I’m a sucker for the Cinderella story where a girl of lowly birth gets whisked away to a royal world of glamour and, of course, romance. So naturally I couldn’t resist this book. I mean it definitely helped that it was actually available for cheap on Amazon Japan, but that’s hardly the point.
The story takes place in a fantasy world that seems to have some basis in historical Asian cultures, but also could take place in Europe… it’s kind of unclear honestly but I wouldn’t say that it has that much affect on the plot anyway. In any case, in the particular kingdom, called Viridia, where this novel takes place women have no rights. They basically have four option in life: get married, work themselves to death in a factory, get married and work themselves to death in a factory, or be a Grace (aka a concubine to the emperor). But, of course, the emperor only takes three new Graces every three years so their chances of becoming the last are pretty slim. Why it’s three Graces every three years isn’t really explained, but I suspect it was a plot device on the authors part used to make sure that there was plenty of female competition and conflict in the novel. Which is strangely at odds with the glaring feminist undertones of the novel. But that’s not what I’m talking about in this review.
The basic story is that of two sister, Serina and Nomi. One of whom has been groomed from near infancy to compete for a place as one of the kingdom’s Graces because of her beauty. And the other is one of a set of fraternal twins who grew up seeing her twin brother go to school, learn, and actually have opportunities in his life, and she can’t understand why she doesn’t have the same. So the one destined to be a Grace has been groomed into complacency with society’s standards and the other, virtually ignored by her parents who placed all their hopes for the future on their other daughter becoming a Grace, grew up resenting and rejecting what society said was expected of her. And if you can’t guess based of off their names which sister is which you should probably try harder.
The novel starts when Serina is selected by her province to compete to become one of the heir to the thrones first three Graces (that’s right, you guessed the right sister, didn’t you?). Every three years each province selects their most beautiful and *hehe* graceful young woman to parade before the emperor (or in this case his son) and have the opportunity to be selected as a Grace. Now I might not be the only one having Selection by Kiera Cass flashbacks, but don’t worry, this is totally not the same thing. After all, in Selection the prince is expected to get to know the girls over a period of time, in Grace and Fury the prince selects his Graces in one evening based solely off of physical appearance, and maybe one dance. So Serina goes to the palace to display herself before the prince, and Nomi goes with her as her handmaid to do her hair and resent everything.
And here the spoiler’s start. So we learn shortly that Nomi has a dark secret: she can read. See women are forbidden to read in Viridia but her loving twin brother taught her secretly and she considers it her greatest rebellion in a society that she rejects and wants desperately to rebel against. This passion for rebellion and her love of books leads her to steal a book from the palace when she accidentally stumbles into a library in search of a bathroom. Then, shockingly, she is nearly caught by the prince of the hour and his endearing younger brother. Her rebellious spirit can’t be tamed and she is unwisely sassy with the crown prince when he questions her about what she’s doing in that part of the palace. Who want’s to place bets now on whether our prince will be fascinated by this woman who speaks to him as no other woman in his oppressed kingdom ever has? You guessed it! Imagine both sister’s shock when Nomi’s name is announced as a new Grace over her sister!
And quick summary time. In a totally shocking turn of events the two sister’s roles are reversed with Nomi as the Grace and Serina as the handmaid. But on the very morning after their moving into the palace a gross misunderstanding happens and Serina is arrested for being a woman able to read, even though her sister is the true guilty one. So Nomi is stuck in the palace where she’s expected to learn the ways of a Grace and compete for the princes favor, and Serina is shipped of to an island prison for women where population control (and entertainment for the guards) takes place in the form of fights to the death between the female prisoners.
So here’s my general thoughts without giving away too much more of the plot. I thought the plot was incredibly predictable, but I will give it credit for keeping me guessing as to which handsome prince would turn out to be the good guy. (Big spoiler coming) from the very beginning it was pretty obvious that the younger prince, whom Nomi begins an elicit romance with, is manipulating her. But, at the same time, it was so obvious that I actually thought that the author might have been trying to trick me with how obvious it was… but maybe I just over think things… Anyway, with Nomi’s resentment and rebellion against the male dominated system she lives in I thought that her romance and naivety when it comes to prince Asa was remarkably unrealistic. The novel talks a lot about her rebellious spirit and strong will, but I can’t say that I ever really saw it outside of her knowing how to read.
Another big picture item in this novel is the relationship between the sister and the feelings that arise when their roles in life are suddenly reversed, and even more so when Serina is imprisoned for Nomi’s crimes. Reference was often made to these feelings and the consequences of them throughout the novel, and they are a driving force for both sisters. But I felt that all the emotion’s were remarkably simplified throughout, especially in Serina’s case. Having all you’d ever wished for taken away by a sister who doesn’t even want it, and then to be imprisoned in horrible conditions because of that same sister’s crimes… that’s gotta stir up some feelings, but I felt like they were glossed over and never really addressed. Which is a shame because it was an opportunity for some great character building.
I also thought that the entire circumstance of women’s oppression in Viridia seemed underdeveloped. We we’re told about it more than we ever see it. I mean, yes, we’re told all these things that woman suffer, and plenty of characters relate harrowing tales of what they’ve been through due to the male dominance in society. But none of the female characters ever felt oppressed to me. Like it might sound weird to say that that’s a negative in the novel, but I just think that if you’re going to say that all these woman have lived there lives under these terrible circumstances with their every desire being disregarded and even their basic human rights being ignored I think that should be evidenced in some way in behavior, not just in characters internal reflections and background stories. Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally for people overcoming their past and everything, in fact, those can make some of the best characters and stories, but I don’t think that’s what happened in this novel. The background stories and life circumstances of the characters seem more like tools to have gotten them to where they need to be for the plot and to force them into certain actions rather than actual integrated parts of the characters.
So, final thoughts. Despite everything I’ve said about it up until this point I actually did enjoy Grace and Fury and I’ll give it 3 out of 5 stars. It is by no means a great work of literature, but it was a fun read. It was very plot devicy and I think that there was a lot of underutilized potential in regards to almost all the characters and the world building. But I don’t always want to read a great work of literature, you know? Sometimes I just want to read something fun and Grace and Fury is definitely that. Will I read the sequel when it comes out? Sure! but I think I’ll wait until I’m back in the States and it’s available in the library.
Mad Random 