Striking fantasy tales of strong warrior women and dark politics star in this week’s QBD Book-A-Like!
Graceling by Kristin Cashore:
In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her Uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to carry out his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him. Breaking arms and cutting off fingers are her stock-in-trade.
Finding life under his rule increasingly unbearable, Katsa forms an underground Council, whose purpose is to combat the destructive behaviour of the seven kings – after all, the Middluns is only one of the seven kingdoms and each of them is ruled its own king with his own personal agenda for power. When the Council hears that the King of Liend’s father has been kidnapped Katsa investigates…
But something dark and deadly is rising in the north and creeping across the continent and behind it all lurks the shadowy figure of a one eyed king…
Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch:
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. The Winterians” only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been searching for the opportunity to steal back Winter”s magic and rebuild their kingdom ever since.
Orphaned as an infant during Winter”s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, Winter”s future king—she would do anything to help Winter rise to power again. So when scouts discover the location of half of the ancient locket that can restore their magic, Meira decides to go after it herself—only to find herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics, and to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.
