Closer to 3.5 stars. 
 I liked Graceling better, but liked this one (and Cashore's writing) enough to want to continue reading the series. 
 Fire is deemed a 'monster'; her beauty can stun people, make them fight over her, lose their minds, other stuff. She also has the power to control people's minds, and can change their thoughts. While she's the last human monster, plenty of animal monsters abound. Pink kittens, rainbow colored rabbits, brilliantly colored bugs, that sort of thing. 
 I like the whole idea of a person with this type of power, plus Cashore does a fine job of creating characters and a world that's rich in history. 
 The first 50-70% or so of the book kept my interest. The character interactions engaged me, the plot moved along at a good pace, and I wasn't even bothered by the inevitability of some things (while I didn't guess all of them). Yet, the last part of the book, Fire became too whiny and repetitive for me. She reminded me of the girls in high school that seemed to have it all, yet still bitched and complained about everything, or sunk into some self-pitying emo slump, or both. 
 Overall, I'm glad I read it, and if you liked Graceling, I urge you to give this a try too.