Fire
By: Kristin Cashore
From the back cover: Set in a world of stunningly beautiful, exceptionally dangerous monsters, Fire is one of the most dangerous monsters of all - a human one. Marked out by her vivid red hair, she's more than attractive. Fire is mesmerising. But with this extraordinary beauty comes influence and power. People who are susceptible to her appeal will do anything for her attention, and for her affection. They will turn away from their families, their work, and their duties for her. They will forget their responsibilities to please her... and worse, crush nations, neglect kingdoms and abuse their power. Aware of her power, and afraid of it, Fire lives in a corner of the world away from people, and away from temptation. Until the day comes when she is needed - a day when, for her king, she has to stand against not only his enemies, but also against herself...
Review:
I just now realized that I never did write a review on "Graceling" by Kristin Cashore. I blame the morning sickness. I'll get one up soon. But, it is important to note that "Fire" is definitely not a sequel to "Graceling" and if you read them out of order, it won't really matter.
I loved the characters in "Fire." For me, that was definitely the reason I enjoyed the book as much as I did. Obviously, I can't even begin to sympathize with Fire's "beauty" challenge. But, I enjoyed the struggle that she had with how to control her power. It seemed very real. It seemed like there were people all around her telling her to use the power to help other people. But, she was the only one who really knew how dangerous she could become. Just because everyone is telling you something is right, definitely doesn't mean that it is. For me, that was the take-away message.
However, I had a really hard time getting into this book initially. And, after reading the reviews on Amazon.com and Goodreads, it appears that I am the only one who felt that way. I'm not sure if I was distracted, or what the deal was, but the first half of the book was a struggle for me to follow the plot. Once Fire had settled in one place, about halfway through the book, I figured out what was going on, and the second half of the book was FANTASTIC.
If you liked Graceling, you'll enjoy this book as well. Other readers I would recommend this to would be those who like strong female characters, and warriors.
Rating:
I gave the book 3 stars
Profanity: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate. Several of the characters do get drunk. There is also plotting to get characters drunk.
Sexuality: Moderate. Sex is mentioned quite a few times during the story, but is never actually described. Characters will also make sexual advances at Fire, especially while drunk.
Violence: Moderate. People die. And a few scenes in the book mention battles.
Review:
I just now realized that I never did write a review on "Graceling" by Kristin Cashore. I blame the morning sickness. I'll get one up soon. But, it is important to note that "Fire" is definitely not a sequel to "Graceling" and if you read them out of order, it won't really matter.
I loved the characters in "Fire." For me, that was definitely the reason I enjoyed the book as much as I did. Obviously, I can't even begin to sympathize with Fire's "beauty" challenge. But, I enjoyed the struggle that she had with how to control her power. It seemed very real. It seemed like there were people all around her telling her to use the power to help other people. But, she was the only one who really knew how dangerous she could become. Just because everyone is telling you something is right, definitely doesn't mean that it is. For me, that was the take-away message.
However, I had a really hard time getting into this book initially. And, after reading the reviews on Amazon.com and Goodreads, it appears that I am the only one who felt that way. I'm not sure if I was distracted, or what the deal was, but the first half of the book was a struggle for me to follow the plot. Once Fire had settled in one place, about halfway through the book, I figured out what was going on, and the second half of the book was FANTASTIC.
If you liked Graceling, you'll enjoy this book as well. Other readers I would recommend this to would be those who like strong female characters, and warriors.
Rating:
I gave the book 3 stars
Profanity: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate. Several of the characters do get drunk. There is also plotting to get characters drunk.
Sexuality: Moderate. Sex is mentioned quite a few times during the story, but is never actually described. Characters will also make sexual advances at Fire, especially while drunk.
Violence: Moderate. People die. And a few scenes in the book mention battles.
