Graceling

Author: Kristin Cashore

Series: Graceling Realm # 1

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Released: October 1, 2008

Summary: courtesy of goodreads.com Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more

For Fans Of: Fire, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Lord of the Rings, and Magic Study.

My Review: I fell in love with this book instantly. Here are my reasons:
1. It takes place in another ‘world’. Think Middle Earth.

2. Only a few are gifted/cursed with a Grace. The Graced are different from everyone else physically by the different color of one eye. How freaking cool is that? I wanted to go out and get colored contacts to get this effect.

3. The Graces are varied. I mean who wouldn’t want to be a killer cook? Or a killer killer? Or be able to hear what others are thinking about you? (boy that would be nice back in high school during the gossip circle.).

4. Katsa is the heroine every book needs. As you can tell from previous reviews; I don’t like wimpy girls. I like girls who can hold their own and Katsa definitely does this.

5. Po is hot.

6. This is like a really, really good wanna-get-my-horse-and-sword-and-go-kick-some-bad-guy-butt adventure book!