{Book Review} Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms #1)

Author: Kristin Cashore

Genre: YA fantasy
Published: October 1st 2008
Publisher: Harcourt
Pages: 471
Source: Purchased Paperback
Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Goodreads Summary:

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.

My Rating of this Book – 2 out of 5 Stars

What I Didn’t Like:

• The Slow Plotline – I felt that the plotline moved very slowly, especially in second part of the novel. The first chapter really grabs you and pulls you into this amazing world. However, as time moved on it really began to slow down to almost a day to day account. I kept flipping ahead to find when the next action scene would be only to find it twenty-five or fifty pages away, which made it difficult to read. It wasn’t until the third part where it finally sped up again, but after the climax it felt forever to wrap up the conclusion.
• The Details – There seemed to be a lot of detail. Not just the scenes and certain events, but also detail of the main character’s thoughts and feelings. I can understand to a certain extent considering her grace, but much of it was a little overwhelming, especially when it came to Kasta’s aggression and frustration.
• The Villain – I was very disappointed by the villain. Well, to be honest, he was a wonderful villain. I love the challenge he presented to the heroes. What I was disappointed in was how small a role he played. He only appeared once in the second part of the novel and once in the third. And that was it. I also didn’t understand his motivation. Granted, neither did the other characters, but I would have liked to have known something about his real background.

What I Did Like:

• Kasta and Po – Really, the only real thing I loved about the story was the characters, especially Kasta and Po. They were what kept me reading. Their humor, their passion, their friendship. I had to find out what happened to them in the end. Kasta is the kind of heroine I love to read about. She’s strong, quick thinking, and talented with a blade. But, Po was my absolute favorite character. I loved the grace he was gifted with and his calm nature, which helped me cope with the novel’s ending a little better. He, in many ways, completed Kasta and her skills. I wished, at times, that I could see things from his point of view.