AUDIOBOOKING WITH LEAH: REVIEW⇢ THE GRACE YEAR

BY KIM LIGGETT

SYNOPSIS FROM AUTHORS WEBSITE⇣
No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden. Girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.
Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for their chance to grab one of the girls in order to make their fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.
With sharp prose and gritty realism, The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between.

BOOK TAGS⇣

⤏ RE-READ ON AUDIO --ONE OF MY TOP 3 BOOKS OF 2019
⤏ DYSTOPIAN SETTING/ALTERNATE WORLD
⤏ SOCIETY WHERE MEN HAVE ALL THE POWER
⤏ OPPRESSION OF WOMEN
⤏ HORROR-IF-IC
⤏ DEATH, LIES, & BETRAYAL
⤏ SPLASH OF ROMANCE
⤏ WOMEN SUPPORTING WOMEN
⤏ STAND-ALONE
⤏ BONUS INTERVIEW WITH KIM LIGGETT AT THE END OF THE AUDIO

A BOOKISH OBSESSION⤏ FAVORITE

BOOK DETAILS⇣

AUDIO PERFORMED BY⇢ EMILY SHAFFER
NARRATION RATING⇢ 5/5 --ABSOLUTELY PERFECT
BOOK COVER⇢ LOVE IT...IT'S PERFECT

SETTING⇢ GARNER COUNTY & A REMOTE ISLAND WITHIN A GREAT LAKE

SOURCE⇢ LIBBY AUDIOBOOK (LIBRARY)

AUDIOBOOK LENGTH⇢ 11 HOURS, 42 MINUTES

MY THOUGHTS⇣

Emily Shaffer absolutely brought Tierney to life...she was perfect. I'm so glad I experienced this book in both reading and listening formats. It still made me cry the second time around. My review below is my review for the book in eARC format⇣

Wow! This book...

This book is a lot of things...dubious, challenging, frustrating, darkly horrifying, curing, wonderful, loving, saddening, hopeful & most of all empowering.

I first started reading this about two months ago and had to stop because I just wasn't feeling it...I thought this is a premise that would never come to pass...or so help us all. I couldn't wrap my head around this society where women not only outnumber men, but their rights are so marginalized by these men, it's unthinkable, unbelievable. They are treated as property and made to go through a year away from everything they know to expel their magic. When they come back from this supposed magic-letting they are forced to marry the guy that chose them...and if no one chooses them (because women outnumber the men)...they have to work for the good of the community. This book will push your buttons...for sure.

The second time I started it, I found this enthralling...I devoured it in very little time. The Grace Year has earned a spot as one of my favorites of all time and I don't think I will ever forget it. I especially won't forget how it made me feel by the time I finished it. I was stunned, with everything that happens, and...So. Much. Happens. This one has all the feels, from the good to the bad, and everything in between.