As usual, I’m late to the party. I wish i had heard about this book sooner however I have ‘Booktube’ and the lady in Waterstones (again!) to thank for recommending me this book; it was amazing! It had everything a YA novel needed; strong protagonists, unique storyline and a action-packed adventure.
Graceling takes place in a fantasy world where certain people are gifted with extreme skills called Graces. Our protagonist, Katsa is graced with killing however this makes life hard for her as for many years she has been forced to become her uncle, King Randa’s personal thug. Throughout the book we follow Katsa as she uncovers the mystery behind the kidnapping of Po’s Grandfather and the mystery behind King Leck… I wont give too much away but this book never leaves a dull moment!
Right from the fist page of the book we are thrown into the action and adventure seen throughout the book. I thoughts the idea of the ‘Graces’ was brilliant and different to what I’ve seen before. The storyline was also brilliant and kept me on the edge of my seat through the whole thing! Cashore’s world building is immense and she has drawn a vivid picture of the seven kingdom Graceling resides in which you can really emerge yourself in.
Character wise, i thought Katsa was perfect. A strong, kick-ass female protagonist who we really see develop in the book from a slightly naive young girl in to a strong minded woman; I loved it! Po was also a great character as not only did he bring humour to the story he also helps our protagonist develop. The romance in the book was more mature and very unexpected which I really enjoyed as Po helped Katsa believe in herself and overcome her fears. Their relationship is so lovely as both Katsa and Po understand each other and fall in love, without needing to end up at the altar and live happily ever after.
However my only criticism character wise was the antagonists; King Leck. I wont give too much away but he was really creepy and I wished he played a larger role in the book or at least learn more about him as we were only given a snippet! For me he was the perfect villain and needed a bigger role!
Overall i thought this book was fabulous and a must read if you liked the ‘Throne Of Glass Series’. I am happy to award it with 4.6/5 stars; a great read with adventure behind every page!
A Fangirl's Opinion 
I really wanted to get into this book, but I just found the worldbuilding confusing! At the beginning, Katsa says that she hides her grace from everyone, but then everyone randomly knows about it with no explanation! I couldn’t grasp the relationships between characters in that book, which really frustrated me. Katsa is definitely an awesome character, so I will probably retry this book at some point.
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