YA Book Review: Grace and Fury by Tracey Banghart

Title: Grace and Fury

Author: Tracy Banghart 

Series: Grace and Fury #1

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Publisher: Little Brown Books For Young Readers

Pub Date: July 31, 2018 

Pages: 320

My Copy: ARC That I got at Book Expo America

NOTE: THIS REVIEW IS VERY SPOILERY, SO BE WARNED NOW, 

Book Summary:

In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi Tessaro face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other in prison.

Serina has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace - someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. But when her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, catches the heir's eye, it's Serina who takes the fall for the dangerous secret that Nomi has been hiding.

Now trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one way to save Serina: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to release her sister. This is easier said than done. A traitor walks the halls of the palace, and deception lurks in every corner. But Serina is running out of time, imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive and one wrong move could cost her everything.

Book Review:

This was an excellent story. I loved how this book focused on two sisters. Serina and Nomi have two very different personalities, but they do love each other. Serina and Nomi live in a world where there are not many options for women. 

One sister wants to be a Grace. The other wants to make her own way, but can’t because options for women are limited. Being a Grace is something that most young women strive to be. They can be examples of how to be the perfect women. Being a Grace also means that they can live a life of luxury and pleasure. All they have to do is be selected as one, and then they get to have that life. Also they have to submit to the Heir. The Heir is like the prince, well actually is, but in this world they call him the Heir.   So of course Serina has trained her whole life for this. Her sister Nomi views this as a form of slavery. She thinks that this is very wrong, yet they allow. Nomi can also read which is forbidden and is very rebellious. There are serious consequences to breaking certain laws and others not so much.

You get the conflict that is between these sisters. What happens next is something neither expects. Nomi gets into a library and takes a book. Reading or even the act of a woman knowing how to read is a very serious offense, yet neither of them know how serious of an offense this is, if caught. We learn later on that there is a forgotten piece of knowledge that is in books that people don’t want to women to find out. If reading is forbidden, then women wouldn’t know the secret that the Superior’s family has kept hidden.

Love how this book twists and turns in ways you don’t expect. What happens is a series of events that neither sister was prepared for. When The Heir chose Nomi instead of Serina to be a Grace, it comes as a complete shock to both of them. This thrusts both of them into roles that they are both not accustomed to. So this causes things to change. Serina agrees to be Nomi’s handmaiden instead. Nomi doesn’t want this at all, but Serina tells her that she needs to do this. This is a good thing. Then of course one of the court finds the book that Nomi took from the library and Serina takes the blame instead. Then Serina knows she will be punished, yet the punishment is far worse than a beating. She is sent to Mount Ruin where they send woman to die, but find out that its much worse.

The sisters are now going to live very separate lives in ways that neither of them can expect. Nomi is living the life of having luxury but doesn’t realize that the Heir’s brother is also up to something. Nomi seems to have everything that her sister wanted. Ball gowns, fancy parties. This seems like a life any young woman would want, but Nomi feels trapped by this life. Meanwhile her sister has to fight for her life on Mount Ruin. They literally have to fight other woman to find their places and get food for their clans and rations. The Guards let this happen. The Guards on Mount Ruin find it to be entertaining. Serina doesn’t like this. She finds herself to fight for herself and others as well. 

So many twists and turns happen that you are like, oh wow didn’t see that happening. I like the way that Nomi and Serina have to navigate new environments and situations that are different from what they would have chosen. This is good because they both are going to be different in many ways. Their lives have been so torn apart because of the choices and things that happen to them that were beyond their control. The other thing that I like was that romance wasn’t the main theme of this story. There was one, but I felt it was secondary. This is really a story about sisters and choices we make. 

I enjoyed this first book in this series. I thought that the relationship between the two sisters was good. Loved how both sisters had to navigate worlds they were not prepared for.  So want to reading more of this series. I’m looking forward to seeing what is next for our characters.

Rating:

4.5 Hearts

You can buy this book here when it comes out:
Grace and Fury