Name: The Grace Year
Series: Stand Alone
Author: Kim Liggett
Publisher: Cornerstone Digital
Format: Kindle
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Fantasy, Thriller, Horror, Romance
Noted Tropes: Sisterhood, Female Rebellion
Spice Rating: Open Door 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Rating:
Synopsis: Goodreads
No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.
In Garner County, girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, to drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.
Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for a chance to grab one of the girls in order to make a fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.
Review:
I am not sure I know where to begin with this one. I went back and forth a little bit over the rating, because I just did not enjoy The Grace Year as much as I had hoped to enjoy it. I don’t write reviews just talking about the negative things, because I don’t think it’s fair on the author – but to talk about the stuff I liked, requires spoilers tags – so look out for those tags.
I think I was most let down by the genre’s I was told this book was – thriller, horror, fantasy, romance in a dystopian setting. I had high hopes. They weren’t met. I was either angry at the situation the girls found themselves in, angry at the shit various people were doing, or confused (I’m still not sure I really understand the concept of the magic they’re expelling).
Maybe I missed something with this one, or maybe it just wasn’t for me. I felt like I had spent a lot of time reading this one, for no pay off, which is why I really struggled with the rating. I don’t give low ratings often, so I’m never quite sure where I want to put these books that I really only enjoyed minor parts of.
Please remember, there are parts of The Grace Year that I did enjoy, and because I don’t want there to be no positive things in this review, I’m about to talk about them now beneath the spoiler tag – so if you intend to read The Grace Year yourself, please don’t click the spoiler tag.
Spoiler Tag! Let’s discuss the positive things!
I may not be The Grace Year’s number one fan or anything, however there were parts that I did enjoy and I do want to talk about them, but again below has a lot of spoilers so this is your last chance to click out of the spoiler tag.
Starting off easy – I did agree that The Grace Year was fast paced – and most other reviewers will tell you this. I absolutely got hooked in and couldn’t put it down. For the most part anyway, it did slow down towards the end – and pick up again to see you through to the finish line. But who doesn’t appreciate a fast paced book!
I loved the reveal towards the end of the book of the seeds sown into Tierney’s cloak from her sister, June. I loved this because at the start of the book they make a big deal about how no one talks about The Grace Year – what happens there is a big secret that only the girls who return will keep. And yet, not only did June try to assist Tierney, but her mum did too with tidbits of information disguised as advice for life. This I really liked. I can’t actually state how much I liked this once it was revealed.
The times where Tierney was alone I did actually fear for her survival, and I felt like those moments were done well. There were certainly moments where I did buy into the ghosts and magic of the story, but they were pretty much all when she was alone. Of course, some of those things were explained away but still in the moment I liked it!
I also really appreciated how despite all of the shit that Tierney went through and witnessed at the hands of the Poachers, the other girls and even the people from her own home, she remained unchanged throughout. She still did not believe in making the girls struggle for their Grace Year, and even managed to convince the girls who survived that it was correct. I was very proud of her in those moments.
I did ultimately settle on 2 stars for The Grace Year – I did enjoy enough aspects of The Grace Year that I couldn’t rate it below a 2 star. That being said, I don’t think I will find myself recommening The Grace Year.
“You can keep your dreams,” he whispers. “But I dream only of you.”
Reading With Tyler 
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