I received this as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Clarion Books for giving me access.

While I never read the actual book, I thought that reading the graphic novel version would get me interested to finally pick up the story. In one way it has and another it hasn't.

The overall story is very intriguing and has your typical sworn not to love and then falls in love trope. For that, I'll give it 4 stars.

As for the artwork, I was not a fan. With the cover, you don't really see what art style you are in for and this art style was very childish/coloring book-esque to me. Because of this, it took away from my enjoyment of it, so I give this part 2 stars.

This just wasn't for me, but I do want to read the novels.

Compared to the non-graphic novel version of Graceling, this version was a little harder to get into. It started what felt like a chapter or two into the story (I haven't read classic Graceling in a few years so I can't be 100%) but it was beautifully done and lovely.

This is a fantastic version of the first Graceling book told in graphic form. Kat is a graceling she has a rare power as do other gracelings. Kat discovers that one of the kingdoms is led by a Graceling who can change people’s views. Kat and Po seek to rescue the princess Bitterblue from his clutches knowing that he means her harm.
There is lots of action and adventure as they travel from one country to another. The graphics tell the story well including the building of the romance. If you enjoy graphic novels I would recommend this.

I have had the Graceling novel on my shelf for a few years and I am sorry that I have not yet read it because I thoroughly enjoyed the graphic novel. I will now have to read the novel and compare the story lines, aw shucks.

This graphic novel was well done, the illustrations were good, the story was quick paced and entertaining. I am hoping that the rest of the series is turned into graphic novels so I can compare all the books once I have read the series.

I loved the original version of this book and the graphic novel was extremely enjoyable as well! Graceling tells the story of Kasta, a girl with a Grace (a power/special gift) to kill. She is tired of being the king’s henchman and takes off, along with a handsome prince named Po, on a wild adventure where her skills will be put to the test, kingdoms are at risk, and Kasta is tempted to allow herself to love. I cannot receive this book more! Read it! Read it today!

I love Graceling, and the graphic novel version was wonderful! I found myself often comparing the plot of the story and the times and overall vibes from the setting as being very similar to The Lord of The Rings, and the banter and dynamic between the two main characters was really authentic and lovely. I loved the writing that Cashore developed throughout the story, it was very well done and made me think about my own prose as a writer and the types of strategies that I want to implement into my own writing technique.

I was so curious as to how they would turn the full length text into a graphic novel. The art is beautiful. The story is fast-paced and may leave readers confused initially if they have not read the original book. I can see this being popular with our action graphic novel readers as well as our fantasy graphic novel readers.

It’s been almost 12 years since I read GRACELING and it still stands out in my memory as one of my most favorite young adult novels…even when, back then, I wasn’t reading much YA.

This graphic novel retells GRACELING, the story of Katsa and Po in their alliance to find the people responsible for kidnapping Po’s grandfather. In a world where “graced” people have a special skill, and where that special skill can be taken advantage of by someone of power. When neither know who their actual foe is, Katsa and Po form an unexpected alliance…and more.

I’m not going to spoil what happens for those who haven’t read GRACELING, or for those, like me, who simply can’t remember all the details of the story. But it’s important to know, this is not a new story, just a retelling of the original novel in graphic form.

Things I forgot: Katsa is a badass! Seriously, why isn’t she making the lists of top badass heroines? I also forgot how much I adored Po.

The art: Gareth Hinds did an amazing job portraying these characters and surroundings in graphic detail. But my favorite scenes were the fight scenes! I’ve read so many graphic novels and comics where the fight scenes were difficult to read, but these were so well done I felt like I was reading exactly what happened.

The romance: While not a conventional HEA, I still felt the tension and heartbreak between Katsa and Po like I did when originally reading the novel.

The mystery: Kinda obvious and I felt like the bad guy was a little more scarier in the novel.

The writing: The dialogue was great. Unfortunately, Katsa’s inner monologues told much of the back story and current happenings that it slowed down the pace of the story a bit.

Overall, highly recommended for any GRACELING fan.

I'm not familiar with the novel this graphic novel is based upon, but I found the GN very compelling. The illustrations were excellent, and I found the story easy to follow and interesting.

I loved the Graceling novels and when I saw it was coming out as a Graphic Novel I had to see it. I was not wrong, the art in this was so vivid and beautiful. I was not disappointed. I was a little afraid to see what these characters really looked like through the eyes of an artist and I was just awed. A wonderful version of the tale in a new form.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed this story. It was unique and the twists were very interesting to me. The art was beautiful, and I loved the style. The epilogue was so beautiful to me.

This graphic novel was really nice!!

This is a lush retelling of Graceling. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this fantasy. I'm inspired to finish the series now that the fourth book is out.

Full color drawings in beautiful Hinds style, cleverly tell us Katsa's story.

I enjoyed this graphic novel. Graceling has been one of my favorite stories for a while and it's been a long time since I've picked up the book so this was a great reminder of why I love this story. The imagery only added to the experience.

Oh, this was great. I hadn't gotten a chance to read Graceling yet but was really excited to read this graphic novel. And it definitely lived up to the hype. I'm glad I got to experience this story in this format!

I received an eARC of this title through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Realizing this is an adaptation, I want to start by saying I have never read Graceling Realm series. This is my perspective of this graphic novel based on that information.

The story and action sequences were well adapted. I found a lot of the dialogue intriguing and informative about the world. Katsa is an amazing character and one that I find myself connected. She has a lot of thoughts and ideas that reflect mine, and she is strong morally. Prince Po is also an interesting character which seems to be represented well in this graphic novel.

Also, I greatly enjoyed the art work. I thought the action sequences were well drawn and easy to follow which can be difficult.

Now for the part that bugged me to no end about this adaptation. There was WAY too much narration dialogue. While the beginning made sense to have a bit of dialogue, I found most of it tedious and unnecessary to the story at hand. Was it informative about the world? Absolutely. Did everything conveyed to the reader through narration need to be said? Absolutely not. My opinion is, a good story shows the reader and doesn't tell. them. In this graphic novel, there was a lot of telling the reader instead of showing.

I was torn on how many stars to give this title. On the one hand, I enjoyed the world and story. On the other hand, I was extremely bored by all the narration. It honestly took me out of the story so many times. The main plot, art, and world building parts would have yielded higher stars for me (and the only reason this gets more than 2 stars) if the narration hadn't been so boring and tedious.

I already reviewed the print novel of Graceling back in June of 2013 (https://ianwoodnovellum.blogspot.com/2013/06/graceling-by-kristin-cashore.html), but I was very curious to see what they did with the graphic novel version, so when I saw this on Net Galley I asked to review it and the publisher kindly granted my request.

I was not disappointed. This is my last Net Galley review before I retire from reviewing altogether, to concentrate on my own writing, so I was very glad to find one that I could end my career of some five thousand total reviews on a positive note for my last Net Galley.

The story is no different from the original print version I reviewed almost a decade ago, but it's been so long, that I had forgot a lot of it, so this was a nice refresher and it had some enjoyable and nicely-worked art to go with it. I ended-up liking the original so much that I went on to read two other novels set in the same world: Fire and Bitterblue.

This one tells the story of Katsa, who is an enforcer for King Randa of the Midluns, but she isn't happy in her career. When she discovers another one like herself - a person who has a 'grace' or special skill - her life begins to change in ways she had not foreseen. Katsa ends up on a quest of sorts. It is long and demanding, and during it, she makes some fascinating and unexpected discoveries, about herself, about her companion, Prince Po, and about the two of them as companions. She learns that she's prone to misunderstanding what a 'grace' actually is, at least with regard to herself and Po!

As I mentioned in my original review, I initially had no interest in reading Graceling because I mistakenly assumed from the title that it was about fairies and I wasn't tempted by it. It was only when I saw Fire and realized that it wasn't a fairy-tale (so to speak!) that I also picked up Graceling at the same time, and read that one followed by the other. Fire precedes Graceling, but the author recommends reading them in the order they were published, so I did! Perhaps if this graphic novel does well, as it ought to, we can expect that there will be two more following it as there was with the original publication. I commend this as a worthy read.

Both new and old fans alike will enjoy this graphic rendition of "Graceling" by Kristin Cashore. Cashore created such an imaginative and fantastic world when the novel was first published, that seeing it come to life further elevates the storyline. The artwork suits the novel perfectly and together with the text, allows the reader to immerse themselves in it and feel what the characters are. It also allows readers a better understanding of how graces work, especially Katsa's, by being able to visually see them and understand how people with graces stand out amongst the rest.

The one thing that wasn't developed as well was Katsa and Po's romance. In the book there was much more of a slow burn to it and one could understand how they came to love and respect each other over time, while in the graphic it was more immediate. In general, every relationship in the graphic wasn't as well developed, but readers could still understand their importance. I also with there was much more Prince Raffin since he is such a lovely character, but that's just personal preference.

Overall, it's still a great graphic novel and I do hope the rest of the series is given the same treatment.

This graphic novel is gripping, full of adventure, and swoon worthy romance. I will be getting a copy for the library! I am also going to read the full series now!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I recently read the Graceling book and found that I preferred the graphic novel to the written book! I found the novel extremely easy to follow and loved how the artist captured subtle facial expressions as well as how the characters were feeling.

Katsa is much more likeable in the graphic novel as one of the issues I had with the original book was how she “wasn’t like other girls”. There are no comparisons like this in the graphic novel and she’s portrayed more as being unapologetic for who she is and won’t change to fit in with societal norms.

Also, I love Po even more now (didn’t know it was possible!).

I’d definitely recommend this if you liked the Graceling or even if you’re looking for a quick YA fantasy read, I really enjoyed this one!

This graphic novel is based on an already popular novel, which I haven't read. Katsa has a special power, or grace, that makes her a really good fighter. Only some people have a grace and their grace is a special power of any kind. All gracelings become servants of their king, at least if they're useful. This story follows Katsa specifically who does her king's bidding. She disagrees with an order of the king and due to her grace is able to leave the kingdom unscathed with a new friend who is also graced. There were a few twists that I didn't expect. I thought this title was YA but there are quite a few mature parts of the story that I wouldn't necessarily think would be appropriate but they're not really inappropriate either. The images were nice and easy to follow. It makes me curious enough to read the actual book.