Fire by Kristin Cashore

The Lowdown:  This companion novel to Cashore's Graceling brings a wonderful new side of the world to life.  It's not a sequel, and only has one character in common with the other book, but it's just as entertaining.  In this story, Fire, a human "monster," is the last of her kind.  While normal people and animals are just as they are, monsters are vibrant, beautiful, strong versions of themselves.  Beautiful as they are, they are different...they eat other monster flesh.  Fire's life has never been normal.  Her brilliant, bright red hair tells everyone she is a human monster.  Not only does her beauty dazzle others, but she also has the ability to control the minds of those around her.  When the kingdom faces a threat from other rulers, Fire leaves her quiet life and heads to the King's City.  She sees wonders she's never seen, and has to use her power to help the kingdom.  This scares her, though, because it's a power inherited from her father, who caused problems during the reign of the last king.  On top of all of this, she struggles to make way with the prince Brigan who doesn't like her that much.  Fire must find a way to get along with all of the new people she meets and harness and use her power for good in order to save herself, the kingdom, and all those that she loves.

What I Liked:  I liked Graceling a lot when I read it.  Katsa was a strong character who had to make sense of her place in the world.  Fire is similar to Katsa, but a more tender, compassionate character.  I loved all of the new characters that I got to meet in this new book.  I also enjoyed the way that Fire and Brigan's relationship grew throughout the book.

Read this if...
You liked Graceling.
You want to travel to a new fantasy world.
You want a good action AND love story.