SPOILER FREE REVIEW: GRACE AND FURY BY TRACY BANGHART


Title: GRACE AND FURY

Author: TRACY BANGHART

Pub. Date: July 31ST. 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Little Brown Books For Young Readers

Pages: 320

Content Warning: Physical abuse, violence, threatened talk of rape, and death

Buddy Read: Melanie, Amy, Jules, Jen

*HUGE thanks to Little Brown Books For Young Readers for the early review copy in exchange for my honest opinion

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Grace & Fury opens up in an Italian inspired Fantasy setting that has been compared to that of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Women are limited to the role of housewives and the simplest of educations is deemed illegal to them. We meet Serina and her sister Nomi who are complete polar opposites. Serina is in training to compete for a position as a “Grace” for the Heir to the throne. Nomi in turn is being trained to be her handmaiden of sorts if Serina secures a position as a Grace. To be chosen as a Grace is viewed as a honorable thing & blessing bestowed upon a family. In truth, a Grace is groomed in all sorts of manners & etiquette but is also to assume the role of concubine to the Heir. To Serina, being chosen is all that matters & it’s what she’s worked so hard for. For outspoken & Feminist Nomi, this all sounds more like a life sentence. Free spirited and hungry for knowledge of the written word, Nomi wants Serina to see that this life isn’t a choice at all. While Serina aims to please the Heir someday, Nomi can be found sneaking in lessons with her brother on how to read. They both seem to have their life purpose laid out in stone until their world is turned upside down and they are forced to step into each others shoes…LITERALLY! One random run in with the heir leads to Nomi securing a most undesirable spot as a Grace leaving Serina to be her handmaiden. This twisted turn of affairs is one of many that will keep you flipping the pages as fast as you can drink in the words.

Grace & Fury is told from the alternating points of view between Serina and Nomi which worked really well to show us just how different these two siblings really are. I started off really favoring Nomi and her refusal to be boxed into a role she never asked for. I found myself really wanting to see more from this character & her contribution to the overall story. About half way into Grace & Fury, I found myself really frustrated with Nomi’s situation but understood that it wasn’t ideal for either of the two sisters. Made to swap roles, neither Serina or Nomi were prepared for the cards they were dealt. I did however have higher expectations from Nomi who knows how to read & is from the very start is very rebellious. Instead, I feel like we didn’t get much character growth from Nomi vs. the immense transformation we see in Serina during the last half of this book. Given, Nomi was in a very subdued position given the very nature of having to fulfill the role of a Grace but it doesn’t explain some of her decisions specifically when it came to insta-love. Serina on the other hand really won me over during the second half of the book as she came to terms with the hard consequences of her sister’s secret. I also really enjoyed Serina’s POV chapters because of the supporting characters we are introduced to on the island she is cast away. Not only is Serina stripped of her chances to become a Grace but she takes the fall for her sisters secret & is discarded on an island where the women fight to the death for their meals. The women on the island all have a story and getting to know them had to be my favorite part of this story.

This was such a fast paced easy read that caught me by surprise each & every time I sat down. I easily read chunks at a time every sitting but won’t deny that the second half of this story is where all the action and character growth really hooked its claws into me. I also found myself enjoying Serina’s chapters way more than Nomi’s which is a shame since Nomi and what she represents really appealed to my Feminist soul. There is so much good to this story though, including the history embedded into the ways of the land and why women are not allowed to learn how to read. Fear of what is perceived to be the weaker sex gaining knowledge & one day reclaiming power is at the root of the story. I found Grace & Fury to be a solid start to a Feminist Fantasy that I am very interested in continuing on with. If that ending is any indication of things to come…I am one very excited Bookworm! 🖤

Good Monday Morning Bookworms! I hope you all have a wonderful start to the week 🖤 Grace & Fury will hit shelves 7/31/2018, will you be picking up a copy? 

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31 thoughts on “SPOILER FREE REVIEW: GRACE AND FURY BY TRACY BANGHART”

    1. Thank you Tammy, it would be horrific to live in a world where we weren’t allowed to read based on our gender. Solid start to a new series and the history behind how it came to be this way is brought up, I’m interested to see where it goes next with the follow-up 🙂

      Happy reading! ❤

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  3. Great review for this book Lilly. 🙂 I still have Grace and Fury in my to-read list and am hoping to get around to it soon-ish. It sounds quite interesting and after reading your review I’m looking forwards to seeing how Serina develops as a character. Just from what you’ve written as to where her story goes in this book she sounds like the more interesting character between her and Nomi (also I know I’m not going to be a fan of the insta-love aspect).
    Great review. 🙂 ❤️

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    1. Thank you Beth! ❤ Oh I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts when you get around to it. I really did start off loving Nomi so I'm hoping she gets a better arc in the sequel *fingers crossed* Serina has been through it but she's a fighter. The insta-love I could've done without, hopefully there's less of that cause it really wasn't what makes this story interesting. Thanks again 🙂

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      1. That’s all right, and I’ll definitely let go know what I think (I’ll post a review once I have read it for sure!) Maybe this book was for Serina’s arc and the next one will be Nomi’s. Insta-love is never going to be a thing for me I think.
        That’s all right. 🙂 ❤️

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    1. Thank you Danielle! Mel & I buddy Read this one sort of lol. It took me a bit longer to get into it but we happen to have very similar thoughts regarding the one sister’s arc 🤷🏻‍♀️ but I still am going to read the next one cause that ending was charged & leaves so much to wonder 👀😂

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  6. Amazing review, my love! Also – I love being book twins with you. Lord, I am still having a giggle how I was so team Nomi at the start and that switched REAL quick! Lmaooo! But thank you so much for reading this one with me! Seriously, my wrap up is just going to say “I read some books with Lil, and here they are:” Haha! Happy reading, love! 💗xx

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    1. Having myself a little giggle smh LOL! We serisouly did read all the books together this month with the exception of 1 or 2. By the end I was so team Serina but I still have hope Nomi will be more than just words in the follow-up *fingers crossed* The July wrap-ups will be EPIC though, thanks to you my count will be through the roof HaHA! Thanks Mel & Happy reading <3! 🙂

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  8. Lovely review, Lily! ❤ I'm glad you overall enjoyed that one, even if you weren't as in love with Nomi's chapters as you hoped to be. I can't wait to read this book, it's really high on my TBR and it sounds amazing!! 😀

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