Rereading an Old Fave | Book Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Goodreads Synopsis:
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.

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

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My thoughts:

I forgot how much I love this book, world and characters. This was one of the first books I read because of the online book community! I read it 4ish years ago, I was afraid rereading it would kill my fond memories, but I was wrong!

Getting back into this world was such a great experience. I remember bits of it but it had been enough time to make me forget a lot!

It’s very much a YA of it’s time. The plot isn’t revolutionary or overly original, it’s fun and engaging. It won’t blow your mind, but it’s a good ride! If YA fantasy is your thing, the plot will be pretty predictable.

The magic is probably the most unique aspect. I really like the idea of people being ‘graced’ with different abilities. It’s a very interesting concept and I loved it again upon this reread. I always wanted more books with graced characters (still do).

Characters:
The characters are so great!
Katsa & Po are just amazing. I love their chemistry and their relationship.
Katsa has some decent character growth, it’s not huge but it’s definitely there. She’s little bit of an odd character, but I really like her strong- woman personality. It did jump on the feminist bandwagon though, it’s very in-your-face with the strong woman trope.
A plus is her attitude towards sex and marriage/relationships is refreshing to see, especially for YA! Not often casual relationships are mentioned, everyone usually wants marriage and children etc. while there’s nothing wrong with that, it tends to be the main message in a lot of YA fantasy.

The first time around I gave this 4 Stars. Now I’m giving it 5 Stars purely for nostalgia and because it was a ridiculously enjoyable reread. I just adored being back in this world. I’ll be rereading the rest of the series too!

Have you read Graceling? What did you think?