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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A charming throwback epic fantasy set in an alternate medieval time period. Full of interesting characters and a unique take on a story with dragons. The first half was a little slow but I enjoyed reading Seraphina's POV and interactions with the royal court inhabitants. Recommend for those who want a classic fantasy story with just a hint of romance and humor and don't mind lots of descriptions about music or politics.
Still good on the second read, though I have to say I'm still a little meh on the romance. I like a longer burn, but that's just me.
Fantasy is my absolute favorite genre, it’s not even a hit or miss for me. Unless the book is so terribly bad I can’t finish it, I’m going to like a fantasy novel. However, SERAPHINA completely reminded me of why I like the genre, and definitely set the bar higher for any fantasy books I read in the future. Seriously though, throw me a fantasy and I’ll be happy for days.
Seraphina is half dragon, half human, and hides among both species. But the precarious truce between the dragons and humans is starting to crumble, and Seraphina might not be able to hide for much longer, especially when the people she loves are in danger.
SERAPHINA tells an entirely new version of dragons that I thought was so unique and well thought out, especially with all the politics of court involved. My favorite character was a dragon, and I hope to see more of him in the sequel because the dragons themselves are so intriguing. It’s so funny to me though because dragons are in a truce with humans and are considered the weaker species.
Usually I am 100% in for a forbidden romance, and Seraphina’s relationship with Prince Lucian Kiggs should have been no different, but I was a bit disappointed with these two. Seraphina’s feelings seem to have came out of nowhere, and Kiggs was always a bit wishy-washy for me.
The writing in this book was a huge positive, the descriptions are detailed and flow very nicely, allowing you to picture everything really clearly. They were not so overwhelming to where they took over the book, and they were not clunky or tedious to read either.
I feel like SERAPHINA was made for me, it has fantasy, dragons, forbidden romance, and royalty. If you are a fan of any of those, be sure to check this one out!
Seraphina is half dragon, half human, and hides among both species. But the precarious truce between the dragons and humans is starting to crumble, and Seraphina might not be able to hide for much longer, especially when the people she loves are in danger.
SERAPHINA tells an entirely new version of dragons that I thought was so unique and well thought out, especially with all the politics of court involved. My favorite character was a dragon, and I hope to see more of him in the sequel because the dragons themselves are so intriguing. It’s so funny to me though because dragons are in a truce with humans and are considered the weaker species.
Usually I am 100% in for a forbidden romance, and Seraphina’s relationship with Prince Lucian Kiggs should have been no different, but I was a bit disappointed with these two. Seraphina’s feelings seem to have came out of nowhere, and Kiggs was always a bit wishy-washy for me.
The writing in this book was a huge positive, the descriptions are detailed and flow very nicely, allowing you to picture everything really clearly. They were not so overwhelming to where they took over the book, and they were not clunky or tedious to read either.
I feel like SERAPHINA was made for me, it has fantasy, dragons, forbidden romance, and royalty. If you are a fan of any of those, be sure to check this one out!
This was hands down the best dragon book that I have read in a long time.
11/3/12
I wrote a review on my blog that is more detailed. http://bookmenagerie.blogspot.com/
11/3/12
I wrote a review on my blog that is more detailed. http://bookmenagerie.blogspot.com/
medium-paced
This was a good book with an interesting plot.
The first part of the book was hard for me to get through. I kept losing interest and it felt like it moved really slowly. But once it picked up, I was invested in it.
The complexity of the characters, and their relationships was really enjoyable to read. Seraphina's friendship with the princess was something I really enjoyed, and her relationship with her uncle were probably my two favourite ones to see.
I liked where it ended. While it is open ended for another book, it was a satisfying conclusion. Often books reveal certain secrets right at the end and then you don't know how it resolves, and I was really happy to see the conclusion of this one sorted out some of those secrets.
The first part of the book was hard for me to get through. I kept losing interest and it felt like it moved really slowly. But once it picked up, I was invested in it.
The complexity of the characters, and their relationships was really enjoyable to read. Seraphina's friendship with the princess was something I really enjoyed, and her relationship with her uncle were probably my two favourite ones to see.
I liked where it ended. While it is open ended for another book, it was a satisfying conclusion. Often books reveal certain secrets right at the end and then you don't know how it resolves, and I was really happy to see the conclusion of this one sorted out some of those secrets.
So far as I'm concerned, This is pretty much as good as YA gets. It holds up exceptionally well among all books I've read too. here is a small smattering of things that I loved about this book:
- The nature of magic, mental discipline, and physics all tie together in a reasonable, intuitive, and non-arbitrary way. The continuity of the world is not broken by folks waving magical wands to fix problems conveniently.
- Hartman has built a world in which smart people are rewarded for being smart.
- The characters are never suddenly incompetent for the sake of progressing the narrative.
- Every character has a reasonable motivation for their action. There are no one-dimensional or inexplicable actors involved in the story.
- The story is subtle and doesn't spoon feed you info, and yet you never feel lost either.
- The writing is so free of on-the-nose statements and cliches that it feels refreshing
This is a phenomenal read and highly suggest to everyone I know.
- The nature of magic, mental discipline, and physics all tie together in a reasonable, intuitive, and non-arbitrary way. The continuity of the world is not broken by folks waving magical wands to fix problems conveniently.
- Hartman has built a world in which smart people are rewarded for being smart.
- The characters are never suddenly incompetent for the sake of progressing the narrative.
- Every character has a reasonable motivation for their action. There are no one-dimensional or inexplicable actors involved in the story.
- The story is subtle and doesn't spoon feed you info, and yet you never feel lost either.
- The writing is so free of on-the-nose statements and cliches that it feels refreshing
This is a phenomenal read and highly suggest to everyone I know.
Upgrading this from 4 to 5 stars 9n a 2nd read-through. This story is just fantastic and despite some awkwardness theres enough great characters and beautiful prose to put it among the best
This book took a while for me to get into. There was a lot of backstory to get through before the plot could pick up and that made the first 100 or so pages drag. However, once the world was built things got more interesting.
The dragons were the most unique dragons I've read about. They weren't good or evil but conflicted much like the humans in the book.
Because the book took a while to get into, I didn't feel like I could give it 4 or 5 stars. It wasn't one of my favorites and I don't see myself continuing on with the series.
The dragons were the most unique dragons I've read about. They weren't good or evil but conflicted much like the humans in the book.
Because the book took a while to get into, I didn't feel like I could give it 4 or 5 stars. It wasn't one of my favorites and I don't see myself continuing on with the series.
medium-paced
Very relaxing fantasy read with powerful character depth that shows the subtle struggle of a person secretly living in two world