synopsis
In a world where women have no rights, two sisters Serina and Nomi have two very different opinions about their society. Serina is ready to fulfil society’s expectation and to become one of the Heir’s Graces, for which she had been training her whole life. Nomi, on the other hand, thinks that the whole idea of Graces is ridiculous and is a firm believer that women should have equal rights. Nomi is to aid her sister if she was to become a Grace. However, Serina is not the one that catches the Heir’s eye – Nomi is. Nomi has no choice, but to become a Grace. But what’s even worse, Serina is sent to prison after taking the fall for Nomi’s dangerous secret.
review
At first, I was so engaged in ‘Grace and Fury’. I have thought it would be another one of my favourite books, full of feminism and strong female characters. Could have I been more wrong? The beginning was amazing, both mysterious and promising. The first plot twist was also incredible – I was not anticipating it at all. But from there everything went downhill. The part of the story dedicated to the king’s sons reminded me of Victoria Aveyard’s ‘Red Queen’, but the execution wasn’t even half as good. That part felt copied from ‘Red Queen’ and from the first moments I was introduced to Asa I knew what would happen. The idea for the story was genius, truly. The world where women have no rights and are treated as objects? That was an instant buy for me. I just wish that execution was much better.
The characters were promising at first. Two sisters, different as fire and water. One obedient, the other one rebellious. The more chapters I have read, the more flat the main heroines were becoming. Nomi lost her rebelliousness which only left her with being rude and reckless. The author was clearly planning to reverse their roles – she wanted Nomi to be more obedient and level-headed, and and Serina to be the rebellious one. In my opinion, she failed. Nomi did not become more reasonable, she has only became more reckless. Serina, however, lost her cleverness and replaced it with plain rebelliousness when she should have been more level-headed. The heir to the throne was supposed to be a mysterious character – one you cannot figure out. Instead, he seemed like a spoiled prince who changes his mind with just a flick of his fingers. I won’t say anything more since I do not want to spoil anything. I will just add that this story had such a potential for amazing and complex characters, but in the end they were just plain.
I think that a book that was supposed to be about feminism and women fighting for their rights, there shouldn’t be so many parts of the plot dedicated to love. I don’t mind that Nomi and Serina had a bit of romance in the book, but I have felt that it was too much. That they did not have time to be their own heroes, but instead they dependent on their significant others. I just think that in a book that is advertised as a feminist book love should not be one of the main themes. I’m not saying that love is not feministic, because that is bulls**t ,but I was expecting more action from Serina and Nomi.
In conclusion, I was so disappointed by this book! I know that OwlCrate has an amazing taste in books, so I was surprised to find out that this one was also a part of their box. I also noticed that a lot of people love this book so, if you are one of them, please tell me your opinion about ‘Grace & Fury’.