Graceling

It's been awhile since I've been this enraptured by a book, and truly, I love Graceling. Kristin Cashore has opened a rich world of seven kingdoms with "seven thoroughly unpredictable kings." In these lands where the kings tend toward tyranny over the people, some individuals are graced with special abilities--some are amazing cooks, others can foretell the future, and some, like Katsa, niece of King Randa of the Midlands, are graced with the ability to kill. Like most of the kings, Randa has claimed Katsa's abilities for his own uses and she finds herself a tool being used to torture and kill the king's enemies. Katsa worries she is becoming a monster and longs to escape her uncle's control. With the help of her mentor and her beloved cousin, she is finding ways to thwart the destructiveness of the kings.

On one such mission to stop an evil plan, Katsa meets Po, a graced fighter and prince of the kingdom of Lienid. Po is a worthy adversary for Katsa and friendship blossoms between them as they practice their fighting. When they join forces to attempt a daring rescue of Po's cousin Princess Bittersblue, new revelations change their relationship and Katsa must confront her feelings and the truth about her abilities...but only after a desperate race for survival through the mountains.

I can't do this book justice in a brief summary. The characters are richly developed and interesting, the plot addictive, the conclusion satisfying without being too neatly wrapped up. Two more books are planned in the trilogy, one a prequel (Fire, out October 2009) and the other a sequel/companion novel following Princess Bitterblue (Bitterblue, in the works).