Fire by Kristin Cashore

   Fire is the second installment in the Graceling trilogy although it doesn't actually have much to do with the first book. It is a prequel of sorts, set in an adjacent world. In this world instead of Gracelings there are monsters. Monsters are beautiful creatures whose beauty mesmerizes humans, making it easier for monsters to devour humans. Fire is the last human monster. She is not only beautiful beyond reason, she possesses the power to read and influence people's minds. Men are particularly susceptible to her, repeatedly professing their love for her upon seeing her. Fire resists using her power after seeing her father who had the same power use it cruelly.

As far as plot and tension go, there is an impending war as two kingdoms begin making moves to overthrow the king. In between battles and war planning there are various semi-romantic plots. I say semi-romantic because many of these plots involve men falling in lust with Fire. Nearly every man she comes in contact with wants to possess, use, or harm Fire. It is distressing and annoying in the worse way.

The only connecting character between this book and the first is Leck, the villain in the first book. We get something of his backstory here but it doesn't matter much in the long run. And more to the point, Leck is not character I wanted to learn more about anyway. The book could have done without his story line. The only useful thing Leck provided was an incomplete explanation of how these two different lands exists - one where Gracelings are a thing and another where monsters are a thing - and how these two lands do not know about the other's existence. I wonder if the next book in the series will bring these two lands together somehow.

I am struggling as to whether or not to recommend this book. On the one hand, if you read Graceling and loved it you might love, or at least like this too. On the other hand, the two stories are really not connected.