabotage her position, while Serina must find a way to stay alive in prison in hopes of returning to her sister once again.
When I first started this book, I was a bit worried I would prefer one main character over the other. After getting about 4-5 chapters into the story, I fell in love with not only the story line, but both of the characters as well. Nomi and Serina are both very different to begin with, but throughout the story they see each other's point of view and why their sister acts the way she does. Their character development is astonishing, its probably the best character development I've read about in a couple years. Serina goes from being the soft and reserved girl to a strong woman thats not afraid to speak her mind and do what feels right to her heart, and Nomi went from being rebellious and not really caring about consequences, to finally learning how to slow down, think over her plans and do things for other people rather than just for herself. I loved both characters equally and can't wait to see what they will do next.
I thought the pacing and the plot of the story were very well written as well. The story picks up only a few chapters in, and the twists are so good that they keep the reader interested. So I'm giving you a warning now, once you get a few chapters in, you won't want to put the book down, so read at your own risk.
Besides the characters, the thing I loved most about this book was the world building. The two settings of the characters are so vastly different. You have the palace where everything is so lavish and intricate. Then you have the volcano island where the prison is located, and you get a natural setting with wilderness. While the two settings were so different, the author did an amazing job and making the image so vivd that I could picture it clearly in my head.
Overall, this book was incredible. I loved the message that it sends, as well as the characters and the world. I highly recommend this to all fans of fantasy, feminism and strong female characters. I can't wait to read more from this series, and I can't wait to read more from this author.
Happy Reading,
Aneta
