A fierce fantasy sequel full of sisterhood, heart-pounding action, betrayal, and royal intrigue, perfect for fans of The Belles and Caraval. When the new, brutal Superior banishes Nomi from Bellaqua, she finds herself powerless and headed towards her all-but-certain death. Her only hope is to find her sister, Serina, on the prison island of Mount Ruin. But when Nomi arrives, it is not the … of Mount Ruin. But when Nomi arrives, it is not the island of conquered, broken women that they expected. It is an island in the grip of revolution, and Serina–polite, submissive Serina–is its leader.
Betrayal, grief, and violence have changed both sisters, and the women of Mount Ruin have their sights set on revenge beyond the confines of their island prison. They plan to sweep across the entire kingdom, issuing in a new age of freedom for all. But first they’ll have to get rid of the new Superior, and only Nomi knows how.
Separated once again, this time by choice, Nomi and Serina must forge their own paths as they aim to tear down the world they know, and build something better in its place.
The stakes are higher and the battles bolder in Tracy Banghart’s unputdownable sequel to Grace and Fury.
Fierce, fun, [and] fast-paced… empowering from start to finish and doesn’t flinch in proving that sometimes the life you want isn’t the one you expected — and you won’t know until you fight for it.
Actual Rating 3.70
I hate to be on the bandwagon of people who enjoyed the first book in this duology over this sequel. Yes, there are parts in the first book that were a little slow, but this book has some really slow parts. I think its because Nomi was a completely useless character who did nothing, while Serena was making plans to get things done. She became a true warrior and leader and her chapters were way more interesting than anything Nomi was doing. I seriously wanted to role my eye at anything having to do with Nomi.
What I liked was Serena. She truly turned into a whole other person. She was passionate about saving all the girls on Mount Ruin and had to learn that some people must be killed. It made her hard, but not ruthless. She was smart and came up with some smart war plans. I wish Val had more of an important role than the passive sidekick who did everything Serena wanted. He was too pliable. But nonetheless, her chapters were action packed and way more enjoyable. I lived for her chapters.
Nomi is useless. The whole situation their in in this book is he fault. Lets be real. I’m all for the women wanting a new world and for women to have the same rights as men. I’ll rally for that any day of the week. But, Nomi wasn’t really fighting for that. All she wanted was revenge against Asa for how cleverly he played her ass and to fix her mistake. She constantly talked about how he tricked her and how he made her want to rule with him. Blah, blah, blah. Gag. On top of that annoying regurgitation of thoughts, she also is in love with Malachi. I was just over her love life. She literally did nothing until the end and even that didn’t feel as satisfying as I was hoping. Serena still stole the show in the end. I’m not 100% sure I really liked the way the book ended.
I was really looking forward to this book because I was so surprised at how much I ended up enjoying the first book. These two sisters really took me by surprise at how much they changed as the story moved along. I think Tracy Banghart did Serena real justice and I loved her so much for being badass. I think the story overall is good. I just could have gone without Nomi all together. I liked it enough.
I loved the first book so much and I’m happy to say that the sequel more than met my high expectations. If you want a total “girl power” read, then I highly recommend picking this one up!
A fierce story of sisterhood and survival. Absolutely riveting. I couldn’t help but cheer for these ferocious young women.
A cathartic, action-packed read about women taking back power.