Scan barcode
theavidreaderandbibliophile's review
4.0
Graced by Amanda Pillar is a wonderful paranormal romance book. I stayed up until 2 a.m. to finish this book. Graced is a complicated book. I will try and summarize it without giving away any spoilers.
Graced is set in a time where advancements have come and then gone. They use coal, sodium lamps, carriages pulled by horses. However, they do have a sewage system (thank goodness)! The different types of citizens are vampires, werewolves, humans with colored eyes (graced), humans with brown-eyes (non), and the slaves (yes, slaves). Most of the vampires are aristos and are considered the upper class (rich and have titles). The vampires have an elitist attitude. They believe they are the best and that humans all want to be vampires. The Honorable Dante Kipling is the son of a rich aristo and he believes that there is something different about the humans with colored eyes. He wants to find out what is different about them.
Clay Lovett is a very old werewolf (but looks young). He was summoned to town by Olive Brown (more on her below). While in town he meets Elle (see below) and is fascinated by her. Clay goes out of his way to find her, get to know her, and flirt (which leads to them getting to know each other much better).
Eleanor “Elle” Brown is a city guard with red hair and hazel eyes. Her one goal is to protect her kid sister, Emmie (Esmerelda). Emmie is seven years old and has bright teal eyes. The humans with colored eyes do have special gifts and they want it kept a secret. Elle and Emmie’s grandmother, Olive Brown has green eyes and can read minds. She also runs an agency that supplies servants and slaves to the rich and aristos. Someone has killed two graced girls recently and Olive sends Elle into the Kipling household to investigate.
Unfortunately for Elle things do not go well in the Kipling household. Elle ends up in a coffin and about to be cremated. Clay and Emmie rescue Elle from the coffin and then Clay tries to keep her safe (and hidden from her grandmother). What happens next is very funny! Dante is forced to get married after attacking Elle without her permission, Clay tries to keep Elle safe, Clay and Elle want to get custody of Emmie (to protect her and keep her secret), and Elle has to adjust to being a vampire (and not attack the humans in the household for food).
I give Graced 4.5 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed this book, but there is a lot of sex in this book. Sex seems to be very commonplace. Evidently sex with servants and slaves is normal (and they cannot object) as well as sleeping your way through the town’s populace (as well as three ways, four ways, sleeping with men and women). I do not think that the book needed so much of this element. The story is great without all the sex. I found Graced to a delight to read and look forward to reading more books by Amanda Pillar.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley (courtesy of the publisher) in exchange for an honest review.
http://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2015/02/graced.html
Graced is set in a time where advancements have come and then gone. They use coal, sodium lamps, carriages pulled by horses. However, they do have a sewage system (thank goodness)! The different types of citizens are vampires, werewolves, humans with colored eyes (graced), humans with brown-eyes (non), and the slaves (yes, slaves). Most of the vampires are aristos and are considered the upper class (rich and have titles). The vampires have an elitist attitude. They believe they are the best and that humans all want to be vampires. The Honorable Dante Kipling is the son of a rich aristo and he believes that there is something different about the humans with colored eyes. He wants to find out what is different about them.
Clay Lovett is a very old werewolf (but looks young). He was summoned to town by Olive Brown (more on her below). While in town he meets Elle (see below) and is fascinated by her. Clay goes out of his way to find her, get to know her, and flirt (which leads to them getting to know each other much better).
Eleanor “Elle” Brown is a city guard with red hair and hazel eyes. Her one goal is to protect her kid sister, Emmie (Esmerelda). Emmie is seven years old and has bright teal eyes. The humans with colored eyes do have special gifts and they want it kept a secret. Elle and Emmie’s grandmother, Olive Brown has green eyes and can read minds. She also runs an agency that supplies servants and slaves to the rich and aristos. Someone has killed two graced girls recently and Olive sends Elle into the Kipling household to investigate.
Unfortunately for Elle things do not go well in the Kipling household. Elle ends up in a coffin and about to be cremated. Clay and Emmie rescue Elle from the coffin and then Clay tries to keep her safe (and hidden from her grandmother). What happens next is very funny! Dante is forced to get married after attacking Elle without her permission, Clay tries to keep Elle safe, Clay and Elle want to get custody of Emmie (to protect her and keep her secret), and Elle has to adjust to being a vampire (and not attack the humans in the household for food).
I give Graced 4.5 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed this book, but there is a lot of sex in this book. Sex seems to be very commonplace. Evidently sex with servants and slaves is normal (and they cannot object) as well as sleeping your way through the town’s populace (as well as three ways, four ways, sleeping with men and women). I do not think that the book needed so much of this element. The story is great without all the sex. I found Graced to a delight to read and look forward to reading more books by Amanda Pillar.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley (courtesy of the publisher) in exchange for an honest review.
http://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2015/02/graced.html
gypsydawn's review against another edition
4.0
#Intriguing
This book grabbed me from page 1, but it took some time to make sense - and I am still not fully sure I “get” it. The cast of characters is diverse and often flamboyant, standing out in the story and on the page, including owning their own POV chapters, so much so that I questioned WHO the main characters were a time or two. All in all, it was an intriguing and fascinating ride, one that deftly crafted a new, brutal world filled with creatures of both nightmares and dreams.
Pros:
- World building. Even if it’s foggy a bit or stutters, the concepts behind the scenes are captivating.
- Characters who seem so human, even when they are not.
- Societal Norms are both modern and Medieval, a dichotomy that messes with the mind.
Cons:
- Sometimes it is TOO much.
- Frequent POV changes.
- Fade to black intimate scenes.... there was too much tension for that tease.
- Ending felt abrupt. There should be another book with THESE characters alone.
This book grabbed me from page 1, but it took some time to make sense - and I am still not fully sure I “get” it. The cast of characters is diverse and often flamboyant, standing out in the story and on the page, including owning their own POV chapters, so much so that I questioned WHO the main characters were a time or two. All in all, it was an intriguing and fascinating ride, one that deftly crafted a new, brutal world filled with creatures of both nightmares and dreams.
Pros:
- World building. Even if it’s foggy a bit or stutters, the concepts behind the scenes are captivating.
- Characters who seem so human, even when they are not.
- Societal Norms are both modern and Medieval, a dichotomy that messes with the mind.
Cons:
- Sometimes it is TOO much.
- Frequent POV changes.
- Fade to black intimate scenes.... there was too much tension for that tease.
- Ending felt abrupt. There should be another book with THESE characters alone.
raven_morgan's review
5.0
An eARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley. I subsequently purchased my own copy as well. I was an early beta reader of this novel, and have worked with Amanda Pillar professionally, as well as consider her a friend. None of these things have influenced my review of this work.
*****
Graced is writer and editor Amanda Pillar’s debut novel, and is published by Momentum Books.
At first. the world of Graced looks much like many other urban fantasy/paranormal romance worlds. There are vampires who live in an aristocratic society, there are werewolves, and there are humans. But here is where Pillar brings something new to the genre: within the humans are a subset of magically talented people known as the Graced, identifiable by their coloured eyes (Non-Graced humans have brown eyes). The Graced believe that their powers are secret, and want to keep it that way.
Elle Brown is a City Guard working in the primarily vampire-occupied Pinton. Her primary concern in life, other than keeping the peace, is the wellbeing and happiness of her much younger sister, Emmie. Their Grandmother, Olive, a strong Green (a Graced with green eyes, and strong powers), believes both of her granddaughters to be useless. Elle has hazel eyes and no powers, and Emmie has unusual Teal eyes, but appears to only have latent powers. Olive has far-reaching schemes for the Graced, and invites the werewolf Clay Lovett to Pinton. Elle and Clay meet, and there is instant chemistry between them.
Meanwhile, the vampire Dante Kipling is growing curious about humans with coloured eyes – he suspects that the colours must mean something, but he doesn’t know what. His experiments result in the deaths of two Graced, and Olive sends Elle to spy on the Kipling family in disguise as a servant.
And, quite simply, all hell breaks loose.
At first, I wasn’t quite sold on the idea of the Graced – special eye colours are a well-worn trope, and I feared that I would be seeing the same-old same-old here. I shouldn’t have feared, because Pillar adds so much originality and meaning to an old trope – and there are hints that there are deeper threads again to the Graced (and I hope very much that Pillar revisits this world to explore them).
All of the characters are amazing. Elle is a fabulous strong (in the literal meaning of strong) female character, and her love and protective instincts for Emmie make her very relatable. Clay is charming from the moment he steps onto the page, and the chemistry between he and Elle is palpable.
There has to be a mention about the diversity of sexualities in this book. There is little shame in sexuality, and we see characters who are bisexual (and use the word to describe themselves, which happens far too little) as well as asexual.
The setting of this world feels a little nebulous at first – very much like any alternate earth. But as the story progresses, there are hints and clues that this is not just an alternate earth, but in fact something else.
There is much that could easily have become problematic in this book. The implication that a young girl could possibly be bred with an older character is there, but strongly objected to by many characters (so many that you know as a reader that it’s never going to happen). There’s also a good portrayal of a character with a physical disability, who is never maligned for it (except by himself).
This is a fast-paced, fun read that will likely appeal to fans of work such as Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels books (without their problematic issues). Pillar brings a new voice to urban fantasy and has introduced readers to a fabulous new world that I truly hope she returns to. Highly recommended.
*****
Graced is writer and editor Amanda Pillar’s debut novel, and is published by Momentum Books.
At first. the world of Graced looks much like many other urban fantasy/paranormal romance worlds. There are vampires who live in an aristocratic society, there are werewolves, and there are humans. But here is where Pillar brings something new to the genre: within the humans are a subset of magically talented people known as the Graced, identifiable by their coloured eyes (Non-Graced humans have brown eyes). The Graced believe that their powers are secret, and want to keep it that way.
Elle Brown is a City Guard working in the primarily vampire-occupied Pinton. Her primary concern in life, other than keeping the peace, is the wellbeing and happiness of her much younger sister, Emmie. Their Grandmother, Olive, a strong Green (a Graced with green eyes, and strong powers), believes both of her granddaughters to be useless. Elle has hazel eyes and no powers, and Emmie has unusual Teal eyes, but appears to only have latent powers. Olive has far-reaching schemes for the Graced, and invites the werewolf Clay Lovett to Pinton. Elle and Clay meet, and there is instant chemistry between them.
Meanwhile, the vampire Dante Kipling is growing curious about humans with coloured eyes – he suspects that the colours must mean something, but he doesn’t know what. His experiments result in the deaths of two Graced, and Olive sends Elle to spy on the Kipling family in disguise as a servant.
And, quite simply, all hell breaks loose.
At first, I wasn’t quite sold on the idea of the Graced – special eye colours are a well-worn trope, and I feared that I would be seeing the same-old same-old here. I shouldn’t have feared, because Pillar adds so much originality and meaning to an old trope – and there are hints that there are deeper threads again to the Graced (and I hope very much that Pillar revisits this world to explore them).
All of the characters are amazing. Elle is a fabulous strong (in the literal meaning of strong) female character, and her love and protective instincts for Emmie make her very relatable. Clay is charming from the moment he steps onto the page, and the chemistry between he and Elle is palpable.
There has to be a mention about the diversity of sexualities in this book. There is little shame in sexuality, and we see characters who are bisexual (and use the word to describe themselves, which happens far too little) as well as asexual.
The setting of this world feels a little nebulous at first – very much like any alternate earth. But as the story progresses, there are hints and clues that this is not just an alternate earth, but in fact something else.
There is much that could easily have become problematic in this book. The implication that a young girl could possibly be bred with an older character is there, but strongly objected to by many characters (so many that you know as a reader that it’s never going to happen). There’s also a good portrayal of a character with a physical disability, who is never maligned for it (except by himself).
This is a fast-paced, fun read that will likely appeal to fans of work such as Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels books (without their problematic issues). Pillar brings a new voice to urban fantasy and has introduced readers to a fabulous new world that I truly hope she returns to. Highly recommended.
tehani's review
Disclaimer: I know the author personally and have published her short fiction.
I raced through reading this book, which put me a little in mind of later Anita Blake or Merry Gentry books in some ways (although GRACED is not NEARLY as sex-heavy as Laurell K Hamilton's work tends to be!). I thought the ideas underpinning the story were interesting and thoughtful, with vampires, weres and Graces all being genetically engineered species. However, I felt there was an awful lot going on in what is quite a short book, and would have liked to see the accelerator eased off a little to explore the concepts and character relationships in more depth. This probably wasn't helped by the multiple point of view characters in the story, which added to a bit of disconnect. I think there was probably the bones of at least two books in this novel, but the plot would have needed more strength to sustain such an idea. There was some interesting character work in the book that I would loved to have seen more of, and I would have liked to learn more about the world the characters inhabit, and why it exists the way it does.
The overall tone was fairly light, despite some of the more sinister activities of the story, and it was an easy, pacy read. As a debut novel, it has merit, and I'm sure Pillar will continue to grow in her craft as a novelist just as she has a short story writer.
I raced through reading this book, which put me a little in mind of later Anita Blake or Merry Gentry books in some ways (although GRACED is not NEARLY as sex-heavy as Laurell K Hamilton's work tends to be!). I thought the ideas underpinning the story were interesting and thoughtful, with vampires, weres and Graces all being genetically engineered species. However, I felt there was an awful lot going on in what is quite a short book, and would have liked to see the accelerator eased off a little to explore the concepts and character relationships in more depth. This probably wasn't helped by the multiple point of view characters in the story, which added to a bit of disconnect. I think there was probably the bones of at least two books in this novel, but the plot would have needed more strength to sustain such an idea. There was some interesting character work in the book that I would loved to have seen more of, and I would have liked to learn more about the world the characters inhabit, and why it exists the way it does.
The overall tone was fairly light, despite some of the more sinister activities of the story, and it was an easy, pacy read. As a debut novel, it has merit, and I'm sure Pillar will continue to grow in her craft as a novelist just as she has a short story writer.
book_whispers's review
4.0
*Review copied received from author in exchange for an honest review.*
Graced and I had a rocky start. The transition of changing POVs felt off and really frequent. With multiple points of views from first person that can happen, and at times I thought the timeline was just a smidge off. It didn't help that when I finally started to really sink into the story Elle and Clay were laying heavy on the paranormal romance tropes. Like Clay was in lust and her smell was soooooo good, but a girl with that bad ass of an attitude is too much work! Blah-blah, instalove/lust. It was silly. Thankfully the real meat of the story doesn't solely depend on them as a couple, though it does enough development later that it didn't bother me too much and I could actually see them become a reluctant item towards the end.
No. The real awesome-tacular thing about Graced was the other characters telling the story. Namely Dante!!! Oh my gosh! Dante. He's clearly evil at the beginning. He's the bad guy, but soon we realize that mentally he's a little off. An eccentric? Maybe. Or maybe he's just had evil parents and he just needed real people to make him more “human”. Dante was the perfect intro into why vampires are evil. Soon though he entered the realm of “grey”. More importantly an anti-hero. He does bad shit, but I love him. He's complex.
Even more complex is his romance in the book! Which made up for the other character's instalove. No really. The build up and humor of Dante developing emotions and feelings is epic.
In fact, the character development and story was so engaging as Graced continued on. Pillar really found her footing as the story kept going and I haven't been this engaged in a new Urban Fantasy book in ages. The true part is that all the grey areas have the characters meeting their “enemies” and finding a common ground. Some of the dialogue is hilarious! Especially as Dante does something despicable to Elle, but she totally ends up liking him. (Don't worry Elle, he's like Lokey. You should hate him, but you just can't.) I could go over each character, but I won't.
I also loved the idea of how Elle is protecting her kid sister. That she would do anything for her. The real villain actually ended up being Elle's grandmother. Who on occasion gave me goosebumps. It's also an intriguing concept of the Graced being hidden and that some of their powers are mentally intrusive. Those are scary powers, scarier to me then vampires or werewolves. At least they're up front monsters.
Oh, and the world! It's dystopian if you want to get down to it, or High Fantasy-ish. Basically there was a peak in technology, a great war among the races, and then boom they lost things. There's some technology, but most of it was lost. I like the prejudices and the minor details that Pillar has put in to make her world stand out. Very refreshing and I loved the history and look forward to seeing more of it outside of the current city that most of the story takes place in.
The truth is that Graced only missed being on my Shera's Top 10 Books of 2016 by a hair. Let me tell you I debated and debated. The anticipation of book 2 though, made it onto my Top 10 Anticipated Adult Books of 2017 list though! The characters are totally awesome! The nuances to them as Graced built up was brilliant! At times the dialogue was so clever I felt like I needed to give author Amanda Pillar a gold star of achievement! Even with a rough start it's hard to resist the addictiveness of Graced, and then it gets so good you forget everything else. If you've been looking for a new Urban Fantasy series—and are leery about self pub/indie pub—Graced is a pretty safe bet. It's been well edited. Besides a great story and I can't spam—err, recommend—it enough!
Content Warning: Homosexual themes, some sex scenes (not too crazy), and of course sexual humor! Murder and some human right issues. Some of the leads do bad things.
4/5 - A true obsession!
Originally reviewed at Book Whispers.
Graced and I had a rocky start. The transition of changing POVs felt off and really frequent. With multiple points of views from first person that can happen, and at times I thought the timeline was just a smidge off. It didn't help that when I finally started to really sink into the story Elle and Clay were laying heavy on the paranormal romance tropes. Like Clay was in lust and her smell was soooooo good, but a girl with that bad ass of an attitude is too much work! Blah-blah, instalove/lust. It was silly. Thankfully the real meat of the story doesn't solely depend on them as a couple, though it does enough development later that it didn't bother me too much and I could actually see them become a reluctant item towards the end.
No. The real awesome-tacular thing about Graced was the other characters telling the story. Namely Dante!!! Oh my gosh! Dante. He's clearly evil at the beginning. He's the bad guy, but soon we realize that mentally he's a little off. An eccentric? Maybe. Or maybe he's just had evil parents and he just needed real people to make him more “human”. Dante was the perfect intro into why vampires are evil. Soon though he entered the realm of “grey”. More importantly an anti-hero. He does bad shit, but I love him. He's complex.
Even more complex is his romance in the book! Which made up for the other character's instalove. No really. The build up and humor of Dante developing emotions and feelings is epic.
In fact, the character development and story was so engaging as Graced continued on. Pillar really found her footing as the story kept going and I haven't been this engaged in a new Urban Fantasy book in ages. The true part is that all the grey areas have the characters meeting their “enemies” and finding a common ground. Some of the dialogue is hilarious! Especially as Dante does something despicable to Elle, but she totally ends up liking him. (Don't worry Elle, he's like Lokey. You should hate him, but you just can't.) I could go over each character, but I won't.
I also loved the idea of how Elle is protecting her kid sister. That she would do anything for her. The real villain actually ended up being Elle's grandmother. Who on occasion gave me goosebumps. It's also an intriguing concept of the Graced being hidden and that some of their powers are mentally intrusive. Those are scary powers, scarier to me then vampires or werewolves. At least they're up front monsters.
Oh, and the world! It's dystopian if you want to get down to it, or High Fantasy-ish. Basically there was a peak in technology, a great war among the races, and then boom they lost things. There's some technology, but most of it was lost. I like the prejudices and the minor details that Pillar has put in to make her world stand out. Very refreshing and I loved the history and look forward to seeing more of it outside of the current city that most of the story takes place in.
The truth is that Graced only missed being on my Shera's Top 10 Books of 2016 by a hair. Let me tell you I debated and debated. The anticipation of book 2 though, made it onto my Top 10 Anticipated Adult Books of 2017 list though! The characters are totally awesome! The nuances to them as Graced built up was brilliant! At times the dialogue was so clever I felt like I needed to give author Amanda Pillar a gold star of achievement! Even with a rough start it's hard to resist the addictiveness of Graced, and then it gets so good you forget everything else. If you've been looking for a new Urban Fantasy series—and are leery about self pub/indie pub—Graced is a pretty safe bet. It's been well edited. Besides a great story and I can't spam—err, recommend—it enough!
Content Warning: Homosexual themes, some sex scenes (not too crazy), and of course sexual humor! Murder and some human right issues. Some of the leads do bad things.
4/5 - A true obsession!
Originally reviewed at Book Whispers.
see_sadie_read's review
3.0
I'll be honest, I almost DNFed this early on. The beginning was very rough for me. I thought the plot and world chaotic and underdeveloped, and the characters unlikable. But past the halfway mark, once the four characters came together, I thought the whole thing hilarious and enjoyed the heck out of it.
I'm not entirely sure I was meant to find everything I found funny, funny. And maybe I should feel a little bad about laughing at some of it. But I enjoyed it enough to consider buying book two, and would have if it followed the same group. I wanted more of the sarcastic, family-bickering dynamic the group formed by the end. But I also think that's one of the book biggest weaknesses (other than the rough start)—just as the book finally gives you what you've wanted all along, it ends and the next book is about someone else entirely.
And while I thought the four people clearly forming a found-family was fun, I didn't understand the purpose of there being two couples (and it was two separate couples, not a poly group). According to the blurb, Elle is very clearly the main characters and her romantic partner is Clay. Which leaves Dante and Anton's romance feeling like extra and the plot feeling stretched and diluted.
Speaking of Dante, I super resent that I spent most of the book appreciating the asexual rep, only to have the suggestion sneaked in, at the end, that he might like sex after all, now that he found His Person. Outside of side-eyeing that, there were characters of multiple races, ages, and orientations and no obvious -isms involved, which I was able to appreciate all the way until the end.
All in all, like I said, I wanted more by the end. So, I finished this happy enough to forget about how it started.
I'm not entirely sure I was meant to find everything I found funny, funny. And maybe I should feel a little bad about laughing at some of it. But I enjoyed it enough to consider buying book two, and would have if it followed the same group. I wanted more of the sarcastic, family-bickering dynamic the group formed by the end. But I also think that's one of the book biggest weaknesses (other than the rough start)—just as the book finally gives you what you've wanted all along, it ends and the next book is about someone else entirely.
And while I thought the four people clearly forming a found-family was fun, I didn't understand the purpose of there being two couples (and it was two separate couples, not a poly group). According to the blurb, Elle is very clearly the main characters and her romantic partner is Clay. Which leaves Dante and Anton's romance feeling like extra and the plot feeling stretched and diluted.
Speaking of Dante, I super resent that I spent most of the book appreciating the asexual rep, only to have the suggestion sneaked in, at the end, that he might like sex after all, now that he found His Person. Outside of side-eyeing that, there were characters of multiple races, ages, and orientations and no obvious -isms involved, which I was able to appreciate all the way until the end.
All in all, like I said, I wanted more by the end. So, I finished this happy enough to forget about how it started.
More...