House of Blades

The Traveler's Gate Series, starting with House of Blades, deserves a mention. The premise is pretty simple: evil kingdom sends soldiers into a remote village, chosen one lives in said village, and he joins rebels attempting to overthrow the kingdom. Instead of focusing on the chosen one, though, it focuses on another villager, ungifted, who is determined to become just as strong, no matter the cost. There are some twists and turns as well, but honestly most of the fun is watching the protagonist struggle to become powerful rather than have it handed to him through destiny.

3.5 on the reread.