Grace and Fury
Warning: Spoilers ahead! Also… This is not a comprehensive review, just a quick spat of my thoughts.
Over this last weekend, I read the book Grace and Fury, which I received in an Owl Crate (I know, I know—gotta get my merch and stuff XD). If you follow my Instagram stories at all, you’ll know I had some moments in this book where I just… couldn’t.
Let me talk about the title. I absolutely loved how at the beginning Serina was obviously Grace and Nomi was clearly Fury. They had their roles. It wasn’t a surprise to me that Nomi became the actual Grace and Serina was stuck in prison (it’s actually one of their marketing sentences, so truly no surprise there). What did surprise me, though, was how it wasn’t that they switched roles but found both the Grace and the Fury within themselves.
Random insert, but I can’t help but think of this one quote: “Most people don’t realize beauty is a force of righteousness. Without beauty, strength means nothing.” If you know where this quote is from, points to you! (also, I think there are multiple translations of this quote?).
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised with this development, but it was done really well, and I ended up rooting for both of them a bit more intensely than I think I’ve rooted for any protagonist in a while.
Something that I loved was how it took them half of the book to realize it, but Nomi and Serina were, and always have been, fighting for each other. Sure, they had other, more immediate things to worry about, but their truest desires were for the other, and in that they were able to find the strength within themselves. As nerdy as it may be, it reminds me of ANOTHER quote (from the same place as above):
“People shine the brightest when they seem to recognize and understand the kind of love that sustains them.”
Also. I won’t lie. I had absolutely no idea what to make of Malachi the entire time. I figured it was him who had left the book (Asa didn’t seem… thoughtful enough?), but I still didn’t understand why. I had a slight feeling that he hadn’t asked Nomi to be a Grace maliciously, but it was a weak feeling that could have gone either way. I did know Asa was going to betray Nomi, though. He was too good, too ready with a plan, too willing to fake a show. Yeah… I called that one. Poor Nomi, for falling into his trap!!
What’s everyone’s thoughts of Val? Did y’all think it was obvious that he was coming back for Serina? I did, just because of his personality (like honestly, there is no way he would talk all that talk about what happened with his mother, and just leave Serina!).
I know I’m missing a bunch of things, but I’m labeling this as a discussion, so comment your favorite parts about this book, ideas you have about the characters/world, or your favorite quotes!
I’ll leave you with just a couple of my favorite quotes and one liners:
• “Strength is the only currency.” – Oracle
• “You are brick and barbed wire. You are iron.” – Oracle
• “You fight back. Always.” – Petrel
• “They call me Grace now.” – Serina