Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart Series: Grace and Fury #1
on July 31, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 320
Source: NetGalley, Blog Tour
My content rating: YA (Nothing more than kissing, Some violence)
My rating:
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.
This book was surprisingly refreshing! For some reason, I wasn’t expecting to love it quite as much as I did. I went in with certain expectations—even just from the title—and found that most of them were surpassed or turned upside down. I ended up flipping the pages furiously because I just didn’t want to put the book down!
What Fed My Addiction:
- Sisterly affections. The sisters’ relationship was complicated. In fact, I spent much of my reading time debating over which of them was “Grace” and which was “Fury.” I thought I knew at the beginning, but then things got turned upside down rather quickly. (In the end, I decided that Grace and Fury might both refer to both sisters after all.) I loved the fact that these were sisters who loved each other with a fierce, protective sort of love. But that didn’t mean that they didn’t have issues. You were never quite sure if the book was going to be about two sisters who are fiercely loyal or sisters who end up hating each other—sometimes those closest to us are the ones who hurt us the most.
- Strong women. Serina and Nomi both exude strength—in different ways. And they both discover that they are a whole lot stronger than they ever thought they were. I went into the book blind (I think I read the blurb at some point, but it was a long time ago), so I loved discovering the crazy circumstances that both women got themselves into and wondering how the heck they were going to get out!
- Romance is a side story. There was a bit of romance in this book, but it never took complete center stage, which I appreciated.
- Engrossing. Like I said, I couldn’t put this book down. It kept me up late because I needed to know what was going to happen to these two women. I think I read the whole book in two or three sittings. It was wholly engrossing and more than satisfying! I was so connected to these characters that I was eager to follow them on their journey, wherever it led!
What Left Me Hungry for More:
- Slightly predictable twist. I knew pretty early on how one major aspect of the book was going to pan out, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the story as it unfolded. And some aspects of the book definitely took turns I wasn’t expecting or happened in ways I didn’t predict.
- Fantasy? Dystopian? This is more of a warning than a negative. This is one of those YA fantasies that’s almost more of a dystopian than a true fantasy—there’s no magic or truly fantastical elements. But it takes place in a make-believe world that feels like fantasy (along the lines of The Selection).
With an engrossing plot and complex characters, Grace and Fury is a win. Banghart managed to take some familiar tropes and make them fresh and new in this book. And she left me hungry for book two!!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Rockstar Book Tours and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
About The Author
Tracy Banghart grew up in rural Maryland and spent her summers on a remote island in northern Ontario. All of that isolation and lovely scenery gave her the time to read voraciously and the inspiration to write her own stories. Always a bit of a nomad, Tracy now travels the world Army-wife style with her husband, son, cat, and sweet pupper Scrabble. She wrote Grace and Fury while living in Hawaii.
3 winners will win a finished copy of GRACE AND FURY, US Only.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
7/23/2018- Tea Party Princess– Review
7/24/2018- Paperback Princess– Review
7/25/2018- Confessions of a YA Reader– Review
7/26/2018- Book Dragon Lair– Review
7/27/2018- laura’s bookish corner– Review
Week Two:
7/30/2018- The Desert Bibliophile– Review
7/31/2018- Do You Dog-ear?– Review
8/1/2018- Synopses By Sarge– Review
8/2/2018- CoffeeCocktailsandBooks Blog– Review
8/3/2018- Kat’s Books– Review
Week Three:
8/6/2018- Feed Your Fiction Addiction– Review
8/7/2018- Portrait of a Book– Review
8/8/2018- To Be Read– Review
8/9/2018- Brooke- Reports– Review
8/10/2018- Cindy’s Love of Books– Review
Week Four:
8/13/2018- A Court of Coffee and Books– Review
8/14/2018- Smada’s Book Smack– Review
8/15/2018- The Young Folks- Review
8/16/2018- Book-Keeping– Review
8/17/2018- A Gingerly Review– Review
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38 responses to “Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart: Review & Giveaway”
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I am really interested in seeing the mash up of the genre you mentioned it crossing between. I think going into it knowing it isn’t quite a fantasy kind of fantasy read means it won’t take away from the reading experience. I love when the romance is clearly a side story and also reading about sisters always makes me so happy. Especially as I have sisters of my own! Happy you loved this one 🙂
My recent post: https://oliviascatastrophe.com/2018/08/6-mini-movie-reviews/
Yes, there are plenty of books that sort of straddle this fantasy line, but it’s always good knowing that going in so you can set your expectations.
Oh my goodness! I can’t wait to read Grace & Fury! It sounds like Tracy has created an amazing world.
I definitely recommend it!
Why don’t I live in the US???? Excellent review by the way!
Sorry you have to miss out on a lot of the giveaways!
Sisterhood and strong women characters, sign me up! I’ve been seeing this title a lot and I’ve recently renewed my love for fantasy books so, adding to my TBR. 🙂
Yay! Glad I could introduce you to a new book!
I wanna read this one soooo bad.
You NEED to!
Hi Tracy, Grace and Fury sound great! Thank you
Good luck in the giveaway, Linda!!
Not sure about this one. But glad to hear it was good! Thanks for the review!
You’ll have to watch out for some more reviews to see if it would be for you.
I was so thrilled to see you reviewed this, Nicole. It’s been on my radar so seeing you love it ensures I’ll be picking it up. 😉
The premise made me curious and I love that the girls have such a tight bond and are strong heroines. That’s a plus. And it just sounds so exciting!
I love it when a book’s on my radar and then I see positive reviews coming in.
This looks awesome!
Definitely check it out!
I agree, this was such a fun book! And just like you said, I did feel it was a little predictable, but it was just SO entertaining that I was able to overlook it! I especially loved the whole strong women bit, it was fabulous! Great review!
Yes, I pretty much knew how things were going to turn out with the Graces, but I couldn’t stop reading anyway. Works for me.
I just heard about this book last week, and it sounds really interesting. I like the sisters angle a lot.
Definitely check it out!
Thank you so much for this opportunity :):) I can’t wait to check it out 🙂
Good luck!!
I flew through this book! I loved Nomi and Serina’s relationship, and how they were willing to do anything to get back to each other.
I know, this book was such a quick read! For me, that’s a sure sign that I’m loving it.
Wow, this sounds like a good read Nicole, even with the romance being a side story and the strong family connections.
The romance was important to the story, but it wasn’t the focus. I preferred it that way, though.
Ahh I am so, so happy you enjoyed this book so much – I’ve been anticipating it for a little while now and I can’t wait to read it, it sounds like the kind of book I’d love. I really LOVE sisters stories and I’m happy the romance doesn’t overshadow everything here, either, that happens way too often. I’m happy you enjoyed it 🙂 Lovely review! 🙂
This one is definitely a sister story. Hope you love it!
I’m so glad to see you enjoyed Grace and Fury! This is one of my anticipated reads and I’ve been anxiously awaiting some reviews on it. It sounds amazing, and Serina and Nomi are definitely my kind of characters.
Glad you’ve been hearing good things!
I’m not fond of fantasies that end up seeming more like dystopians, but I’m all for sisterly love and girl power! I’m so glad you loved this!
I love both fantasies and dystopians, so it was fine with me.
I’ve read all of her previous books and I’m so happy to hear that strong women is a theme in this book too! In her trilogy she did a phenomenal job of portraying strong women so I can’t meet to them and watch their dynamics in this book! Fabulous review, Nicole!
I’ll have to check out her other books.
Rebel Wing is the first book in her completed trilogy, it’s sooooo addicting! I definitely recommend starting with that one first. 🙂
Thanks for the recommendation!