This book exceeded my expectations. I very much enjoyed this. The last half of the book was so intense. I was shocked at turn of events because I didn't see it coming. I really hope there is a sequel because I need to know what happens next and see what is next for these characters. I feel like both sisters grew so much even though the story didn't take place over a huge amount of time. They were well developed and I liked them both. I love the women empowerment feel this book has.

PROS:

Headstrong, outspoken, risk-taking women who fight for their sisters and stick up for the women around them. These girls were raised to accept gender stereotypes, to remain uneducated, demure, and submissive. Their whole purpose in life-if they weren’t training to be a Grace-is to work in a factory or be sold off into marriage. They were denied the power of knowledge, of words, of BOOKS. If they were trained to be a Grace, they had to look a specific way, eat enough to have “womanly curves”, speak only when spoken to, and were taught to deny their own opinions, their voice, and do whatever pleases the Heir.

Love between sisters. I’m not sure that I have read any YA that fully captured the beautiful bond between sisters and their willingness to sacrifice themselves to protect one another. Nomi and Serina are opposites. They rarely see eye-to-eye and fight quite a bit, but they love each other with that bone deep, eternal magnitude that pushes them to survive when they are on the verge of giving up just to see each other again. Throughout the story, this feeling only grows and is reinforced through both actions and words.

There is some SERIOUS heat between the couples. I had to stop and fan myself during one…kind of extensive scene. More sensual than sexual, but fire.

Gladiators meet Amazonian women. Ruin Mountain has clans of women who each have their own subculture and are forced to fight to the death for food rations. They’re fierce, crafty, and willing to do whatever it takes despite their horrifying circumstances.

The pacing is great. It flows, sucks you in, and it took me a little over a day to plough through.

CONS:

The “plot twist” was fairly predictable. It was so much like another book I read a year or two ago that I called it within the first few chapters. There are shades of The Sin Eater’s Daughter, The Red Queen, and Cruel Beauty.

While the world-building is fairly solid, I would have loved to hear more of the back story. The brief moments of history and the folklore were intriguing and those legends, it was like a new brand of mythology meets historical fiction.

Nomi’s twin Renzo. There was zero development there are hardly anything about their relationship prior to the Grace selection and yet, Nomi expects him to take life-threatening risks for her? There wasn’t a strong enough foundation or enough for the reader to care/appreciate the risk that was being taken.

I find myself getting so excited every time I have the opportunity to pick up one of these sort of dystopian YA offerings. I have loved so many books like this, so very fiercely, and it makes me want to try them all.

Unfortunately, this one didn't work for me. I didn't find either of the sisters interesting or likable enough to really invest in them. I also wasn't crazy about how the major themes in the book were simplified and I felt like the pacing of the story was off. I would be interested, and then I would skim five pages.

It is possible (likely even) that the problem here is me. I need to be hooked immediately or there's no saving the book for me and, indeed, by the time things started twisting, I was already losing patience and realized that it didn't matter to me how it ended. This was a DNF at 25%.

"In all the stories, women give up everything. We are never supposed to fight. Why do you think that is?"

"Because they're afraid of what will happen if we do."


It was very well-paced and made a world that was solid and rich precisely because it was so simple and confident with what it had. But I wish it had some extra pages, because it didn't have the time to really build an emotional connection with me - and so every time it tried to get deep, it felt manipulative or shallow, and it couldn't quite claw its way out of that impression throughout the whole book. Which is such a shame because there were some really nice building blocks here - but I felt like I was reading a prologue for a lot of it. But it instead placed a premium on the action and exploring the environment which, honestly, suited me just fine - for most of it...!

Regardless, I had some fun with it! I adore sister stories and the whole world was just shining in gold~. The twist would have been predictable if I tried to be a sleuth, but I still loved it (view spoiler). Both environments appealed to me and while the palace was standard YA, the crazy Hunger Games prison island was awesome. All in all, it felt familiar and comfortable because of that. The sisters had my favourite dynamic that I'd seen with Cruel Beauty, Cruel Prince, and Sisters Red...they deeply love each other but are bitter and fierce all the same with each other's mistakes. And damn, did Serina have reason to hate Nomi in this one, yikes.

(However, maybe I'm just picky these days, but it did suffer from a plague of the unnecessary heteros. (i should make a shelf for that too lmao) As friends or otherwise, Nomi & Miras - goodness I hope her name is right - had more quality time together, as did Serina and like...everyone in her crew. But as usual, as soon as a named guy shows up, I check my watch to see how long it takes before we end up in a half-hearted romance simply because we have to. I begged for more time with Oracle, but noooo, here's some more whitebread instead.)

Overall this wasn't revolutionary, but as usual I had a good time and the sisters felt dear to me. I'll slide the sequel into my to-read list!

This is a beautiful example of a young adult book that plays with gender roles in a harsh but eye-opening way.

Grace and Fury is a fantasy novel where women have no rights. They cannot learn to read. They cannot cut their hair without permission. They must listen and obey. Serina and her sister Nomi are raised for one role each: Serina to be a Grace, one of the select chosen by the King to mother his children ——-, and Nomi to be her sister’s maid. Serina has waited for her moment her entire life, with everything she has ever done being a calculated movement to an ends. Nomi has rebelled, learning to read and yearning for more than what this life has to offer her.

I was getting major Handmaid’s Tale vibes from this and I am oh-so-glad. I am all for the eye-opening, hard-hitting Margaret Atwood novel, but let’s face it: it’s a classic piece that can be intimidating by that category alone. But give the world a novel like Grace and Fury, with its beautiful language and characters, and I am 100% here for this.

I have so many passages of this book highlighted and bookmarked that my screen is a constant flow of color. Tracy Banghart has an incredible way with words and packing a full lunch in a single sentence, such as, “It isn’t a choice when you don’t have the freedom to say no. A yes doesn’t mean the same thing when it’s the only answer you’re allowed.”When I first read this line, I had to close the book and sit there for a few minutes, stunned. It’s so true, and yet something I never thought of until this moment. Now, I’m still thinking about this line, this book, and everything hidden in its depths.

I adored the relationships between the characters. The sisterly dynamics between Serina and Nomi felt real and believable, as they pulled on all emotions: love, hatred, jealousy—all of it. As the book continued and the relationships expanded (and broke), I found myself in a constant state of turmoil of cheering and rooting and screaming. It was a fantastic reading experience.

“For every woman who has been told to sit down and be quiet…and who has stood up anyway.” And so reads the dedication of this first book in the series, and introduces readers of all ages a truth about the fantasy world that is seldom seen and what they can expect more of: the role of women. So often do we fall back on the “prince charming” or “knight in shining armor,” letting the women and girls, strong in their own rights, take a back seat in the plot. Tracy Banghart explores this thoroughly and carefully, and presents a cast of strong, interesting, amazing female characters, with great execution and a big payoff. I cannot wait to follow this series and see what’s to come.

This arc was provided to me for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

5 STARS

Let me start by picking my jaw up off the floor because holy crap. Grace and Fury was everything I didn’t expect. Not going to lie, I wasn’t a fan at first, it seemed very cliche and I thought I could guess where the book was going. But it fooled me and it instead was this brilliant novel.

Tracy Banghart created a world where women have no rights, they do not have the right to choose their husbands, they cannot get an education, and they are only allowed to work a few jobs. This book follows Serina and Nomi, two sisters who are completely opposite. Beautiful and submissive Serina has spent her entire life training to be a Grace, a concubine for the heir because she knows ultimately it would be better for her family. But wild, Nomi who has trained to be her sister’s handmaiden believes women deserve better rights and should be free to do what they please. In a turn of events, Serina is caught with a book that Nomi has stolen and is sent to Mount Ruin, a women’s prison on a volcanic island. Separated, both sisters find a way to get back to each other, but while both facing their own hardships.

Now, this is what I wanted, strong females rising up to take what is theirs. I am so glad I stuck with this book because it turned out completely different than I thought. For every twist and turn, I expected something else. And I think I am going to go impatiently wait for the second book. Because holy cliffhangers.

Strong female characters, great twists, and even a little romance, this book has it all. I am definitely pre-ordering this book. I need it to grace my shelves.

P.s. When does book 2 come out?

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Grace and fury is a great book and has a pretty big hype surrounding it and I enjoyed it but if I want to be honest it didn't really reach my expectations either. The thing is that the beginning of the story is really slow and I struggled a lot to get into the story and while there are a lot of phenomenal things in the book when it takes me such a long time to get into a book it sours the experience for me. Alas, that was a pretty big drawback for me.

The world building is interesting and for fantasy, because it is fantasy, it has pretty strong historical roots, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Yet, after the initial set up is established things speed up considerably and the storyline is a crazy, twisty, whiplash-inducing adventure that ends on a huge cliff-hanger. I mean, when is the next book coming!?? But really what was the most amazing thing about this book, what I love to pieces was the characterization of the two main character, who narrates the story alternating.

Nomi and Serena are sisters and they are so different from each other, practically two sides of a coin. My first thought about them was that they are the two kinda cliches (bear with me I getting to a point here) personalities we usually get in YA fantasy and they are kinda pitted against each other. Well, not literally but I found this method from the author so interesting and original. Okay, so it is entirely possible that I only see things into it that are not there, still.
There is Serena, tho law-abiding, soft-spoken and sweet sister who sees her family redemption, rising in following the rules and getting ahead with political machinations and some womanly manipulation but still good intentions. She sees the opulence and possibilities in her current situation and she is a dreamer, a hard-working one, but still a dreamer.
Then there is Nomi, the younger sister, the one who overlooked all her life and the more rebellious, outspoken and hot-tempered one. She sees the problems with her current society and firmly believes that some changes are in order and she is willing to fight for it. She is not the one to lay down and accept her fate without voicing her opinion.
However, then comes the big shock when their roles get reversed, and neither of them really knows what to do with the new situation. A flip was switched and both sisters needed to learn to navigate their new lives if they wanted to survive.
It was a really great and original idea and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Personally, neither of the sister's personality was among my favorites but I can apprentice their brilliance.

Maybe the plot seems like something we all read before but the way the sister's evolution is introduced is unique and definitely worth the time to read about.
One more thing I really wanted to mention was the whole feminism aspect to the book. So lately it became kind of a trend to call every book that has a female protagonist, a 'true feminist take on things' and such when I don't think that because the main character is female she does something remarkable it means that the story is automatically a representation of feminism. However, I don't want to get into this because it would be an endless debate. Anyway, what I was getting to that this book, this story is truly relevant and a great take on feminism. So it is a deserving adjective to use for Grace and fury.

Glad I got the opportunity to read this book early it's just a shame that I struggled so much with the first couple of chapters.

There has to be a sequel, right? RIGHT? Because OMG that ending!

I read this book in a day and now I have a major book hangover. I loved this story so much. It was like The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Hunger Games. The plot was tight, the characters addictive and the description of their surroundings crystal clear.

I need more of these characters and soon, please!

This novel reminded me a lot of the Red Queen series with a slight crossover with The Selection so I felt like it was pretty obvious what was going to happen. However, as the characters developed, I was still completely sucked into their world and riveted by the plot, despite knowing how it would turn out.

I was left somewhat bereft when the story ended and need a sequel immediately.

While the concept of girls, even sisters, competing for a crown in not original in YA Fantasy, I felt that this book had a bit of a different spin on the concept. Serina and Nomi have trained for their respective positions their whole lives: Serina will attempt to become a Grace--really a member of the ruler's harem--and Nomi will serve as her handmaiden. When the two arrive at the royal court, however, the Heir chooses Nomi instead. Neither one can process what has happened before Serina is taken to an island prison. Now both sisters, neither one knowing what is happening to the other, must find a way to survive in their new positions. Nomi must learn how to navigate court as the perfect example of a quiet, beautiful ideal of feminine virtue--not wanting for anything, yet with no freedom or independence. Serina, who has been trained to be soft, demure, pleasing and submissive, has been thrown on an island full of what society views as criminals: women who do not conform. Nomi and Serina have to figure out how to become something that is completely foreign to them while still retaining who they really are.
I did enjoy reading this book. It was a quick read and the two sisters' characters were well-developed. I did have a problem with the insta-love between Nomi and Asa. I saw that whole plot twist coming from their third encounter. I would have liked a bit more interaction between Nomi and Malachi. Serina and Val had good pacing, however.
The book ended on quite the cliff-hanger, and I will be interested to see what happens to our characters.

This book was really good!  There was such a great story of the love between sisters, but it was also a story about women's oppression and them fighting back.



Serina prepared her whole life to be a Grace.  The Superior is getting older, so this year his Heir is choosing three Graces to stay with him.  Serina is chosen to be in the running and her sister, Nomi, goes with as her handmaiden.  While Serina was excited to leave Lanos  for Bellequa, Nomi was not.  She had to leave her twin brother at home.  She also knew that she was just going into another horrible situation.



Women are not allowed to read or go to school.  They could work in textile factories, become servants, or be married.  They had no rights and were taught to be meek to all men.  Nomi was defiant and always wanted more while Serina was content to learn how to dance and be pretty.  Nomi learned how to read, but had to hide it.  



The night the possible Graces were meeting the Heir, Nomi slipped into the library and was caught by the Heir and his brother when they were coming out.  She wasn't polite and made an impression on both men.



Serina wasn't chosen to be a Grace.  Nomi was and she was horrified.  Shortly after, Nomi found a book in her room, but didn't know who put it there.  It told of a history different than what she learned. In this history book, women used to rule until the men became afraid.  They took over and oppressed women after that.  Everyone was told a false history where men always ruled.



Serina was caught holding the book and sent to a jail on an island.  This island was filled with women who were separated into different groups.  There wasn't enough food and they were made to fight.  The guards started it and you only won when everyone was dead or surrendered, which was as good as dead.  Serina has to learn how to be tough. She grows close to some of the women and to one guard, Val.



Everything else gets a bit crazy.  There are plots that go wrong and twists in the book that I don't want to give away.  I did figure it out, but it was still pretty shocking when I read it.  I cannot wait for book two!  The pacing of this one was really good and kept me wanting more.



Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy for review.  I gave this book 5 stars.  Grace and Fury is out July 31st by Little Brown Books for Young Readers.  I ordered my copy today.  There is also a preorder special,so make sure you send your receipt in.

The sister relationship brings a different aspect to Grace and Fury than similar books, it's a very enjoyable read but nothing groundbreaking. The pacing and action are great and sucked me in even though I could see a big twist coming a mile off. Has very similar aspects to Red Queen, The Hundredth Queen and a bit of The Selection, but if you like the tropes in those books Grace and Fury fulfills them nicely, and I really liked it despite not being surprised by it.

Ah, this one just wasn't for me. While I appreciated the commentary on feminism and oppression, I wasn't impressed with the execution overall. This book is fast paced and easy to read, but I feel like it tried so hard to get its message across that it ended up lacking in the story telling department. Most of the dialogue even directly mentioned key words related to the message. For example:

"It isn't a choice when you don't have the freedom to say no."

"But those were the Superior's rules--apparently his son could break them. If only I had the same privilege..."

"In Viridia, women were oppressed because men were afraid of them."

These are just 3 examples, but it goes on and on and on. Don't get me wrong, these are very important themes, but they were constantly being talked about when I wanted the story to show me examples of the lack of feminism and oppression through the plot and character biases rather than tell me through dialogue and people's thoughts.

The characters weren't any better. They were just caricatures that served to get the message across. There was the "beautiful" woman, the "badass, plain" woman, the man who was an example of how to treat a woman, and the man who was an example of how not to treat a woman.

And because of the telling and characters, the actual plot was very predictable. I felt like I just about always knew what was going to happen to each sister. There were attempts to add anticipation at the end of each chapter, but these attempts happened at the end of every chapter, and they, too, became predictable.

However, I have to mention that 85% into the story I loved how I felt about the romance. What I mean by that is, I at first  hated the romance and felt there was too much insta-love going on, but 85% into novel I understood what was going on and loved that I hated the romance. Again, the author was trying to get a message across, but this time it was done really well. I added an extra star just for the last bits because after the 85% mark I eagerly read to the end. Now I find myself actually wanting to at least borrow the next book because it ended on an evil cliffhanger, and I want to know what happens next!

If you're looking for a book that outlines the basics of feminism and oppression in a very in-your-face, simple kind of way this might be the book for you, but overall this just didn't do it for me.

This was.. ok, I guess? I don’t know. I have a harder time reviewing YA fantasy. I wasn’t wowed but I don’t go in expecting to be wowed by most YA fantasy so when I’m not it’s.. ok, I guess.

The characters weren’t really as fleshed out as they could have been. I kind of feel like everything was pretty predictable, too. Nomi was kind of a sucker and a letdown; after all her defiance she really was kind of easily led and it comes as no surprise. And Serina.. its hard to believe she’s the hero they needed. Like I just don’t buy it.

I have been in the worst reading funk for several months. I received a copy of Grace and Fury and was instantly drawn in by the cover and description. Let me tell you, Tracy Banghart did not disappoint! I was hooked and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen. This book hasn't even released yet and I am ready for the next one!

My rating scale:
5☆ - I loved this book and it brought out true emotion in me (laughter, anger, a good cry, etc)
4☆ - I loved this book.
3☆ - I liked this book.
2☆ - I didn't really care for this book.
1☆ - I did not like this book at all and probably did not finish it.

A great read focused on female strength, empowerment, and sisterhood. Strong characters and a few unexpected twists. Definitely worth reading.

I rarely give anything a 5 star rating... ever... but this book? I LOVED it!

The synopsis is what caught my eye but what kept me going throughout the book was the alternating dual POV . Normally that could annoy my but in this instance it was perfect. We get to to see two very different sisters in two very different worlds but all on the same plane.of existence. They are stuck in a world where women aren't allowed to do anything but please the men around them.

Nomi is the defiant sister and Serina is the one who aims to please. Serina was raised to be compliant to a man so that is all she knows how to do. Nomi is her younger sister and handmaiden to her and the family. All her life she has catered to her family so that in the end she could cater to Serina if she were chosen to be a Grace.

A Grace is a woman selected by the Superior (King) for only one reason. To be the embodiment of the perfect woman and please him in any which way. Serina believed that it was the greatest honor and WANTED it. While Nomi saw it like it was.... a different prison. That is not the life she wants and makes it known any chance she can get.

The Heir is the next one to select Graces and when Nomi back talks him he selects her over her sister. Now that their lives are turned upside down they can only try to fit into the position that the other was supposed to be in. But when Serina takes the fall for Nomi, not only do they need to survive the worlds they are thrown in, they also need to find a way to save each other. Each of them coming up with plans that will risk everything but will the work?

It alternates between the prison Serina is actually in to the life that Nomi believes is a prison. Each is living a different life than the other and the way that it is written is very good! You see two sides to the coin and feel for both girls. The way the world building is shown forms a bigger picture rather than two different places even though that's where they are. I think what sticks out the most is that in the alternating views you can SEE the difference between the sisters. You can see their love for each other but you can clearly see that they have different beliefs (which are tested). I also love that there are no pulled punches. This is a brutal and realistic story if you were to think about how you would react to this situation fake or not.

I can't wait for the next one, cause lets face it... there HAS to be another!

Many thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers as well as the author, Tracy Banghart, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Serina was raised to become a Grace. She has trained her entire life to be lovely, compliant, follow all the rules, and please the heir with the hope that he will choose her to be, not only a Grace, but head Grace, giving her the opportunity to produce his first heir. She is eager and confident with her role and believes that if she succeeds, her and her sister, who has trained to become her handmaiden, will have comfortable lives.

Nomi is a rebel, she refuses to follow the rules, she is daring, smart and headstrong. She wants nothing to do with the heir, so when she dares look him in the eye and speak her mind, she inadvertently catches his attention, and he chooses her to be one of three Graces instead of her sister, Serina.

When I first read the synopsis of this book I somehow managed to confuse the two sisters, so I wasn't expecting the author to change things up in such a fascinating manner. Nomi, the headstrong sister is forced to become the one thing she hates. A Grace. She has to dress in gowns, wear makeup, please the heir, constantly follow all the rules. She is determined to stay strong and find a way to free Serina who took the fall for Nomi when her secret was discovered.

Serina is sent to Mount Ruin, a harsh and terrible women's prison where they are forced to fight to the death in order to survive. The living conditions are abysmal, there is danger everywhere, and if Serina is forced to fight, she is sure she will die. Each sister is thrown into a terrible situation, neither feels equipped to survive.

Initially I was drawn to Nomi, to her intelligence, nerve and risk taking nature. I originally thought she would be the sister to end up in prison. Silly me. As the story progressed, Serina's chapters became more and more engaging. The character building was amazing. The sisters are forced to grow and find strengths they never knew they possessed.

I felt that this book was beautifully written, and I absolutely loved the cliffhanger ending. That is not something I normally say. Cliffhangers tend to drive me crazy when we are left hanging at the most inopportune time, but this cliffhanger succeeded in leaving me super excited and happy to see where the next book will take us.

Actual rating: 4.25.

There was something about this book that caught my interest when I first heard about it that made me want to read it, and it fulfill all the expectations I had.

I adored the entire cast of characters. Both protagonists were so different from each other but grew so much in the novel that I couldn't help but love them. Nomi was such an interesting perspective to read from, since she was in the palace and everything there was pretty mysterious and eerie. The scenes in the palace were so atmospheric and well done, and I really enjoyed reading about her evolution and everything she was trying to do to save her sister.

But I might say that the evolution I loved the most was Serina's. She wasn't my favorite character when I first started reading the story, but as I continued reading her POVs, I started to become more attached to her. I would say her development was one of the best the story had, mostly because after she went through she grew and learnt so much, and that was incredible to see in a character.

Also I loved the relationship between both sisters. Though they were apart most of the book, you could still clearly see how much they cared about the other and how each was trying to do everything in their power to save her sister, and that was so precious to see in a novel.

One of the things that surprised me was that I expected it to be a fantasy story with magic in it, and there was none. I don't know if it's going to be in the sequel, but at least in this installment there wasn't any. At first it threw me off a bit, but as I continue reading Grace and Fury, I found that the book didn't need any magic, because it was pretty awesome and I was thoroughly enjoying it.

It was super fast paced and easy to read. It took me less than three hours to finish it, and I found no problems whatsoever to remember everything that was going on. It's true that there was a lack of world building, since this first installment was purely focused on the plot and the characters, but I had no problem with that at all.

The romance was quite interesting to read, as well. There were some twists regarding some side characters that were a bit foreshadow as you kept reading the story and were a bit predictable because of that, but because the book ended in such a cliffhanger, I'm so eager to know what's going to happen in the sequel.

This book was intense! Not even sure how to properly describe it. First of all it had some AMAZING and FIERCE main characters! Both Nomi and Serina seem like polar opposites at the beginning of the story. Personally, I favored Nomi. She had this 'I will not back down' type of attitude. Which is a dangerous thing considering that in this book men are the supreme rulers of everything and women are supposed to obey their every command. Serina at first seemed like a docile girl but certain events of the book completely changed her. And now both Nomi and Serina are both fierce and strong warriors in their own right.....now then... where's book 2????? This is the bad thing about ARCs....they leave you wanting book 2 ASAP!