A reread, and a worthwhile one. Love the idea of Graces, though the it's-not-what-you-think-it-is thing got old quickly. The

Spoiler

blindness shock/twist

broke my heart; he deserved a far better fate.

Terrific storytelling — dramatic, yes (as one might guess from the title) but without being hysterical or excessively hyperbolic. The level of detail, the saturation of emotion, the flow of thoughts/worries/related facts all contribute to a wonderful reading experience; I almost want to call it entertaining or enjoyable, as a compliment of course, but that feels like it would cheapen the impact of this novel. I will say that I’m not 100% sure of the switches to third person and the indecipherable order of anecdotes, but these are minor concerns when the ending was particularly strong and I was highly invested throughout.

I'm guessing that I read this book during that one summer between giving up on my analog book journal and rediscovering Goodreads, since it's not already on my shelves. It's a middle grade novel for sure, in terms of the writing style and to some extent the morality, but it's a well-written and delightfully entertaining one that turns tropes on their head.

This book is terrific. Gen is exactly my favorite kind of fictional boy, young and insouciant and on the wrong side of the law but with a good heart. I wish there had been more strong female characters throughout, but I have high hopes for the rest of the series based on the ending of this book (and, okay, the next book is called The Queen of Attolia).

I finished this book and immediately recommended it to a friend who I strongly suspected would love it. (She did.) As for me, though, it wasn't really my cup of tea.

2018: Series buddy read with ✨Skye✨! ❤

This might be the least uniquely-Tortall book in the cycle; despite the appearances of so many characters we already know (Alanna, Numair, Thayet, Jonathan, George, etc.) it seems the most mainstream. It's still a great read, but Daine's naivete and the pre-war battles weren't as compelling to me as Kel's or Alanna's fights to prove themselves as lady knights, or the Circle coming into their powers. I also had a bit of a struggle knowing

Spoiler

that Numair and Daine end up together, considering the age gap and teacher/student relationship

and Daine's abrupt shift from

Spoiler

not letting her animal friends fight to considering coercing the whales into destroying the Catharki fleet

.

But I think most kids have dreamed of communicating with animals, and if you've managed to hold on to any part of that desire, you should be able to appreciate Daine's story. (Just between you and me, though, I think the other Tortall heroines are just more interesting.)

2018: Series buddy read with ✨Skye✨! ❤

This was fun, but kind of formulaic? Maybe I've just read too many Tamora Pierce books and outgrown them a little bit. Onward!