Late to the party as ever. Reading Grace & Fury nearly 2 years after it was released is even more shameful considering I have had the ARC of this book since….well…way before it was released in 2018. To top THAT off, I even received an ARC of Queen of Ruin at BookCon last year. If you need to give me a time-out, I understand COMPLETELY.

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.


Now you may be looking at me cross-eyed and think I am an even worse human being for giving this only 3.5 stars since it is such a pro-women and sisterly love book (both of which I am a sucker for).

The reason is simple.

For about 1/3 of the book I was getting some MAJOR Red Queen PTSD flashbacks. I knew [redacted] was the bad guy. I knew [redacted] was being a gullible little idiot. I wanted to SCREAM. I had to download the audiobook from Audible just to get through that part.

HOWEVER.

I was not disappointed.

What Victoria got wrong in Red Queen, Tracy got right. She laid the foundation so that it was so blatantly obvious. Betrayal? Yes. You absolutely feel it. But you also feel a sick sort of vindication in knowing that you are right.

And by “you,” clearly I mean me.

I absolutely can’t wait to dig into Queen of Ruin now, and am thrilled this is just a duology.

At least right now.

Find me in a week once I have started QoR and I might have changed my mind.

I had SUCH a difficult time with this book!
I read such great reviews and wanted to love it so much, but I just didn't like any of the characters. They all fell flat for me.
I'm disappointed because the premise sounded so promising...

A world where women are treated abominably, where they have no rights at all. It was the perfect recipe for a story of triumph and encouragement for young women.

I feel like this book was a tad bit reminiscent of others in the genre. Along with the characters, I just felt the plot was recycled and overused.

The story was easy to get into, but felt too fast and the characters weren’t any I got invested in. At the end of the book, I didn’t really care where the story would go afterwards and was left feeling disappointed in this.

Sorry, but this book did not hold my interest. I tried reading it several times but ended up giving up on it. It was hard to connect with the sisters.

If someone had pitched this book to me as "Hey, didn't you want THE HANDMAID'S TALE to be a romance?" I'd have given you a big, resounding NO.

And, no, this book didn't change my mind. From the very 'in your face' attempt at woke girl-boss feminism that's thrown in your face to the point that even I was groaning, to the unimpressive narrative voice...this book is simply not enjoyable.

Unimpressive and forgettable are the only two words I can think of to describe this book.

What I Liked:

♥Page Zero. I fell for this book from the dedication page: For every woman who has been told to sit down and be quiet… And who stood up anyway. SMASH hands clapping THAT hands clapping PATRIARCHY hands clapping

♥ Nomi & Serina. These girls live in a world where women have no power and no voice, no rights, and few choices. Serina has trained her whole life to be a Grace, basically a (super-submissive) concubine to the Heir of the throne, and Nomi her handmaiden. Things go to hell one day when the Heir chooses Nomi as his Grace instead, and Serina is caught doing something that’s VERY illegal for women (spoiler alert it’s reading RUN FOR THE HILLS!), which she wasn’t even doing, Nomi was, but Serina took the fall, and anyway Serina is sent to prison.

♥ The Settings. The palace and the prison. The palace is beautiful, but Nomi never wanted to be there. Nomi has always longed for more than this, she wants a life where she can read, and learn, and go to school like her twin brother. Where she can make choices.

But the prison? Hoo, boy Mount Ruin is rough. The women are basically used as gladiators for the guards’ entertainment, and it’s learn to kill or be killed. Serina was NOT built for this. There is violence and bloodshed, very little food, and the entire island is a live volcano. Seeing Serina break out of her shell here and grow into the person she was meant to be was a real treat. Nomi is great, but Serina definitely has the most growth.

♥ Secretly Feminist Boys. Sure, it’d be nice if they could be creating visible change, but damn if they aren’t making waves and doing their part to SMASH hands clapping THAT hands clapping PATRIARCHY hands clapping underground, and I am SO HERE FOR IT!

♥ I Don’t Know What To Say About This Part. If you read it, I’m pretty sure you’ll know if I say “GIRL, WRONG ONE!”. It felt a little reminiscent of another popular book, but literally NO ONE ELSE has mentioned this so I feel like I might be making that up.

What I Didn’t:

⊗ The only thing I didn’t like was the ending and that’s only because it was a cliffhanger and it was the end.

Final Thoughts: LOVED this feminist princess story spin, even when SHE TOTALLY DID THE STUPID THING.

Favorite Quotes: “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!“

“Maybe that’s part of the nightmare, having just enough freedom thrown at you to tempt you, knowing it’s an illusion.”

All quotes are taken from an uncorrected proof of the book

I have pretty mixed feelings about this book - I think it was trying to do something quite special in terms of demonstrating feminist values, but it just kind of ended up being a fairly standard YA fantasy with a lot of the tropes of the genre. It tells the story of sisters Serina and Nomi, one of whom has been trained to be a Grace and the other who is set to be her handmaiden, but when the heir chooses Nomi over Serina as his Grace, the sisters find themselves separated and thrust into the power politics of the court. There were some aspects that just had me tearing my hair out because they were so obvious and stereotypical. There were however, enough other aspects to the narrative to keep my interest - particularly Serina's narrative, which I found quite enjoyable. All in all, there is plenty to enjoy here as long as you go in knowing that the narrative does hit a lot of the YA tropes.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was incredible. The characters felt very real and raw, and I connected with them a lot. Really great book overall!

One of my new favorite books! This author has such a way with words the pages flew by in no time! I can’t wait to see the next work by this author! This was such a joy to read!

I wanted to fall in love with this Spanish esc story but for me it just fell flat. The characters seemed one dimensional and well kind of stupid at times with making very bad choices that they should have seen coming a mile away. The world building was lack luster and just didn't seem fleshed out very well. In short this book seemed very shallow that this was just the way the world was and everyone should just live with it. It was very bland.

I lost my reading momentum on this one. It sort of reminded me of a YA/updated version of "The Other Boleyn Girl". I don't think it's intrinsically flawed, but I do think it is derivative of other books out there. It's really going to depend on how much the reader is keen on the dueling historical sisters genre.

I really enjoyed this book. It was just one of those really good, straight-forward fantasy books that had such an interesting plotline. The fact that the author made a world where women can get to sent to horrible prison like places just because she is caught reading was brilliant considering WE WERE READING THIS BOOK! The author grew up in my area and I got to meet her at a signing at my library, it was really cool! I cannot want to read the next book!!

*thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this free copy in exchange for an honest review*

This booook. Guys this book! The dynamics between the sisters is enthralling and the story telling is amazing. I can’t wait to grab a copy of the sequel and see what sort of trouble Serina & Nomi get into.

This book alternates chapters between Serena and Nomi, sisters living in a world where women are decidedly second class citizens. Not allowed to learn to read, to make choices about their own life, etc. Sadly like many parts of this world, even now.

Both are strong women in their own right, though I have to admit I liked Serena a tad more than Nomi, though poor Nomi was COMPLETELY out of her element at the palace so I don't blame her. Her ending was a bit sadder than Serena's, but their stories dovetail nicely and I am really looking forward to the next book to see how the story progresses.

Definitely recommended for YA readers, especially if they are looking for strong female characters. 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3, because my heart is breaking for poor Nomi. I want better for her! I think the next book will fulfill that desire though, so I will be reading that one with high expectations!

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Dueling sisters is something I can relate to in a cellular level. Like anatomically. Added fantasy elements only makes it better.

Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down! So good, I actually read it twice already!
Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Book Group for the opportunity to read and review Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart!
Serina and her family await Signor Pietro to make his choice of one of the community’s young women who will travel to Bellaqua, join others from different provinces, and vie for the opportunity to be a Grace for the royal Heir. Sera’s mother is thrilled when she’s the one who’s chosen, but her siblings Nomi and Renzo seem to feel otherwise. Sera’s unsure how her father feels. Sera has learned to be happy with the lack of options given to women in Viridia but Nomi openly hates the idea.
The Heir, Malachi, chooses three Graces every three years. This will be his first year of choosing Graces. The Superior has forty Graces and everyone assumes he will step down and let the Heir rule Viridia. At the ball, Nomi wanders into a palace library and notices a beautiful copy of the book Renzo taught her to read with, when they were younger. Reading is forbidden for women but Nomi loves to read. She slips this book into her clothes and as she’s going back to the ball, runs straight into the Heir and his younger brother Asa. The Heir demands to know what she’s doing and she coyly answers that she was using the restroom and if he needs it she points to where it is. Nomi can’t fathom how she could have been so rude to the Heir and she’s sure she’s going to be sent home. Sera is the only young woman the Heir dances with at the ball. He makes his decision afterwards, choosing two women and then Nomi instead of Sera! Grace and Fury is fast paced and full of intrigue! This magnificent book twists and turns with suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat! Once I started reading it, I couldn’t stop. Fantastic writing, unique storyline and intriguing characters make Grace and Fury a must-read- 5 stars!

In Viridia a world where women are oppressed. Two sister face different paths from what they excepted. Serina has trained all her life to become a Grace. She thought that by following all the rules and doing her duty her reward would be to picked as Grace. She felt that was a choice she made. While Nomi her sister was the rebel. She learned to read and felt that her sister didn't have a choice but something she had to do. Things change when Nomi who is Serina's handmaiden gets picked as a Grace. Serina finds herself in prison and realizes what her sister Nomi met about freedom. The sisters are running out of time and the cost can be their life.

You will find deception, romance, violence, and traitors in this book. I liked it but I could tell where the plot was going. I liked the writing and would look forward to see how the second book will be done.

This was a fun and uncomplicated fantasy that I'd happily hand to readers new to the genre or to younger readers looking for a longer book. I enjoyed the sister dynamic and the role reversal. Although I did see the plot twist coming, I think teens will be surprised. Very fun and I'm eager to read the next one!

I made it about half way through the book. Unfortunately it didn't hold my attention but because I believe that is more to do with my personal tastes than the book itself, I am choosing not to post a public review.

This book was absolutely amazing after the first couple chapters where it sets the scenes. Strong females are always going to be a favorite read for me.