A review by sadiereadsagain
The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan

5.0

I went into this book expecting Scottish folklore and fairy tales...I didn't get that, at all. Instead, I got something I didn't even know I wanted, and I'm so glad for it. A world flooded, where people identify not by country or religion or colour, but whether they live on the little land that is left or whether they make their life at sea. A sailing circus, with genderbending acts and a girl with a bear, run by a deep-hearted ringmaster with a misplaced trust in his arrogant wife. A banished woman who makes her life as a Gracekeeper, putting to rest the bodies of the sea-dwellers and tending to their watery graveyards. I read this at the same time as [b:The Night Circus|9361589|The Night Circus|Erin Morgenstern|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387124618l/9361589._SY75_.jpg|14245059], and it was as if they were ganging up on me to prove see, you do like fantasy. Say it!! Turns out, an otherworldly circus is totally my jam. North and Callanish are two women caught between land and sea for different reasons, brought together by the mysteries of the water. The world building in this book is incredible, and Logan's writing has such a clean beauty about it that I was utterly mesmerised by this book. The ending would have broken me if it weren't for the hope that lay within it. I want to cuddle in to North's bear and read the next book, as my coracle is gently rocked by the sea. I would definitely be a dampling.