Fire

I tried to keep my expectations low, because everyone said it wasn't as good as [b:Graceling 3236307 Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1) Kristin Cashore https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331548394l/3236307.SY75.jpg 3270810]. And no, I didn't like it quite as much as I liked Graceling. But Graceling was effing amazing and Fire was good, too. Some parallels to Graceling and some big differences. I reviewed Fire here: http://www.frowl.org/whyablog/?p=115 if you would like to know more of my thoughts.–1) lol remember when i had a blog2) it's interesting to me that I rated both this and Graceling 4 stars because in the years since, I've remembered really liking Graceling and really not liking this one. My re-read really dragged. IDK it's such a bold choice to set up Graceling with so many great characters and then be like, anyway here's what the worst person in the world was up to and he's mostly behind the scenes. 3) the whole “monster” thing is so much weirder to me than the Graces and I don't know why.4) this reads like a heavy hurt/comfort fanfiction and that aspect was satisfying.5) I also think this and Graceling are in an interesting conversation with each other about motherhood and agency. I dunno I think it's satisfying both to see a heroine who definitively does not want children (Katsa) and one who does but opts not to give birth but ends up with (essentially) a stepchild who she loves. Nice!!