Serina and Nomi are sisters living in a world where women have no rights. Serina is being groomed to be a Grace, basically a concubine to the king. In this case, the heir to the throne is selecting his first Grace. Nomi is serving as Serina's handmaid. With a twist of fate, Nomi catches the heir's eye. A dangerous secret is revealed, and Serina takes the fall.

Serina is charming and beautiful. Nomi is bold and headstrong. They couldn't be more different. They desire completely different things in life. Due to unforeseen circumstances, both end up in very different positions than they ever imagined.

The story is told from the alternating viewpoints of Serina and Nomi. They face challenges that take them completely out of their elements. However, they are both strong females in a world where women are oppressed.

This looks to be an exciting new YA fantasy series. Twists and turns make for a fast-paced and fun read. Interesting characters in a challenging world.

[Review will be published on Reader Voracious Blog on 7/17/18.]

"For every woman who has been told to sit down and be quiet...and has stood up anyway."

Yes this quote is from the dedication, but it really sums up what this book is all about in 18 words. This was one of my top anticipated releases for July because we all know that I love strong female characters and political intrigue, but unfortunately this book missed the mark for me.

Grace and Fury is told in the alternating perspectives of two sisters: Serina and Nomi from Lanos.
--> Serina is 19, classically beautiful, trained in dancing, music lessons, etiquette; think aristocracy leading up to a girl's debut to society kind of training. She has been told all her life that the way to help her family is to become a Grace for the Heir.
--> Nomi is 17 and has been trained to essentially her her family's maid. Because she doesn't share her sister's good looks, she was raised to become her sister's Handmaiden. She has a fiery temper, a love of reading that is forbidden in Viridia, and all she wants is freedom from the oppression women are subjected to in this world.

We are introduced to them during the announcement of the town's candidate for Grace consideration, and they embark on a journey on a journey that one sees as a choice and the other sees as a sentence.

"Nothing should be beyond our reach. That's my whole point."

I wish that the book had opened up with more of home life for Serina and her family in Lanos, what it means to be a Grace, and the selection process to send candidates because I had trouble connecting with Serina and the story. I think this would have provided more background on the world and would likely have built the characters up a bit, because I feel like other than the feminism dialog between Serina and Nomi there isn't much else there about them.

"A yes doesn't mean the same thing when it's the only answer you're allowed."

This is a fast paced read, but I had a lot of questions about the world! It isn't a secret that I love reading fantasy because I enjoy being brought into new and fantastical worlds; worldbuilding is a crucial component for my enjoyment, and I wanted a lot more about Viridia. It was halfway through the book before we learned more about the history of Viridia, but I think that revelation would have been more impactful had we known more about the world previously. Things started to pick up for me around this point and the whole 'who do I trust' aspect was interesting, if not easily guessed for me.

The messages of this book - feminism, oppression, choice - are important ones, but I found the execution lacking. Instead of being told about oppression through thoughts and dialog, I wanted to be shown examples through storytelling and the biases of the characters. To the author's credit, I think that Banghart tried to do this with Serina's character arc; however, the narration style of telling rather than showing missed the mark for me.

I really wanted to love this book of strong women fighting for themselves and a better tomorrow, but for me it fell short. This felt like a book about feminism and oppression... and everything hinges on that. Unfortunately this results in heavy handed feminist narrative with one dimensional characters in a story that is likely meant to be character driven and worldbuilding that left me wanting much more than provided. As this is intended to be a duology, it is possible that things could be expanded on in the next installment, and HOW DO YOU END A BOOK LIKE THIS. I think in the right hands this book will be coveted, but it wasn't for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher, Little Young Books, for giving me an advance electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

“Serina and Nomi were like any other daughters in the cold, industrial town of Lanos. But Serina had her beauty. And Nomi had her secret.”

I didn’t know much about this book going in. I didn’t even read the synopsis. I only requested from NetGalley because a few of my best friends wanted to buddy read it with me. But I went into this story expecting nothing. And as I began reading, I was enjoying, but I wasn’t expecting anything great, but the end of chapter three was such an unexpected twist. I never would have seen it coming. And it was when I knew I was going to enjoy this book.

Grace and Fury is a story about two sisters who feel like they are on the path toward the only future they can somewhat control. Yet that path gets so twisted and manipulated, so very quickly, right before their very eyes.

➽ Serina has been taught her entire life how to be the most beautiful girl in the room. From music lessons, to dancing, to being the perfect, and quiet, girl. Her family has instilled in her that the only way she can have a good life is to use her looks to ensure a spot being a Grace for the royal heir.
➽ Nomi has been taught how to be her sister’s handmaiden to help her win and keep that spot. But she has never wanted to live her life serving her sister as a royal, all she’s ever wanted is to be treated equally.

“It isn’t a choice when you don’t have the freedom to say no. A yes doesn’t mean the same thing when it’s the only answer you’re allowed!”

In this world, it is almost like a modern The Handmaid's Tale, but both serve to prove that oppression wasn’t as long ago in history as people like to believe. In this world, women aren’t allowed any choices, and are forbidden to even learn to read and write. When Serina becomes a Grace, she will literally be sharing one man with many girls, and her time will be spent however he deems fit. Girls in this world who aren’t as fortunate to even begin to compete to become a Grace, are sold away to become wives of other men, with their sole purpose being to birth children. Or they can become servants and/or factory workers.

“Women were forbidden to read. Women were forbidden to choose their husbands, their jobs, their futures. Forbidden to dive for pearls or sell goods at market to help their families. Forbidden to cut their hair unless a man told them to. Forbidden to think for themselves. Forbidden to choose.”

And any woman or girl who speaks out, or does anything that is deemed only acceptable to men, will find themselves on a volcanic island prison that has been abandoned by the outside (besides to bring food and more women there) since the last eruption. And on Mount Ruin, the prison guards rule. They force the women into different clans and make them fight to the death for the food that should be equally distributed.

Trigger and content warnings for captivity, a lot of physical abuse, graphic violence, murder, death, hinting of past rape/sexual assaults, brief implied attempted rape, animal abuse and talk of past animal abuse.

This story is told from alternating points of view between the two sisters that end up going down very different paths than they ever expected. We get to see both girls explore their grace and their fury, and they soon realize that both can coexist simultaneously. When I first started reading this, Nomi was easily my favorite sister. But the more and more I read, Serina is, without a doubt, my favorite.

And I truly did enjoy it, and I loved that first twist so very much, but I feel like the second “reveal” was so painfully obvious that it started to really hinder my reading experience. I still believe that Tracy Banghart created a beautiful set up for what is probably going to be a magnificent series. Yet, I feel like if the second “twist” could have been more secretly woven (like the first), I would have ended up five starring this story.

My favorite aspect of this story was definitely the sisterhood. Together or apart, Nomi and Serina always think about the other one, and are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure the other’s wellbeing. Even when things do not go as planned, and even when they are honest about their hurt and their anger, the unconditional love they have for one another always shines through.

Overall, I really did enjoy this. The first half was easily five star worthy. I might not have loved one of the sister’s point of view for the other half, but I still think this was a wonderful twist on the “princess locked away in the castle” kind of trope. And I can’t wait to see where the author takes this beautiful, feminist, story next.

Wow! I really enjoyed the world this author created and the smart women doing badass things in it. (Longer review to come!)

I did not like this one. It tries waaaay to hard to be more than it is. I’m taking a stab here and assuming it’s supposed to hit some feminist lit category? …It missed the mark in my opinion, but I might not be the best at assessing this as I have never identified as feminist. (Don’t shoot me, I only mean that I’ve never made achieving total equality apart of my personal agenda….that’s really a discussion for another time sooo SAVE IT lest this BOOK REVIEW be hijacked by social issues!) To me it seems more like rough draft Banghart needs to add to and clean up. She’s got an interesting premise going – I mean that’s why I requested it on NetGalley – but that’s all she’s got going here. There’s nothing solid but an outline of a story.

Let’s start with world building. Small spoiler; it was shallow and it sucked. Some how the world our characters live in finds itself with an established way of life where the rulers select common women as “graces”. Which to me basically translated to consort, concubine, or sex slave. You take your pick on what term you want to apply here but it’s all basically the same – a woman of lesser status in the service of a ruler that’s more property than person. As I’m reading about this “tradition” (Banghart’s term not mine) I find myself wondering how the heck this world came to be like this. How the heck does a ruler decide he needs 40+ partners to schmooze and bed??? I mean is there a fertility scare? Is he eventually going to pick one and dismiss the others? (That answer is no by the way…apparently he just keeps them and chooses who and when based on a whim???…. before you even say it; that’s not really a spoiler as the synopsis basically said as much.) I get that these women don’t have a choice if they are selected and that they live in society that severely limits what they are able to do, but whhyyyyy does this world work this way? There’s nothing to explain it and I found that annoying.

The story is structured with alternating points of view for Nomi and Serina. This I liked, but there were so many other issues that that barely improved my opinion. The plot left a LOOOOT to be desired. It’s probably one of the worst plots I’ve read this year. There are some good moments (for example, Serina ending up in prison for something Nomi was responsible for) but much of the book felt forced and unlikely. Ultimately resulting in an improbable plot with characters that equally disappointed me. Also, I saw the twist coming from miles away...and it was sooo cliche.

Ahh characters. Can you say “one-dimensional”? I was expecting a fierce, defiant, relatable character in Nomi and was given a character that was actually compliant with only flickers of “fury” and backbone. Frankly, if I lived in this world I’d either be dead or imprisoned; there ain’t no way I’d allow myself to be a “grace” let alone forego my I-do-what-I-want mentality. But Nomi, “rebellious” Nomi, actually seems cowed by the simple threat of death or imprisonment. Serina…I don’t even know how to articulate what disappointed me about her. She just wasn’t a well developed character. She started out as a compliant and malleable character and never improved from there despite repeatedly telling herself she needed to be more like Nomi. Serina’s chapters annoyed me because they never seemed to go anywhere. At least with Nomi’s there were a few fleeting moments of fight and defiance to be found in her.

I think the most painful part of this whole book was the writing. Truly cringe worthy lines and poorly introduced ideas at weird intervals. And although I’m not wholly sure of how to even address this, I was not a fan of the “Your Eminence” title that was used to address “The Superior” and his “Heir”. I realize that Banghart screwed herself by using the term “grace” for the concubines, but Your Eminence? That’s what you’re going to have other characters call the ruler(s)? Nooo. I'm out on that.

Bottom line? I didn’t hate everything about this book, but I’m not recommending Grace and Fury to anyone and I will not be picking up the next book in the series.

If you read The Selection but felt that the political side of the story was poorly developed along the book, then Grace and Fury is your book. Because you we can say the whole book is about issues that we can even relate to the present and is not just a side effect in the story, is the whole plot. Is the plot itself.

If you read Red Queen but you could barely stand its main character because of the lak of personality and drive, THEN Grace and Fury is your book. Because you will get not only one, but TWO awesome female characters that gave me so much excitement with their evolution through the story.

I started thinking this will be another slow pace book about a prince with bad attitude falling for the rough girl, going against all the rules and making most of the things just because she is very unsatisfied with herself. I was SO wrong. And I am SO happy for it.

Thounsed of times I have said it: I love books that impress me, books that surprise me. And this one did.
I was proved wrong about my plot suspitions again and again. And even when I was certain about something, I was thrilled and excited to know how everything was going to develope.

The only think I regret is to read this so early and have to wait for the next installment I don't know for how long!

This one caught my attention when it was compared to The Handmaid’s Tale and I was really intrigued by the concept. There were some tropes and similarities to other books that made certain twists feel predictably but overall, I loved the girl power vibe and I loved the relationship between the sisters even though they were in separate areas. They couldn’t have been more different from each other but they had each other’s backs no matter what.

Serina was the older sister, the one who’d been training to be a Grace her whole life, the one who was supposed to be chosen by the prince to serve him and save her family from poverty. Nomi was the younger and serving as Serina’s handmaiden, which meant leaving her twin brother behind. Nomi was rebellious and everything a Grace shouldn’t be but she ended up catching the attention of the prince. The author didn’t waste any time setting up the stakes of the book with Nomi chosen as a Grace and Serina taking the fall for a secret her sister was hiding very early on in the book.

With the sisters separated, it gave the book the chance to show other female characters and gave the sisters other people to turn to besides family. This was especially true of Serina, who was imprisoned on an island with many other women and I enjoyed seeing the survival aspect while also seeing that these women took care of each other, even though they were forced to fight each other for food. Nomi had less female influence in her corner. She had her handmaiden to help her with dressing and daily tasks but they other two girls she spent the most time with her other Graces, who would likely go running to the King or Prince if they caught wind of Nomi doing anything wrong. It was really interesting to see each sister have to transform into someone they’d spent their whole life trying not to be: polite and submissive Serina had to learn to fight while rebellious Nomi had to learn how to fit in with the demure Graces.

The story caught my attention right away and didn’t let go. It was a very addictive read with lots of twists, some predictable and others more surprising. I definitely cannot wait for the next book.

I don’t know why I waited so long to read this book. It was perfectly flawed. Filled with love, hate, suspense and a lot of passion. Passion for a free world where women can rule, read, make their own decisions. Not to be told to stand there and look pretty.

Nomi and Serina have become my own personal idols. The love and strength they have is inspiring. They aren’t perfect and that makes them even more lovable. They each take their own journey and discover things about themselves that they thought they never would. I could talk about them all day and write many pages about them. But unfortunately I can’t. I don’t want to spoil anything for you.

Grace and Fury is more than a story of two girls finding their own paths. It’s about being a woman and standing up for yourself even if the situation is not ideal. It’s about finding your inner voice. Fighting for what’s right. It’s about love and friendship. Sisters. Don’t pass this book up. You’ll regret it. I am for the fact I didn’t read it sooner.

Nomi and Serina live in a world where women are completely oppressed. Women are considered weak things, who have no say in the matter when it comes to men. They have to listen, obey, put their head down and never speak when it’s not asked of them. Women aren’t meant to be able to read or go to school, women are meant to be illiterates and naïve things, a woman definitely cannot be smart.

While Serina has made peace and has accepted this is the life she has been born into, but her younger sister Nomi is more defiant, with a stubborn streak and a loose mouth, who doesn’t like being told what to do by a man, or believes she is inferior to a man.

The Superior, the sovereign head of their world, takes 3 young beautiful women, who have been trained all their lives to be one of the women-owned by him, to do as he pleases with. But this time around The Heir, his first son is to take 3 young beautiful women, these women, the chosen ones are called Graces.

The story starts with Serina been chosen as the woman, who will represent her hometown, because of cause it’s a highly reputable and sort after position to be a Grace, forever taken care of and considered royalty. To Serina, it means she never has to worry about going hungry and is honoured to be thrust into the role, even if she has to leave her family and hometown behind.

The only plus is Nomi comes with her and two of them will always be together, has Nomi will be her hands maiden for life. But from the onset, Nomi is upset that Serina was chosen because she doesn’t believe the laws of the land to be right and believes women should also be given a choice.

That’s the only sensible thing or moment that Nomi had in this whole book, because from then henceforth, I only saw her as a nuisance. Yes, she still had her fiery spirit but all she ever seems to do is make things worse.

I felt Serina’s heartbreak when not only Nomi gets chosen and in the next heartbeat has to be a dutiful and protective big sister and take the fall for Nomi which gets her banished to the worst of the women’s prisons.

Nomi is so gullible and easily trusting for someone who has such a jaded view of the world she lived in, I could sense the love triangle from the onset and the betrayal that would happen and it made me royally roll my eyes. You can say she was blind to her cause because of the guilt she felt for being the cause of her sister’s detainment and wanted to try her best to help, in a naïve way of course. Gah! Just Nomi for someone so strong willed was just too weak of a character and her story arc is so overdone by authors. Why are there love triangles? I love love triangles where the three people end up falling in love with one and another.

I don’t know how long the happening in the books spans for, but I think it’s almost a month. Serina is in jail and she has come to the horrible realization that women who come here and never to go home again and so to survive there is a battle where women from different prisoner clans, go up against each other weekly, battling till every single woman but one, the Victor is alive, to gain food and other basic necessities for their clan. Barbaric.

I thought Serina was a bit meek and accepting, but she blew me away as she is the sister I love. She is so brave and I love that about her character, as she sticks to her beliefs and holds them close in the cruel world she now belongs in. I would love to say more but spoilers, the only thing I didn’t like was her love arc.

I hated all the love/romance arcs in the story and it just's cringe and so fast or predictable. I had a lot of problems with them. Then that ending, it was a mess. It was like a fast work hurriedly put together, just to get the desired cliff-hanger effect and it would have worked for me if not for the fact that once again Nomi had not only annoyed me but made stupid decisions she could have easily righted, she is just a blind bat.

With that out of the way, I do not know if the finished edition of this book is better, I definitely hope it is better than this, because this is a book with a lot of potentials and I still want to know what happens with Nomi and Serina, because the cliff-hanger brings forth a lot of questions, that I’m sure I’ve already figured out some, I just want to be surprised and be like “Oh I didn’t see that coming!”

This is my honest opinion and I’m grateful to the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book and of course Netgalley.

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me. I didn't connect with either of the MC's at the beginning of the book and so I really didn't care what happened to them. The introduction of the "heirs" also didn't give me someone to root for.

I can usually get over unlikable characters if there is something to drive me forward. In this case, it didn't happen for me.

I was also very surprised when the story ended... right during what seemed to be the climax of the story. So it was an unsatisfying ending with a major cliffhanger. Not my thing.

Would not continue with the series.

What do you get when you mix together badass female characters, an amazing plot, and an interesting world? The answer: Grace and Fury. From the second I started this book I knew it was going to be fantastic, and it did not let me down. Tracy Banghart tells the story of two sisters, Nomi and Serina, in such a way that draws you in from the first sentence and leaves you begging for more at the last. I don't even know where to begin in writing this review because I loved everything so, so much, and I can guarantee that none of my readers want to read a ten page essay on how much I enjoyed this book.
The world building throughout the story is great. Set in an Italian inspired fantasy world where women are oppressed, the reader immediately gets the sense that something isn't right. Girls aren't allowed to learn how to read or write, and to do so is a capital crime. Men rule over everything, and the women who don't submit to them are sent off to the Hawaiian inspired prison at Mount Ruin. Banghart does a fantastic job in describing both the prison at Mount Ruin as well as the palace, which also happens to work as a prison for some of its inhabitants.
I will admit that I was a little worried when I read the first couple chapters of Grace and Fury--it gave me major Selection vibes with the whole Heir and Grace thing, and anyone who knows me knows that I strongly dislike the selection, but luckily that ended as soon as the Heir selected his Graces and I WAS SHOOK! I love it when a story catches me off guard, and that's what Grace and Fury did from the very beginning. There are a multitude of twists and turns which are absolutely wonderful and unpredictable. The ending in particular left me absolutely shell shocked, and I kept trying to flip the page on my kindle, hoping there was more because I was not ready for it to be over. Banghart leaves the story on a cliffhanger which has the reader already begging to have book two in their hands (I NEED IT NOW!!!).
While both the setting and the story itself are incredible, it's the characters who truly steal the show. Nomi and Serina couldn't be more opposite: Serina has trained her whole life to become a Grace and be submissive to men, while Nomi is a rebel who constantly fights the role which has been set for her. Both girls end up somewhere they never could have imagined, and they have to fight to survive. If someone asked me to pick my favorite of the two sisters, I would not be able. Both characters go through so much throughout the story, and neither are the same person they were at the beginning of the story at the end. Their character devlopment is fantastic, and I can only imagine how much effort Banghart put into bringing these characters to life. Even for the side characters, Banghart does an incredible amount of characterization. She gives each and every one their own backstory, and she doesn't skip over any details. Personally, I really enjoyed getting to know about the others on mount doom--specifically Oracle and Val, but I also liked getting to know those within the palace--especially towards the end when I started to doubt everything I'd been told. The characters are the shining stars of Grace and Fury, and the character development throughout the story is truly some of the best I've ever seen.


In conclusion, I give Grace and Fury five out of five stars for being a fantastic opening to a new series as well as a fun story that promotes feminism within its pages. Grace and Fury is a story of strong women and family love, and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Be sure to pre-order a copy today because I can guarantee this is a book everyone is going to be talking about.

WOW! I had been struggling recently with YA fantasy-- struggling to find something different and captivating.

I FOUND IT!

Grace and Fury had me manically turning the pages to see what happened next and actually yelling "BUT WHEN DOES THE NEXT BOOK COME OUT!?" at the book after I turned the last page.

This book is a brilliant feminist meditation on the nature of female power and sisterhood (both blood and chosen). I actually don't even think I have anymore words for how much I loved it-- it's the first 5 star review I've given out in awhile.

If you like feminist, fantasy/dystopian YA, THIS is the book for you. I promise.

I will be purchasing a print copy of this book once it goes on sale to keep on my shelves and shove at any of my friends who find themselves in a book slump.

Grace and Fury puts a lot of intriguing ideas into play without managing to capitalize on them. Combining a dystopian fantasy with historical fiction, it envisions a Venetian-inspired civilization where women are forbidden to read or write and have very few opportunities presented to them. Eschewing a life of factory work, Serina has spend her entire childhood training to become, in essence, a concubine for the future leader of their kingdom. If she is one of the few girls selected then she can also bring her sister, Nomi, along into a life of relative luxury. However, the two sisters spend hardly any time together in the capital before an unexpected series of events results in Nomi's selection as a Grace and Serina's banishment to an island prison after getting caught with a book. As a result, the sisterly bond meant to drive much of the book's conflict has little time to develop before getting torn apart.

Without this foundation to rely on, both Nomi and Serina's alternating perspectives quickly fall back into a repetitive pattern of thought. Action and intrigue run throughout the palace and prison alike, yet this key relationship between the two protagonists depends almost entirely on a generic loop of reminiscing and regret. Through being told, rather than shown, the bond between Nomi and Serena their shared history lacks gravitas and fails to inspire much empathy.

The prose also borders on bland. Plainly structured sentences and paragraphs don't necessarily lack direction, yet they do severely want for momentum. As both girls continue struggling to resolve their circumstances without satisfaction this inhibits the reader's ability to immerse herself in the world at hand. Rather than seem vibrant and real everything feels an arm's-length away.

Grace and Fury also incorporates its progressive, feminist themes awkwardly. Several of the notions bandied about by the young women are more than rebellious: they're downright anachronistic in their foundations and sophistication, incredibly well-developed for teenagers presumably questioning the justice of their reality in-depth for the first time. Reading a more modern twist on medieval or Renaissance-inspired stories is quite welcome, although certain concepts require a finer touch than Banghart applies here.

Tangential to this issue is the development of female friendships in both storylines. While the various prisoners isolated alongside Serina form different alliances and relationships, there's a startling lack of interpersonal politics among the women in the palace's harem. The Graces display a range of attitudes over their vocation, from grudging resignation to pride and delight. It was disappointing that all of these differing approaches weren't shown to create subtle divisions within the household.

Although the concepts at play behind Grace and Fury—the melding of historical fiction and dystopian fantasy, a strong female cast, and the relationship between two sisters—immediately capture one's attention, the execution of those ideas fails in several key areas. Additionally, this is only the first in planned duology—a publishing schedule not easily apparent from Goodreads or NetGalley. The slow pace makes more sense when the story is split between two books, however this is ultimately a tale that can be told in one. Neither the characters nor the overall plot have really compelled me to continue, so the ending to this one will most likely remain a mystery.

This book exceeded my expectations. I very much enjoyed this. The last half of the book was so intense. I was shocked at turn of events because I didn't see it coming. I really hope there is a sequel because I need to know what happens next and see what is next for these characters. I feel like both sisters grew so much even though the story didn't take place over a huge amount of time. They were well developed and I liked them both. I love the women empowerment feel this book has.

PROS:

Headstrong, outspoken, risk-taking women who fight for their sisters and stick up for the women around them. These girls were raised to accept gender stereotypes, to remain uneducated, demure, and submissive. Their whole purpose in life-if they weren’t training to be a Grace-is to work in a factory or be sold off into marriage. They were denied the power of knowledge, of words, of BOOKS. If they were trained to be a Grace, they had to look a specific way, eat enough to have “womanly curves”, speak only when spoken to, and were taught to deny their own opinions, their voice, and do whatever pleases the Heir.

Love between sisters. I’m not sure that I have read any YA that fully captured the beautiful bond between sisters and their willingness to sacrifice themselves to protect one another. Nomi and Serina are opposites. They rarely see eye-to-eye and fight quite a bit, but they love each other with that bone deep, eternal magnitude that pushes them to survive when they are on the verge of giving up just to see each other again. Throughout the story, this feeling only grows and is reinforced through both actions and words.

There is some SERIOUS heat between the couples. I had to stop and fan myself during one…kind of extensive scene. More sensual than sexual, but fire.

Gladiators meet Amazonian women. Ruin Mountain has clans of women who each have their own subculture and are forced to fight to the death for food rations. They’re fierce, crafty, and willing to do whatever it takes despite their horrifying circumstances.

The pacing is great. It flows, sucks you in, and it took me a little over a day to plough through.

CONS:

The “plot twist” was fairly predictable. It was so much like another book I read a year or two ago that I called it within the first few chapters. There are shades of The Sin Eater’s Daughter, The Red Queen, and Cruel Beauty.

While the world-building is fairly solid, I would have loved to hear more of the back story. The brief moments of history and the folklore were intriguing and those legends, it was like a new brand of mythology meets historical fiction.

Nomi’s twin Renzo. There was zero development there are hardly anything about their relationship prior to the Grace selection and yet, Nomi expects him to take life-threatening risks for her? There wasn’t a strong enough foundation or enough for the reader to care/appreciate the risk that was being taken.

I find myself getting so excited every time I have the opportunity to pick up one of these sort of dystopian YA offerings. I have loved so many books like this, so very fiercely, and it makes me want to try them all.

Unfortunately, this one didn't work for me. I didn't find either of the sisters interesting or likable enough to really invest in them. I also wasn't crazy about how the major themes in the book were simplified and I felt like the pacing of the story was off. I would be interested, and then I would skim five pages.

It is possible (likely even) that the problem here is me. I need to be hooked immediately or there's no saving the book for me and, indeed, by the time things started twisting, I was already losing patience and realized that it didn't matter to me how it ended. This was a DNF at 25%.

This is a beautiful example of a young adult book that plays with gender roles in a harsh but eye-opening way.

Grace and Fury is a fantasy novel where women have no rights. They cannot learn to read. They cannot cut their hair without permission. They must listen and obey. Serina and her sister Nomi are raised for one role each: Serina to be a Grace, one of the select chosen by the King to mother his children ——-, and Nomi to be her sister’s maid. Serina has waited for her moment her entire life, with everything she has ever done being a calculated movement to an ends. Nomi has rebelled, learning to read and yearning for more than what this life has to offer her.

I was getting major Handmaid’s Tale vibes from this and I am oh-so-glad. I am all for the eye-opening, hard-hitting Margaret Atwood novel, but let’s face it: it’s a classic piece that can be intimidating by that category alone. But give the world a novel like Grace and Fury, with its beautiful language and characters, and I am 100% here for this.

I have so many passages of this book highlighted and bookmarked that my screen is a constant flow of color. Tracy Banghart has an incredible way with words and packing a full lunch in a single sentence, such as, “It isn’t a choice when you don’t have the freedom to say no. A yes doesn’t mean the same thing when it’s the only answer you’re allowed.”When I first read this line, I had to close the book and sit there for a few minutes, stunned. It’s so true, and yet something I never thought of until this moment. Now, I’m still thinking about this line, this book, and everything hidden in its depths.

I adored the relationships between the characters. The sisterly dynamics between Serina and Nomi felt real and believable, as they pulled on all emotions: love, hatred, jealousy—all of it. As the book continued and the relationships expanded (and broke), I found myself in a constant state of turmoil of cheering and rooting and screaming. It was a fantastic reading experience.

“For every woman who has been told to sit down and be quiet…and who has stood up anyway.” And so reads the dedication of this first book in the series, and introduces readers of all ages a truth about the fantasy world that is seldom seen and what they can expect more of: the role of women. So often do we fall back on the “prince charming” or “knight in shining armor,” letting the women and girls, strong in their own rights, take a back seat in the plot. Tracy Banghart explores this thoroughly and carefully, and presents a cast of strong, interesting, amazing female characters, with great execution and a big payoff. I cannot wait to follow this series and see what’s to come.

This arc was provided to me for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

5 STARS

Let me start by picking my jaw up off the floor because holy crap. Grace and Fury was everything I didn’t expect. Not going to lie, I wasn’t a fan at first, it seemed very cliche and I thought I could guess where the book was going. But it fooled me and it instead was this brilliant novel.

Tracy Banghart created a world where women have no rights, they do not have the right to choose their husbands, they cannot get an education, and they are only allowed to work a few jobs. This book follows Serina and Nomi, two sisters who are completely opposite. Beautiful and submissive Serina has spent her entire life training to be a Grace, a concubine for the heir because she knows ultimately it would be better for her family. But wild, Nomi who has trained to be her sister’s handmaiden believes women deserve better rights and should be free to do what they please. In a turn of events, Serina is caught with a book that Nomi has stolen and is sent to Mount Ruin, a women’s prison on a volcanic island. Separated, both sisters find a way to get back to each other, but while both facing their own hardships.

Now, this is what I wanted, strong females rising up to take what is theirs. I am so glad I stuck with this book because it turned out completely different than I thought. For every twist and turn, I expected something else. And I think I am going to go impatiently wait for the second book. Because holy cliffhangers.

Strong female characters, great twists, and even a little romance, this book has it all. I am definitely pre-ordering this book. I need it to grace my shelves.

P.s. When does book 2 come out?

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Grace and fury is a great book and has a pretty big hype surrounding it and I enjoyed it but if I want to be honest it didn't really reach my expectations either. The thing is that the beginning of the story is really slow and I struggled a lot to get into the story and while there are a lot of phenomenal things in the book when it takes me such a long time to get into a book it sours the experience for me. Alas, that was a pretty big drawback for me.

The world building is interesting and for fantasy, because it is fantasy, it has pretty strong historical roots, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Yet, after the initial set up is established things speed up considerably and the storyline is a crazy, twisty, whiplash-inducing adventure that ends on a huge cliff-hanger. I mean, when is the next book coming!?? But really what was the most amazing thing about this book, what I love to pieces was the characterization of the two main character, who narrates the story alternating.

Nomi and Serena are sisters and they are so different from each other, practically two sides of a coin. My first thought about them was that they are the two kinda cliches (bear with me I getting to a point here) personalities we usually get in YA fantasy and they are kinda pitted against each other. Well, not literally but I found this method from the author so interesting and original. Okay, so it is entirely possible that I only see things into it that are not there, still.
There is Serena, tho law-abiding, soft-spoken and sweet sister who sees her family redemption, rising in following the rules and getting ahead with political machinations and some womanly manipulation but still good intentions. She sees the opulence and possibilities in her current situation and she is a dreamer, a hard-working one, but still a dreamer.
Then there is Nomi, the younger sister, the one who overlooked all her life and the more rebellious, outspoken and hot-tempered one. She sees the problems with her current society and firmly believes that some changes are in order and she is willing to fight for it. She is not the one to lay down and accept her fate without voicing her opinion.
However, then comes the big shock when their roles get reversed, and neither of them really knows what to do with the new situation. A flip was switched and both sisters needed to learn to navigate their new lives if they wanted to survive.
It was a really great and original idea and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Personally, neither of the sister's personality was among my favorites but I can apprentice their brilliance.

Maybe the plot seems like something we all read before but the way the sister's evolution is introduced is unique and definitely worth the time to read about.
One more thing I really wanted to mention was the whole feminism aspect to the book. So lately it became kind of a trend to call every book that has a female protagonist, a 'true feminist take on things' and such when I don't think that because the main character is female she does something remarkable it means that the story is automatically a representation of feminism. However, I don't want to get into this because it would be an endless debate. Anyway, what I was getting to that this book, this story is truly relevant and a great take on feminism. So it is a deserving adjective to use for Grace and fury.

Glad I got the opportunity to read this book early it's just a shame that I struggled so much with the first couple of chapters.

There has to be a sequel, right? RIGHT? Because OMG that ending!

I read this book in a day and now I have a major book hangover. I loved this story so much. It was like The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Hunger Games. The plot was tight, the characters addictive and the description of their surroundings crystal clear.

I need more of these characters and soon, please!