Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
I thought the “this girl is sixteen and looks like other girls but there’s actually something special about her and she’s going to save the world” genre was dead but this book slayed the trope slayed the romance and slayed the worldbuilding. Also the most beautiful prose in a YA book I’ve ever seen
A wonderfully written fantasy about dragons, music, and finding your place in the world. It was a bit complicated to follow in the beginning. But once I became grounded in the world Seraphina inhabited and understood it better, I was fully engrossed in the story. Hartman does an amazing job at world-building. I also loved the way she characterized the dragons in the novel and how she offset them from humans. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves pure fantasy and has a fascination with dragons.
Why I chose this book: I’ll be honest, I picked up this book back in 2012 when it originally came out and could not finish it. I made it thirty pages in and was overwhelmed. While I am slowly learning to love the fantasy genre, I still struggle with books that contain peculiar names, worlds, words, languages, etc., due to my dyslexia. Let me just tell you, this book is a dyslexic’s nightmare. Despite this, I noticed that this book kept getting awards and solid reviews. So at the beginning of this year I picked up Seraphina on audiobook and was pleasantly surprised.
4 Things You Need to Know:
1. DRAGONS. These are not just any normal, run of the mill dragons. These are dynamic, exciting, emotionless, shapeshifting, completely logical dragons. What I loved was that Hartman wasn’t afraid to build a world where dragons were more evolved than humans, and in some respects even more powerful. Because of this, there is a theme of racism that is prominent among the humans, creating a dragons vs. humans political environment that is intense and exciting.
4 Things You Need to Know:
1. DRAGONS. These are not just any normal, run of the mill dragons. These are dynamic, exciting, emotionless, shapeshifting, completely logical dragons. What I loved was that Hartman wasn’t afraid to build a world where dragons were more evolved than humans, and in some respects even more powerful. Because of this, there is a theme of racism that is prominent among the humans, creating a dragons vs. humans political environment that is intense and exciting.
I have been waiting to read this so long I got a little jaded about it, and decided maybe I hadn't gone through and read it for a reason, but it was very lovely. I can see why it gets praised for its thorough worldbuilding, and the depth of understanding that it has for characters on multiple viewpoints of something as delicate as racial tension is pretty on par with today.
Really excellent read with a very unique take on dragons. I loved the main protagonist and Fruit Bat. Seraphina is just an all around cool read.
Another one that slipped past me.
This book has been recommended so many times to me, but me being me, was afraid the dragon element would ruin it for me.
I know, I know, I have a hang up on dragons? But I do. I feel dragons add an element to story that almost brings it down to childlike or too fantasy intense for my taste.
I'm sorry but the dragons here did nothing but create a FANTASTIC freaking story. Well written, thought out dragon system, author follows their own rules, overall just a win everywhere. By far one of my favorite reads this week, month, year, ever.
There was depth to each character, and I mentioned the awesome dragons already, the plots was solid and fast paced. I really can't wait for the second installment.
This book has been recommended so many times to me, but me being me, was afraid the dragon element would ruin it for me.
I know, I know, I have a hang up on dragons? But I do. I feel dragons add an element to story that almost brings it down to childlike or too fantasy intense for my taste.
I'm sorry but the dragons here did nothing but create a FANTASTIC freaking story. Well written, thought out dragon system, author follows their own rules, overall just a win everywhere. By far one of my favorite reads this week, month, year, ever.
There was depth to each character, and I mentioned the awesome dragons already, the plots was solid and fast paced. I really can't wait for the second installment.
I've never thought of myself as a reader who would get into a dragon fantasy. This was, admittedly, an assumption I made about myself not having read a ton of it, or fantasy in general. I think that may have been my general preference for contemporary novels mixed with my own perception about what stories were possibly left to tell about dragons in fiction. It's not like I actively hate them, it's just never been something that I sought out in books.
So imagine my surprise that I really sincerely enjoyed this book! I'm many years late to the party, which is why I'm grateful someone picked it for my online book club and I got to discuss it with real and true fans of this book and the genre in general. It wasn't a perfect read (what ever is?), but once it got its proverbial claws in me, it was tough to put it down. While I haven't read Naomi Novik's Temeraire dragon series, the sophisticated writing and pacing of this novel reminded me of her novel (which I have read), Uprooted.
The lore and world of this novel was so unique (to me at least) and felt very lived in — there's a lot of detail to pick up in the early stages of this book, but all of it served to make this world and characters feel very real. Sure, one could find parallels with real world conflicts and prejudices in the Southlands, but it didn't feel like I was being hammered over the head with metaphors about the human/dragon relations. So the messaging, while subtle, is really effective. This book is quite deeply steeped in the politics of its world, but it never felt like a slog. And Seraphina herself was a very fun heroine to follow. She's aware of both her strengths and limitations, and I appreciated her sarcasm and wit. It made her come alive in the pages, and made me want to root for her throughout the story. The musical aspect was really well done as well, and lent an extra bit of dimension to Seraphina and the way she sees the world, especially as she starts to come to terms with her true identity and what it means to be hiding it from the world.
Where I got a bit lost in this book was trying to keep track of everyone and their allegiances early on (oh, how I wish that glossary and cast of characters was in the FRONT of the book, not the back!) and so the thread of the plot got slightly muddled, but once the stakes of the story were clearer to me, I was very immersed. And while I know it isn't important to all readers, I did like the subtlety but persistence of the romantic subplot between Seraphina and Kiggs, which didn't feel just thrown in for the sake of it, but well-paced and satisfying by the end.
This is a book that may be even better the second time around — I imagine there are a lot of subtle things that I missed that would jump out upon rereading. Very glad that I gave this a chance, and given the great set up at the end, I'm curious to look into the sequel, Shadow Scale and some of the author's other works. And hey, soon I may be able to stop prefacing the fantasy I read by saying I'm not a fantasy reader — apparently, I actually enjoy them once I give them a fair shot!
So imagine my surprise that I really sincerely enjoyed this book! I'm many years late to the party, which is why I'm grateful someone picked it for my online book club and I got to discuss it with real and true fans of this book and the genre in general. It wasn't a perfect read (what ever is?), but once it got its proverbial claws in me, it was tough to put it down. While I haven't read Naomi Novik's Temeraire dragon series, the sophisticated writing and pacing of this novel reminded me of her novel (which I have read), Uprooted.
The lore and world of this novel was so unique (to me at least) and felt very lived in — there's a lot of detail to pick up in the early stages of this book, but all of it served to make this world and characters feel very real. Sure, one could find parallels with real world conflicts and prejudices in the Southlands, but it didn't feel like I was being hammered over the head with metaphors about the human/dragon relations. So the messaging, while subtle, is really effective. This book is quite deeply steeped in the politics of its world, but it never felt like a slog. And Seraphina herself was a very fun heroine to follow. She's aware of both her strengths and limitations, and I appreciated her sarcasm and wit. It made her come alive in the pages, and made me want to root for her throughout the story. The musical aspect was really well done as well, and lent an extra bit of dimension to Seraphina and the way she sees the world, especially as she starts to come to terms with her true identity and what it means to be hiding it from the world.
Where I got a bit lost in this book was trying to keep track of everyone and their allegiances early on (oh, how I wish that glossary and cast of characters was in the FRONT of the book, not the back!) and so the thread of the plot got slightly muddled, but once the stakes of the story were clearer to me, I was very immersed. And while I know it isn't important to all readers, I did like the subtlety but persistence of the romantic subplot between Seraphina and Kiggs, which didn't feel just thrown in for the sake of it, but well-paced and satisfying by the end.
This is a book that may be even better the second time around — I imagine there are a lot of subtle things that I missed that would jump out upon rereading. Very glad that I gave this a chance, and given the great set up at the end, I'm curious to look into the sequel, Shadow Scale and some of the author's other works. And hey, soon I may be able to stop prefacing the fantasy I read by saying I'm not a fantasy reader — apparently, I actually enjoy them once I give them a fair shot!
The best *escape* book I read in 2012. Yes, it’s about dragons, but the really good part is the story of a young girl who doesn’t belong easily in any parts of her society. I think this is classified as a Young Adult book, but it doesn’t feel juvenile. Great message about being true to oneself, and having empathy for others and ourselves. Plus, the main female character is smart, but also a bit of a gawky klutz.
Reseña completa en http://inthenevernever.blogspot.com.es/2015/02/resena-seraphina.html
Dragones y secretos; yo no necesitaba saber mucho más de Seraphina para tener ganas de sumergirme en este universo ideado por Rachel Hartman. Con personajes complejos y fascinantes, un mundo tan único como cautivador. Seraphina es una novela que disfrutarán los fans de la fantasía, pero también cualquiera que ame las buenas historias.
Dragones y secretos; yo no necesitaba saber mucho más de Seraphina para tener ganas de sumergirme en este universo ideado por Rachel Hartman. Con personajes complejos y fascinantes, un mundo tan único como cautivador. Seraphina es una novela que disfrutarán los fans de la fantasía, pero también cualquiera que ame las buenas historias.