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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
I wish the rest of this series was written. :)
Interesting book about a world where dragons can take the shape of humans. There is an unsteady peace between the two species and Seraphina finds herself between the two as tensions rise.
Interesting book about a world where dragons can take the shape of humans. There is an unsteady peace between the two species and Seraphina finds herself between the two as tensions rise.
This is a really solid book. I'm not 100% sold on the writing style, and that affected the way that I felt about the story, but the story is strong enough to make up for it. The protagonist and title character, Seraphina, is quite unique, and her understanding of herself was pretty appropriate and made me identify with her in ways I wasn't really prepared for. She's got a lot of issues, which are understandable. I'm not sure if I will read the remaining books in the series, but I liked this one, and since I'm feeling generous today, I'm giving this book 4 stars, rounded up from a 3.5.
Enjoyable YA fantasy mixing dragons and humans. I could see some Spock in the dragon uncle, which really helped me relate to the non-emotional dragon point of view. Neat concept and fun read!
RATING: 3.5 star-ish (not quite?)
Although this was a well, thightly plotted book, I felt no sense of "movement"... meaning it seemed to go nowhere or just to move very slowly. Something was awfully wrong with the pacing, I just can't pinpoint it.
Also, the worldbuilding could have been better. Too little info on the world.
Although this was a well, thightly plotted book, I felt no sense of "movement"... meaning it seemed to go nowhere or just to move very slowly. Something was awfully wrong with the pacing, I just can't pinpoint it.
Also, the worldbuilding could have been better. Too little info on the world.
An uneasy truce has been struck between human kind and the dragons. Dragons now live among humanity, in the shape and appearance of humans but distinctly segregated and discriminated against. Seraphina, a musical genius, finds herself working to thwart a plot to bring down the peace between the two species. There is so much more to this splendid fantasy, but if I were to tell anymore I'd be in danger of spoiling the delicious twists and turns of this novel. I don't normally like fantasy that takes place outside of my well-known earthly realm. Fantasy in a completely new world takes so much work to enjoy--new geography, races and languages. It can just be overwhelming! However, I didn't find that to be a hang up this time around. In other words, the story was compelling enough to overcome my usual distaste of learning the ins and outs of a new realm.
Wow! I loved this book so much. I wish I could convince everyone to read it. I read it in 4 days. DEVOURED IT.
I love books that have dragons and this was such a different take on them! Learning about Seraphina and the dragons in her life as well as her “grotesques” was so fun.
If you like dragons, strong female leads, music, kingdoms, love, sacrifice, and secrets then I’d say this is for you.
I love books that have dragons and this was such a different take on them! Learning about Seraphina and the dragons in her life as well as her “grotesques” was so fun.
If you like dragons, strong female leads, music, kingdoms, love, sacrifice, and secrets then I’d say this is for you.
I really wanted to like this book, but it was just so hard for me to trudge through.
Through other reviews, you'll already know how fascinating the world building is, and that is definitely Hartman's strong point in this novel. It was fresh, original, and complicated as all good new worlds are. The writing is sophisticated and the situations at hand are pretty mature in some ways. It has all the makings of a really attractive novel, but I just didn't like it.
It moved really slow for me and I had to find reasons to feel enthusiastic about continuing. The first third of the book was really interesting for me because it was still building up the world and leading up to the main plot, but then it felt like everything just got distracting. Although there were a lot of mysteries placed smartly throughout the plot, I just didn't really care that much and ended up skimming. There were scenes that didn't really add much for me and just made it feel unnecessarily long.
I think the only character I really cared for were Orma and Seraphina's mother.
Obviously with the raging reviews this book's got, it's definitely a personal thing and I feel bad and a little dumb for not liking it, but it happens.
Through other reviews, you'll already know how fascinating the world building is, and that is definitely Hartman's strong point in this novel. It was fresh, original, and complicated as all good new worlds are. The writing is sophisticated and the situations at hand are pretty mature in some ways. It has all the makings of a really attractive novel, but I just didn't like it.
It moved really slow for me and I had to find reasons to feel enthusiastic about continuing. The first third of the book was really interesting for me because it was still building up the world and leading up to the main plot, but then it felt like everything just got distracting. Although there were a lot of mysteries placed smartly throughout the plot, I just didn't really care that much and ended up skimming. There were scenes that didn't really add much for me and just made it feel unnecessarily long.
I think the only character I really cared for were Orma and Seraphina's mother.
Obviously with the raging reviews this book's got, it's definitely a personal thing and I feel bad and a little dumb for not liking it, but it happens.
Fun audiobook. Good characters and a rich and complex world. Narration was a little distracting at times, but overall well produced.
This one took me a little while to get into, as I had to adjust to the terminology and culture of this world. However, once I did, the world was richly imagined and the story is interesting. I can't wait for the next book!
This book was a bit hard for me to connect with. It’s well-written and intriguing, but it felt a little like a chore to get through. I also wasn’t feeling the romance aspect between Kiggs and Seraphina, it felt forced and the fact that he’s engaged to his cousin politically (even though it’s pretty clear they feel like friends) rubbed me wrong. It just felt like an unnecessary addition to the story to give it a ‘royal treatment’. I think the positive reviews are all accurate, the story just wasn’t quite for me.