Fire by Kristin Cashore

Rating : 3 / 5

Goodreads : It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men. This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she has the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own. Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City. The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom. If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was.

My review : I'm so disappointed. Graceling is one of my favorite book of 2011 so I was eagerly waiting to read its companion novel Fire but this book wasn't for me... At first I was a little surprise because the world of Fire is totally different from the one in Graceling. No gracelings here but a dangerous world filled with colored monters. The idea is very original but... I wasn't hooked by the story, I thought this idea of monsters was really weird and especially... I didn't like the characters. Indeed we discover a whole new set of characters because this book happens several years before Graceling. Archer was the one that I hated through the book. What a jerk !!! And a lot of the other characters were useless... As for Brigan I was so disappointed... I was expecting a beautiful love story betwenn Fire and him as I loved Katsa and Po romance in Graceling but it was... non existent ! Brigan is absent most of the book and I didn't care about their relationship afterward. As for our heroine Fire she annoyed me SO much. And I think that's why I didn't like this book because the story was told from her point of view and I just couldn't bear her attitude and personality. Well I have to admit she is brave and determined but otherwise... she just cries all the time ! It was such a big change from Katsa in Graceling. I know that every human being has flaws and it was good to have a strong but fragile character but here... I just couldn't stand it. And there was a lot of repetitions like... I don't really want to know every time she has her periods ! I know this is kind of a big deal in the story since she is a monster herself but it was just too much ! A huge part of the book was about her being in the castle and waiting. It was so slow I couldn't wait to finish it. The only thing that I liked about her was her love for music and her violin (it reminded me of Jem in the infernal devices series).
Finally at the end of the book I was bored and the happy ending that I loved in Graceling in Fire just annoyed me here.
The good point of the book is that we get to know more about a character's past from Graceling.