Just about one of the best books ever. It is captivating and interesting and it has a unique story line that pulls you along. I have read it multiple times now, and I will read it again and again! I simple can't wait for bitter blue!

Simply written but has a deep story that leaves one feeling a new sense of empowerment. The story pulls you in right away and doesn't let you go until it is over. This is one that I have read over a few times and will read again many more.

I didnt think I'd like this book very much, but I really enjoyed it. Since there are so many reviews already, I'll simply say that it is worth reading!

A friend raved about this book so i thought i'd give it a try. I loved the Hunger games and this was probably a million times better! This book just gets you transfixed from the very beginning and you won't want to put it down. If you liked the hunger games then i'm almost positive you won't be sorry for reading Graceling! Graceling is extremely well written and you will fall in love with the characters instantly!

I found this book to be everything I expected. It was a page turner and a wonderful read. I highly sugest this book if you liked The Hunger Games serise. I found it competting with being better than The Hunger Games.

I feel inloved with it right away! Katsa is an amazing young teen and Po (OMG) is overly handsome!

Loved it!

Graceling is about a seventeen year old girl named Katsa who has the "gift" to kill people. And as the niece of a powerful King, her life is not as fabulous as it should be. Being the source of her uncles power, she was forced to do many horrible things. As she meets Prince Po, who is gifted with combative skills which to a point rival Katsa's own, to Katsa's surprise they become friends and allies. As the story progresses Katsa stumbles on a horrible truth which threatens everything in the world in which they live.

This book held many great qualities. Each character was different in their own way and each had something great to offer to the story. The romance between the two characters jumps at you, making you feel what they feel, frustration, glee, woe, and the fervor that their heartwarming relationship brings about. At the same time the fighting and fierceness of each character pulls you along, making you feel their same determination, hope and strength that they foster. The turn of events that the book takes grabs your heart and stays with you, wishing that there was another based on the same characters to follow, sadly this is not the case. However still a great novel!

This was a pretty good book. The Majority of the book is travelling in the forest. Pretty much 90% of it is. I could picture the entire story as I read. Good outcome of events. I have never read a book like this and I really enjoyed it. The special abilities because of the change of the colour of their eyes was cool. The love in this book was very heartwarming. Loved it!!! I will definitely buy the second book.

Katsa is Graced with a special ability to kill. As a result, she's used as a weapon by her King, a role that she does not want or enjoy. Eventually Katsa decides she will no longer be a pawn in a battle she doesn't agree with, and begins to disobey the King's orders. Then, on an unsanctioned mission she discovers a mysterious stranger in the night, and worries that by leaving him alive, she's left herself in danger. But when this stranger shows up in her life again, they embark on a perilous mission in an effort to stop the greatest evil the 7 kingdoms have seen yet.

Filled with interesting and original characters, and based on a very unique concept, Graceling is the first book in what looks to be an exciting fantasy series. Katsa is a strong heroine who struggles with her anger, but learns over the course of the novel to not let it form her decisions. She's also strong in the literal sense. Her Grace allows her to kick some major butt, yet she always tries to avoid harming others unjustly. Romance takes a back seat to plot, which is a refreshing change in the YA fantasy genre. There's definitely some romance in Graceling, but none of the typical teen angst and endless swooning. One of the things I loved most about Graceling is that it was never predictable. Each time I thought I knew what was going to happen next, something completely different occurred. And while the story felt complete at the end of this novel, the author has set up the next volume beautifully - I'm not upset because I was left with a cliffhanger, and yet I can't wait to read more.

I absolutely loved Graceling! The story sucked me right in, and I want to spend more time with all these characters. I'm very much looking forward to reading Fire, the next installment in the series.

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I must say, It wasnt a book that I was hooked right from the beggining. The first few chapters had me wondering if I really wanted to continue reading it.. but once I hit chapter three or so it was a wonderful book. A bit too dragged out in some places, and the ending wasnt as dramatic as i'd hoped, but it was all together a worth wild read. I loved Prince Poe, though his name did give me a good laugh, and all the other characters were great too!

A remarkable story of truth, discovery and courage. It is -so- good to see a book out there not about vampires and werewolves (boring!). I recommend it highly to book lovers. The adventures and detail to Graceling are worth reading.

This book was fantastic. I couldn't put it down. Something completely different from the usual young adult books. Definitely a must read!

I bought this book because of the amazing reviews that it got. I was by no means amazed by it. It was good but I wold not put it up there with the greats by any means. The story was original, but the end just killed it for me. I was expecting more.
I personally would not buy Fire (her next installment) unless I was desperat to read something.

While there are some definite similarities (at least between the main characters) to the Hunger Games series, I enjoyed Graceling. It was a different story, with some very original ideas and my favourite: a strong female hero. Full of action and lovable characters, it was hard to put down!
Recommend for YA fans!

In "Graceling" by Kristin Cashore, to be gifted or talented in some extreme way is to mark you with a grace. People who have a grace whether it be reading others thoughts, having the skill to manipulate people or being able fight or see things in your mind, are marked with having the grace by having different coloured eyes.

Katsa's grace is the ability to kill people with little effort and she is under the service of King Randa who uses her grace against those who displease him. Katsa wants freedom and she has to fight and kill to achieve that liberty.

Katsa meets Po who is also graced, but in a different way, he is able to sense his surroundings and is one of the few people who can fight with Katsa and give her a slight challenge.

Po and Katsa are from different kingdoms, but they soon bond and become lovers. Katsa and Po have to save the seven kingdoms from a king who possesses a horrible grace that manipulates people into believing he is benevolent when actually he is wicked and tortures people and creatures.

I found the beginning of this book a bit slow, but the last half is intriguing and makes up for the slowness at the beginning. Katsa is a strong female character and she grows from a girl who is in the servitude of her Uncle and has to kill the people he requests her to kill to a young women who is independent and is teaching other women to fight and defend themselves. She grows from servitude to independence and she also has a soft side and learns to love.

Po is a caring and loving companion who accepts Katsa for who she is and wants her to grow and become the best she can. This book portrays their relationship in a sound and caring matter, they respect each other and they both grow in their relationship.

I did find the anti-marriage and anti-children view of Katsa's disturbing. Her and Po have a physical relationship and are committed to each other, but heaven forbid Katsa actually marry him. I do not get it, if she is so opposed to marriage, why not be opposed to any relationship in or out of wedlock? To me this view of marriage is a weak point in the book.

The exploration of Katsa's feelings of all the killings her Uncle had her commit and how that affected her psychologically would have been interesting if it was explored in the book. Bitterblue who is the daughter of the wicked king has a strong role in the second halve of the book and she seems a bit unrealistic for a girl her age, a girl with wisdom beyond her years.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book and I will definitely check out Kristin Cashore's other books.

Kristin Cashore's novel, "Graceling", was a book I bought only hours after first hearing about it; an action I am very glad I took. Set in an imaginary world where certain individuals have special talents, ranging from climbing trees to sword fighting, the story was immensely intersting from beginning to end. I found Katsa, the main character, to be extremely likeable and the relationships she has and develops with others fun to witness. The plot itself was smoothly written, focusing on details when important and fast forwarding when not. Cashore's portrayal of the characters' reactions to situations in the book were never unbelievable, and the world it is all set in felt like it could actually exist. Overall, "Graceling" was an awesome book and I will be buying the second one very soon.

I picked up Graceling while I was shopping for someone else and thought that this sounded like something I could really be into. Graceling follows the story of a young woman, Katsa who is blessed, or cursed, depending on your perspective, with the grace for killing. She is capable and a great female heroine. I really enjoyed the environment created for the characters in this story, the creative idea of graces and the unexpected and ruthless antagonist.

The only reason this book gets four stars and not five is due to my disappointment in the romance. The main male and female characters seem obviously bound to wind up in a relationship from their first encounter. However, the reason for their budding romance is never explained beyond physical attraction, and to me; that's really not enough.

I found myself disappointed with the ultimate outcome of the characters relationship in the end as Katsa refuses to commit emotionally to Po even after everything they'd been through. It was as if she hadn't PROGRESSED.

That being said, I will still check out the sequel to this book even though it promises an all new batch of characters, and hope for a trilogy that continues the story of Katsa and Po.

I picked this book up based on pure impulsiveness. I had read the summary and everything about it piqued my interest; fantasy, romance and one tough little chick. What was there not to like?

And liked it, I did. Katsa was a very interesting character to read about and I loved the creative idea about Graces and the amazing world Cashore creates. A lot of the characters were extremely lovable and when it came to the villian, Cashore created a good one, especially since it was unexpected.

It was all heroic and yet, flawed which is exactly why I loved the adventure in this book. I liked how, even though it was a fantasy, the characters were not invincible. This seems to often happen in many fantasy novels.

So why did it get three stars only? Well...the romance sucked, to be blunt. Not enough development and I found myself skipping the romance. I do not often do this unless I'm annoyed. It took me a while to get through the book because it moved so slow and got nowhere. Even though about half the book is about Po and Katsa's developing relationship, I still felt like there was no true basis to it.

It wasn't only the romance but I felt that not a lot was happening through most of the book. The climax was elongated and, again, I found myself skipping pages just to get to the good stuff.

On the plus side, I did fall in love with Bitterblue's character and will read the rest of the series if only to read her book. Overall, it was still a good read and I recommend it to all young fantasy lovers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought it had a good story line, even though the climax of it all was very short lived. The characters and the idea of Gracelings was a neat idea for this. I really couldn't put this book down.

I look forward to reading "Fire," the companion to "Graceling."