Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE BOOK:
This book blew me away!!! There’s nothing to fault in this book. The only thing I want to change is that; I WANT IT LONGER!!! A measly 320 pages are not enough. Gimme the sequel noooow. The action has only just begun.
CHARACTERS/DYNAMICS:
Serina: Raised to be a beautiful bride to the future king, Serina is (or… was hoping to be) a Grace. Grace’s are selected by the prince, and they’re basically his harem. There can only be 3 Graces for each man in line for the throne. We learn Serina got the ‘best’ treatment of all her siblings (Nomi and her twin, Renzo) – she was given food so she had curves, and was taught to be a ‘lady’. In this world, that means being the epitome of all male’s disgusting, oppressive ideals. Serina is selfless and caring towards her sister, and saves her from being imprisoned. She is taken away to Mount Ruin, which is basically the Hunger Games, but far worse.
Nomi: Unlike Serina, Nomi is all things not feminine and demure. She is disobedient, independent, and confident. Most importantly: she can read. Which is forbidden for women in this world. Nomi is the opposite of Serina: she is Fury. However, while posing as Serina’s handmaiden, the nobility curve an interest on this snarky, underaged inferior, and nominate her as one of Malachi’s Graces. Although Grace got rougher treatment during her childhood, it is clear she did not resent Serina. While Serina is fighting for her life in a female Lord of the Flies, Nomi is trying to pass as a Grace, for the sake of retrieving her sister.
Romanic Leads:
If you love The Red Queen, read Grace and Fury for the sake of these love interests.
a) Asa – (view spoiler) Asa is the brother to the prince (who’s pursuing beautiful ladies to assemble his harem), but he resents the hierarchy that’s in place. In particular, his father. Asa has nothing in line for him, but gets to live in luxury regardless. He befriends Asa, and the two plot to overthrow the corrupt monarchy.
b) Malachi – He had as much sex appeal as a toothpick. Malachi is the spoiled prince who is selecting his beauties. He plays a strong role in the end, which turns me to like him a little more.
c) Val – Val reminds me of Four from Divergent. He has nothing wrong about him. He is loyal and respects everybody: including women. He goes against the odds, even though he was on the privileged side beforehand. Val is the night in shining armour for Serina. I look forward to more moments with these two in the next book.
Friends:
Jacana is the only notable friend in this novel. I thought Amika, the girl we met on the convict ship, would be important, but disappointingly she was not. Jacana is a hopeless, innocent girl who befriends Serina. Jacana is not violent or aggressive, which leads to issues on the island. There’s not too much of a development besides this, and she certainly isn’t what made this book such a high rating for me.
Antagonists:
a) Ines – The Head Grace is the first of three Graces who gives birth to a male heir. Call her a queen, if you will. She basically is like any other “evil mother-in-law” trope there is.
b) The Superior – This is our King. He is malicious. That’s about it. He likes to curse trouble. But whatever – he’s just a tame version of Dorian (from Throne of Glass)’s dad.
PLOT:
Serina (Grace) is chosen to be a Grace for the prince. She takes her younger sister, Nomi (Fury) with her as her handmaiden. But the two end up switching roles, however, Serina gets a far worse punishment- she’s been sent away as a convict! While Serina tries to survive and escape, Nomi is plotting treason against the Superior and its Prince (to whom she ‘belongs’ to).
STRUCTURE:
There are over 40 short chapters which consistently flick between Serina and Nomi’s perspective. The intertwine in the middle, then diverge by the end.
THEMES:
- Suicide (or ‘jumpers’)
- Feminism
- Royalty vs Republicanism
QUOTES:
“‘In all stories, women give up everything,’ Maris said, her voice tight. ‘We are always supposed to give. We are never supposed to fight. Why do you think that is?
Nomi thought of Queen Vaccaro and her daughters, betrayed by their male advisors and erased from history.
She thought of the letter hidden in her room.
Voice low, knowing she was walking on a knife’s edge, she murmured, ‘Because they’re afraid of what will happen if we do.'”
Chapter 22, Nomi, pg. 178.
THE ENDING:
The story was only just getting started!!!!!!! I can’t believe that’s it. It follows a similar formula to The Red Queen, so if you like that pacing, you’ll enjoy this. (view spoiler)
IMPACT:
I am thrilled with this read. It is what I so desperately wanted The Selection, The Red Queen, Throne of Glass, & Crown of Midnight to be. I highly recommend this if you have similar tastes to my own.
This book helped me through the pains of my wisdom teeth:
I #amreading @tracythewriter ‘s Grace and Fury while icing my sore wisdom teethless mouth. 🤕
This book is AMAZING. It’s everything I dreamed the Selection + the Huger Games would’ve been 😜 pic.twitter.com/WUvbrLxREP
— Cal 🦄 (@YABooksAreLife) October 12, 2018
Cal's Reading Corner 
Books to the rescue ! Make you forget how sore the mouth is
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Gosh Yes! I remember reading The Selection and this is what I’d expected, rather than what it ended up being. I really enjoyed Grace and Fury too, those subtle acts of rebellion and seeing Serina forging her own path was glorious! That cliffhanger! I can’t wait until the next installment. So glad to see you on the mend Cal and surrounded by great reads while you recover ♡♡♡
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Poor you!! Glad you had this book to keep you going… I just moved it up my list…
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