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By Cinda Williams Chima [LibraryThing]

Princess Raisa is the heir to the queendom of Fellsmarch, but all princess heirs seem to learn about is etiquette and flirting, when Raisa wants to know about politics, strategy, and the lives of her people. With war at the borders, unrest among the poor, and friction between the matriarchal clans and patriarchal wizards who make up the most powerful forces in Fellsmarch, she’d better learn fast. Meanwhile, ex-thief Han Alister just wants to put his past behind him and find his place in life, but when he comes into possession of an ancient, powerful amulet, he finds himself caught up in danger, court intrigue, and the part of his past even he doesn’t know.

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By Kristin Cashore [LibraryThing]

Fire is a human monster with the power to captivate people, to slip inside their minds, to force them to believe what she wants — a power she fears, because of all of the evil her father used his power for. But when her country is in danger and the King himself pleads for help, she’s forced to confront her worst fear: herself. Is there a way for her to use her powers for good, or is she destined to be the monster everyone calls her?
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By Jessica Day George [LibraryThing]

Creel thought that with the Dragon War over, life would return to normal, but all that changes when the kingdom of Citatie declares war on her homeland – led by an army riding on dragons. As the leading expert on dragons, Creel heads off to Citatie to find out how to save her home, but that may be easier said than done, especially when her friend Shardas the Dragon King turns out to be intimately involved in this new war.

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By Jonathan Stroud [LibraryThing]

Generations ago, Svein and the other great heroes fought back the Trows and made the valley safe for humans. Now there is peace and no need for heroes, which is a serious disappointment for Halli, younger son of the House of Svein. An adventurous misfit, he deals with his restlessness by playing practical jokes – until one of his jokes touches off a disastrous string of consequences. Now, with the help of the beautiful and fearless Aud, he must find his place and his purpose within the valley before his actions bring destruction down on them all.

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By Cindy Pon [Amazon -- LibraryThing]

After Ai Ling’s father disappears, strange things start to happen. She begins to develop strange powers, like the ability to hear people’s thoughts. But when a local merchant tries to blackmail her into marriage, she runs away and vows to bring her father home. But as she searches for him, something evil is searching for her…
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By Jessica Day George [LibraryThing - Amazon]

Every night, the twelve princesses of Westfalin escape from their locked rooms and go dancing, and none of them will – or can – say where they dance. For his part, with the war over young soldier Galen is happy to work as a simple under-gardener in the palace. But as the lovely Princess Rose and her sisters grow more exhausted and despairing, and the country begins to tear itself apart, Galen must use all of his wits and courage to untangle the mystery of the princesses’ enchantment – and just possibly win the hand of Princess Rose himself.

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Book Five
Starting time: 8:55 PM
Ending time: 2:42 AM

Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Genre: High Fantasy
Pages: 471

Summary: Everyone fears Gracelings — and they fear Katsa most of all, for she’s Graced with the ability to kill. Her uncle, the King, uses her as a strong arm to bully his nobles, but Katsa hates being treated like a mad dog, and is determined to get out from under his thumb. Doing that, however, thrusts her into some international intrigue she never could have imagined…

Thoughts: Holy crap, did I love this book. It isn’t perfect, but it’s delightful and exciting and I love Katsa (and Po, and Bitterblue, and Raffin, and etc…). Really, it had me completely at this exchange:

Sighing, Helda carried the dress from the bathing room. “It would look stunning, My Lady,” she called, “with your dark hair and eyes.”

Katsa yanked at one of the more stubborn knots in her hair. She spoke to the bubbles gathered on the surface of the water. “If there’s anyone I wish to stun at dinner, I’ll hit him in the face.”

This book is totally worth a full review someday, and I will absolutely a) reread it, and b) pick up Cashore’s next book when it comes out. Five cupcakes.

By Tamora Pierce [Pierce at LibraryThing -- Pierce at Amazon]

For years, Beka has dreamed of becoming one of the Provost’s Dogs, the guards who keep law and order in the kingdom of Tortall. Now she has joined their ranks, but her talent for sniffing out conspiracies and going after the powerful criminals behind them may get her killed before she has a chance to enjoy it. But Beka’s got one weapon no Rat can escape: she can hear the voices of the dead.

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By Jessica Day George [LibraryThing - Amazon]

Creel’s family doesn’t have much money, so her aunt hits upon the idea of sending Creel to the local dragon. But Creel isn’t interested in waiting around for a knight to come rescue her, and instead bargains with the dragon for her freedom – and a pair of very special blue slippers. On the road to the capitol where she plans to seek her fortune as a dressmaker, Creel befriends another dragon who is very surprised by her footwear, but it’s not until she reaches the capitol and finds herself embroiled in a tangle of conspiracy, diplomatic intrigue, magic, and a very cute prince that Creel begins to suspect that her slippers are more powerful than she ever imagined.

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Alanna: The First Adventure, In the Hand of the Goddess, The Woman Who Rides Like A Man, Lioness Rampant
By Tamora Pierce [Pierce at LibraryThing -- Pierce at Amazon]

Women in Tortall are not warriors, but 11-year-old Alanna would much rather become a knight than a lady or a sorceress — so she hatches a plan to trade places with her twin brother. Disguised as a boy named Alan, she enters training as a page, hoping to become a knight before she is discovered. As Alanna works to prove herself, learning both fighting and magic, she becomes friends with Prince Jonathan — and with George Cooper, a rogue who is the King of Thieves. But all of her friendships and new skills may not be enough when only Alanna realizes that the prince’s cousin, a powerful sorcerer himself, is plotting to take the throne to Tortall… And it seems like only Alanna will be able to stop him. (Very mild uncovered spoilers behind the cut.)

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