I quite enjoyed this adaptation! I may have even liked it more than the novel! loved the art and the pacing felt a lot better than the novel.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Katsa has been viewed with fear all of her life due to her unique Grace. Gracelings are rare and usually harmless—extremely good at sewing, or horseback riding, or dancing. But Katsa is Graced with the ability to kill, and to kill extremely well at that. Her uncle abuses her special skills by sending her around the kingdom to threaten those who wrong him. After a run-in with Po, a charming and skilled Graceling looking for his missing grandfather, Katsa becomes embroiled in a far more insidious plot that threatens to destroy the reality of everything she holds dear.
This is a stunning realization of Cashore's seminal work. Hinds' illustrations translate much of Cashore's original novel very well—one moment (which I will not name because—spoilers!) is particularly heart-wrenching to see play out in graphic novel form. But there were also times I felt myself longing for the deeper emotional resonance found in the original novel. The slowburn romance between Katsa and Po, in particular, feels a bit rushed in this format, which is unfortunate given a key plot point near the end hinges upon the relationship's believability. But overall, I loved seeing this story play out in a new format with Hinds' brilliant art. Bravo.

a great adaptation of a favorite book of mine. loved the artwork and the way that they story was adapted. hope to see Fire adapted at some point, as that would make a great GN.

5⭐️!

Absolutely loved this graphic novel!! What initially drew me to this was the art style. I love the illustrations and seeing this story come to life on the pages was such a treat!! I absolutely love the Graceling book, so this was so good to be able to read as a graphic novel.

I feel like the story was well adapted for a graphic novel and easy to keep up with throughout. Graceling definitely has some plot, but I thought it was well reflected in this graphic novel and I really enjoyed it!!

Highly recommend for people who love this book!! I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to see a book made into a graphic novel, so this was such a treat!!

xx
-Christine

If you haven’t read Graceling, go get it! If you have, then you’ll enjoy this graphic novel edition.

It’s was so refreshing to find a book that I could read and hand to my nieces to read. A book of strong, lovable female characters.

I wish more YA fantasy novels could be made into graphic novels. This is such a fun way to know the story and characters of a popular book without all the extra that makes a lot of YA books too much for adults. You get to learn about a book that has peaked your interest, and see a world that has enchanted so many others. It did take a moment for me to get drawn into this graphic novel, but after the initial 20% it became incredibly enjoyable. I gasped at the twists and laughed at some of the ridiculousness. As a graphic novel fun read this is a great little story.

4/5 Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC. I have not yet read Graceling (has been on my TBR forever) so I was excited to dive into the world with the graphic novel.

While I can’t speak to how similar the graphic novel is to the original novel, I have a feeling I may enjoy the actual novel a bit more.

I thought the art was well done, but I didn’t feel like it fit the story as well as it should? I have the redesigned covers in my head and sitting on my shelf, would have loved to see that art style!

Overall I enjoyed the story and am curious about future graphic novel adaptations of the series. It also made me finally commit to reading the series.

This is a great graphic novel adaptation of the original novel. It will bring new readers to the series as well as please old fans of Kristin Cashore. I hope they adapt the rest of the series.

I'm a big fan of the novel Graceling, and in fact, that whole series. This graphic novel does justice to the book. The art is great and the essence of the characters and story are captured well. I am a school librarian and my library has an extensive and growing graphic novel section, and I am adding this one to our collection. I hope to see the rest of the series as graphic novels as well.

I was worried I wouldn't recognise or like the depictions of two of my most beloved book characters, Katsa and Po, but I needn't have been. The illustrations are spot on. Gareth caught Katsa's vigour and fierce, almost reckless passion, and Po's cheeky, lovable qualities, with a side of honour and seriousness.

Swords, fighting, honour, romance and an adventure all beautifully illustrated.
Thank you, Gareth for brining alive such a great story. I hope you're going to do the others?

I have never read the Graceling series but I remember people always raved about it. The first in the series has been sitting on my TBR list for years and I always assumed that one day I would get around to it. I am so glad that I was finally able to read and enjoy this story through a graphic novel format. It was just so great - the world building, the characters, the intensity. I read this book in one sitting and hope that they continue adapting the rest of the series - I would love to see what happens next.

I really loved the images and the graphic novel flow of Cashore's classic Fantasy novel, Graceling. This is a deep, but quick read with excellent artwork.

This reads very rudimentary to me, especially the dialogues.

I will put it in my classroom library though for my students at least. I may not be the right audience for this book. But my low-readers who like action may enjoy this.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this.

I LOVED this book! I had never heard of this series or this author before reading the graphic novel but fell in love with both the characters and their world. The artist and author did an amazing job working together to make the reader feel as if there were right there with the characters. I was instantly attached to the main character and loved the world building and inner conflict we got to see between multiple characters. I am not sure if there will be more books in this series too come but I can't wait to read them if their are!!

A lovely adaptation of a fantastic book - however the illustration style can at times be a little simplistic and the overall format reduces the stakes of the novel. I would not recommend reading this over the original novel to my avid readers however this is a great format for reluctant readers to be introduced to Kristin Cashore's brilliant world building.

I read Graceling back when it was first released, and I've been watching Kristin Cashore ever since. For me, the graphic novelization loses something in the translation; that said, I love the stories of the Graceling realm, and if graphic novels mean that more people will read them - and they do - then I'm glad to see the stories exist in this format.

While I personally am not the biggest graphic novel fan, I can appreciate the form, and this is a well done adaptation. A solid addition to any collection.

Not a big fantasy person, but the Graceling series is SO popular at the library, I decided to give the graphic novel a try. So good!!! I'm tempted to read the whole series now. A very intriguing fantasy in a medieval world where people born with different colored eyes have "Graces" or special abilities. Deftly explores feelings of being an outsider, trust, power, and societal expectations.

I have read Graceling in novel format and in audiobook format, so naturally, I was excited to read it in graphic novel format! I am happy to announce that I thought it was executed well! I loved the pictures; they were so intricately detailed and beautiful. I also thought they condensed the story enough while still keeping the essence of it. There were a couple of scenes that in graphic format fell a bit short (hence 4 stars instead of 5), but overall, I loved it and recommend it!

I loved how the graphic novel captured the essence of it's novel counterpart. The illustrations made Katsa's character come alive with unflinching honesty and beauty. What I've always like about Graceling is the strong female characterization given to Katsa - it was one of the first books I read as a teen that showed her unbelievable strength and vulnerability. I love that duality and it is beautifully captured within this adaption. I also loved how we saw Katsa x Po grow throughout the story. I'll definitely be adding this to our graphic novel collection!

I've not read Graceling. Honestly I probably won't after reading the graphic novel. I'm sure it comes across differently when purely text, but there was little to like or enjoy here.