Book Review :: Grace and Fury, by Tracy Banghart

Grace & Fury by Tracy Banghart
ISBN: 9781444941951
Series: Grace and Fury #1
Published by Hachette NZ
on 31st July 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 320
Source: Hachette Publishing NZ
Find at Hachette NZ
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Bold, brutal and beautiful, this is a must-read with the glitter and romance of The Selection and the thrilling action and intrigue of Red Queen.

In a world where women have no rights, sisters Serina and Nomi face two very different fates: one in the palace, the other on an island prison where women must fight to survive.

Serina has spent her whole life preparing to become a Grace - selected to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining example of the perfect woman.

But her headstrong and rebellious younger sister has a dangerous secret, and one wrong move could cost both sisters everything.

Can Serina fight? And will Nomi win?

Last updated on 14 October 2023

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What is Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart about?

Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart is about sisters Serina and Nomi living with their parents and Nomi’s twin brother Renzo in Lanos.

Serina has been taught all her life how to be a Grace – those young women who are chosen by the Superior to live in Viridia’s palace – and how to stand out in a crowd of beautiful girls. She is the epitome of a Grace: beautiful, poised, learned in music, dance, and silence. Nomi, on the other hand, is anything but. She hates the idea of the Graces and women not having a voice, for not getting to choose their path in life. As Nomi will never be a Grace, she is left to do the hard work around the house, the chores, the mending, the clean up.

Each year the Superior sends a representative to each town to pick out a potential Grace to head to the palace. From there, the Surperier (or in this year’s case, his son, the Heir) picks out three who remain in the palace until he narrows it down to just one. (Think The Selection.) Surprise surprise, Serina is chosen from Lanos, so she and Nomi (who will be her handmaiden) head off to the city. When they arrive, they’re in for more than just embroidery sessions and fancy gowns.

“Women were forbidden to read. Women were forbidden to choose their husbands, their jobs, their futures. Forbidden to dive for pearls or sell goods at market to help their families. Forbidden to cut their hair unless a man told them to. Forbidden to think for themselves. Forbidden to choose.”

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My thoughts on Grace and Fury

I tried to keep my little synopsis of Grace and Fury to the first two chapters because by golly by the end of chapter three things get serious and I didn’t want to spoil anything for you.

This book was amazing. I was not expecting it to go the way it did, and I was genuinely surprised at many of the main twists and turns that were so wonderfully written throughout the story. This was one of those books that I had trouble putting down, and when I did I was counting the minutes I could return to it. That doesn’t happen very often for me, so that’s saying something. When the following dedication is the first thing you see, you know you’re in for a good one.

“For every woman who has been told to sit down and be quiet… And who stood up anyway.”

The characters in this book were excellent. Serina is elegant yet determined, and while her beliefs aren’t the best, they’re gradually changed over time. Her character development is top-notch; gold star to Banghart. Nomi is a headstrong and take-no-crap kinda girl, even though she needs to hold her tongue at times. But it’s this very feistiness that puts her on the radar of important people and allows her get behind the scenes to start making changes to a man-controlled society.

In a world where men rule and women are simply there to shut up, look pretty and produce more men to rule the world, all it takes is a few young women to rise up and make a stand. As the story develops, secrets rise to the surface, historical events come crashing into the present, and the horrific rule of men slowly starts to unravel. This was a story about family, friendship, feminism, fighting for what’s right, and finding freedom.

Quick shout-out to the cover designer – love it! The combination of poise and power is spot on.

I highly recommend this story if you’re into your Young Adult or fantasy genre, or even perhaps dystopia, as this is a world where you would not want to live. Really looking forward to the next in this series (Banghart mentions on Goodreads that it’s set to be a duology), which comes out July 2019.

Have you read Grace and Fury? What did you think?

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I received this book for free from Hachette Publishing NZ in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.