Book Review: Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fireis a human monster living in the Dells, a land of monsters in all forms. The monsters are impossibly beautiful and powerful, and Fire is the last of the human kind. She must live with the legacy of her cruel father's deeds and assist the king of the war-torn Dells in fighting mutinous lords, all with a power she fears will turn her into a monster just like her father.

Things I Liked:
I thought this book had a beautiful story. It is definitely more character driven than Graceling. I thought Fire was a more relatable character and I liked her more than Katsa. The setting was beautiful and I loved the intrigue and politics. Cashore has a way with words and an ability to create beautiful fantasy worlds:

"A monster drew out all that was vile, especially a female monster, because of the desire, and the endless perverted channels for the expression of malice. With all weak men, the sight of her was a drug to their minds. What man could use hate or love well when he was drugged?" p,145

"She took the instruments from the steward one by one, each more beautiful than the last. Welkley waited patiently while she played them, testing their feelings against her neck, the sharpness of the strings on her fingertips, the depth of their sound. There was one she kept reaching for, with a copper-red varnish, and a clarity like the point of a star, precise and lonesome, reminding her, somehow, of home. This one, she thought to herself. This is the one." p.174

Things I Didn't Like:
Once again, I was bothered by one small aspect. I hated the way Fire treated her friend Archer. She seemed rather careless with his affections. She kept calling him "friend" when they were more than that. I was just annoyed at how easily she dropped him and basically crushed his feelings. It was also definitely not as action-packed as Graceling, but I thought it was better in some ways.

Read-alikes:
This is a prequel of sorts to Graceling by Cashore - I would read Graceling first or it might ruin some surprises there
The intrigue reminded me of Crown and Court Duet by Sherwood Smith

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a very few

mrg-factor: XX
innuendo mostly

v-factor: ->->
there were fighting and battle scenes

Overall rating: ****

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