"Grace and Fury" by Tracy Banghart | Book Review

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 the shining, subjugated example of a 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.

There was a lot I enjoyed about this book, but I did find that there was still a lot I wished could have been stronger. The world building felt rather two dimensional to me. The fact that women are horribly disenfranchised was basically the extent of it. I would have loved to know more about the world. There was some explanation for the sexism but not much else.

I want to know more about the Graces and more about the realm. I'm hoping that there will be more world building in the sequel as I do have high hopes for this.

While the twists were sometimes predictable, I still found the book to be interesting and the pace was fast. At times it was a little rushed and I would have loved to see more build up to the end. Again, I do think it can be improved in the sequel since debut novels are limited in length and this story clearly just needed more pages to reach it's full potential.

I know it sounds not great, but I promise it was an fun book it really was and it has a powerful message. With sexism still so prevalent even in developed countries, it's cathartic to read a book where women start to take back their power. It's nice to read a book that's so overtly feminist.

As for the characters, I found them to not be as developed as I would like but there's a lot of potential there. Nomi is fierce and fiery, but does manage to surprise with the depth of her compassion for her siblings. Serina was unpleasant at first, but I found myself growing to like her as the story continued. I liked her strong sense of justice and morality. I hope they continue to develop.

As this book had a lot of potential, I think the sequel could be good.

Rating: 3.75