Fire (Graceling #2)
Summary:
It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.
This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she had the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.
Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City, The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.
If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
I really wanted this to be a continuation of Katsa’s story, but instead it’s a different story in the same world. After getting into the book, however, I realized that Fire is an even stronger character and it was amazing to see her grappling with herself and the complexities that come with her being half-human, half-monster.
I think this book was more mature than “Graceling” in exploring the human mind and implications of a situation, while also having two elements I found a bit annoying. The first is the consistent discussion of Fire’s beauty (just gets old, but maybe this won’t bother other people), and the other is that all but one of the male characters are pretty horrible. That being said, I still rank the book at 4 stars because I really enjoyed the read and would certainly reread it in the context of the series.
Warning: Contains violence.
Rating: 4 stars!
Who should read it? Fantasy fans who are looking for something different.
Want to read the whole series?
Bitterblue (Graceling #2)