Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Wonderful! Beautifully written, and a completely new take on dragons (at least for me). Looking forward to the next!
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for dragon books, but this was the first one I had read in a long time, and I loved it. Seraphina is exactly the exotic, fantastic world one looks for in a fantasy, while also being instantly relatable and immersive. I had a wonderful time reading it and can't wait to read the sequel, Shadow Scale.
I really enjoyed this book. I liked the way the author mixed rational with emotional. I felt all the plot twists and turns worked well within the overall goal and we’re not too predictable nor too forced.
It was a page turning book, and I haven’t found one if those in awhile. If you’re looking for a historically based fantasy novel, this could be it!
It was a page turning book, and I haven’t found one if those in awhile. If you’re looking for a historically based fantasy novel, this could be it!
Aburrido. Una trama que se supone que es de intriga que no interesa lo más mínimo. Personajes correctos sin más, tirando a insustanciales, por los que no desarrollas simpatía. El mundo no es nada interesante, igual que los dragones. Hay erratas en la edicion.
Really enjoyed this one, particularly the world-building. I didn't realize that it was the beginning of a series until it became apparent that the conflict could not be satisfactorily resolved in the few chapters that remained, which means that I will be anxiously awaiting the sequel.
The narration was great, with many voices and a variety of accents. I'm impressed hat the reader could sing, too!
The narration was great, with many voices and a variety of accents. I'm impressed hat the reader could sing, too!
I can't resist giving Seraphina all five stars. I started this book with no expectations other than, "I like dragons, I'll give it a shot!" I've flown through it and I'm eager to start the second book.
Unfortunately, dragons are a creature that have been overworked and overdone. They all read the same or have the same elements blah blah blah blah. Seraphina started off differently and stuck with it. Rachel Hartman's dragons are wildly wondrous and enticing.
Unfortunately, dragons are a creature that have been overworked and overdone. They all read the same or have the same elements blah blah blah blah. Seraphina started off differently and stuck with it. Rachel Hartman's dragons are wildly wondrous and enticing.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Hello dears, Seraphina came out today!
This Review and More @ My Blog: The Night Bookmobile
“I remember being born, in fact, I remember a time before that. There was no light, but there was music: joints creaking, blood rushing, the heart’s staccato lullaby, a rich symphony of indigestion. Sound enfolded me, and I was safe. Then my world split open, and I was thrust into a cold and silent brightness. I tried to fill the emptiness with my screams, but the space was too vast. I raged, but there was no going back.” [ARC]
Rachel Hartman has come into the fantasy genre with a beautiful debut, a book filled with lovely paragraphs such as the one above, and intricate but enjoyable world building. She takes a different approach to dragons; the dragons shift into human form but mostly remain emotionally detached and incredibly intellectual. This idea pays off and creates a very interesting dynamic between humans and dragons that I really enjoyed reading about.
One of the most heartwarming relationships between dragon and someone with human emotions in the novel is between Seraphina and Orma. I really loved watching how they navigated their bond to each other, as Orma struggled with acting more like a human companion, and Seraphina attempted to learn how to accept loving someone who didn’t know how to love her back in ways she could understand. A struggle for Seraphina was to learn to accept that she loved and was bonded to someone who could not legally show affection for her without the threat of having his memories erased.
“What if our mothers were not the fools we had taken them for? What was love really worth? A hundred thousand wars?” [ARC]
Seraphina’s own personal journey was an emotional one. I think most of us can relate to having a part of ourselves that we are afraid for people to see. She reminded me of one of my favorite literary characters, Fire, and her occasional hatred for the monster that she was. There is also a moment that touches on self-harm that I thought was nice to include, especially since this is being marketed as a YA novel, and I know it is a subject that a lot of teens deal with.
That being said, I’m not really sure why this is being marketed as YA. The only part of the novel that strikes me as YA at all is the romance, and that’s not a very large part of the book. I’m not sure how much the politics will appeal to most younger readers, or how many of them will take the time to deal with a slew of made up words, and the more advanced language used throughout the novel. I would hate to see adult readers who don’t typically read YA but are fantasy fans miss out on the story because of how it is marketed or the smaller YA elements.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my absolute favorite part of this novel: Seraphina’s garden of grotesques inside of her mind and the role they end up playing in the story. They gave the book something extra and completely original that I loved. I can’t wait to meet more of the characters from the garden. Another favorite of mine in this story was Hartman’s descriptions of Seraphina’s music. You can tell that Hartman is a lover and player of music herself because the descriptions are incredibly intimate and lovely.
Definitely a book worth checking out if you’re a lover of fantasy.
An Egalley was provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This Review and More @ My Blog: The Night Bookmobile
“I remember being born, in fact, I remember a time before that. There was no light, but there was music: joints creaking, blood rushing, the heart’s staccato lullaby, a rich symphony of indigestion. Sound enfolded me, and I was safe. Then my world split open, and I was thrust into a cold and silent brightness. I tried to fill the emptiness with my screams, but the space was too vast. I raged, but there was no going back.” [ARC]
Rachel Hartman has come into the fantasy genre with a beautiful debut, a book filled with lovely paragraphs such as the one above, and intricate but enjoyable world building. She takes a different approach to dragons; the dragons shift into human form but mostly remain emotionally detached and incredibly intellectual. This idea pays off and creates a very interesting dynamic between humans and dragons that I really enjoyed reading about.
One of the most heartwarming relationships between dragon and someone with human emotions in the novel is between Seraphina and Orma. I really loved watching how they navigated their bond to each other, as Orma struggled with acting more like a human companion, and Seraphina attempted to learn how to accept loving someone who didn’t know how to love her back in ways she could understand. A struggle for Seraphina was to learn to accept that she loved and was bonded to someone who could not legally show affection for her without the threat of having his memories erased.
“What if our mothers were not the fools we had taken them for? What was love really worth? A hundred thousand wars?” [ARC]
Seraphina’s own personal journey was an emotional one. I think most of us can relate to having a part of ourselves that we are afraid for people to see. She reminded me of one of my favorite literary characters, Fire, and her occasional hatred for the monster that she was. There is also a moment that touches on self-harm that I thought was nice to include, especially since this is being marketed as a YA novel, and I know it is a subject that a lot of teens deal with.
That being said, I’m not really sure why this is being marketed as YA. The only part of the novel that strikes me as YA at all is the romance, and that’s not a very large part of the book. I’m not sure how much the politics will appeal to most younger readers, or how many of them will take the time to deal with a slew of made up words, and the more advanced language used throughout the novel. I would hate to see adult readers who don’t typically read YA but are fantasy fans miss out on the story because of how it is marketed or the smaller YA elements.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my absolute favorite part of this novel: Seraphina’s garden of grotesques inside of her mind and the role they end up playing in the story. They gave the book something extra and completely original that I loved. I can’t wait to meet more of the characters from the garden. Another favorite of mine in this story was Hartman’s descriptions of Seraphina’s music. You can tell that Hartman is a lover and player of music herself because the descriptions are incredibly intimate and lovely.
Definitely a book worth checking out if you’re a lover of fantasy.
An Egalley was provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Sometimes the truth has difficulty breaching the city walls of our beliefs. A lie, dressed in the correct livery, passes through more easily.
There have been four decades of uneasy peace between the dragons and humans in Goredd, but as the time for renewal of the peace treaty approaches, tensions grow and it becomes increasingly clear that not everyone wants that peace to continue. So begins a tale of murder, mystery, political intrigue and family secrets.
Dragons can take human form, which makes it easier for them to interact with people, although both species still have strong legal and moral codes that prohibit that interaction from going too far. Seraphina is a half-dragon, something most people think is impossible, if they can even imagine the requisite relationship existing between dragon and human in the first place. Her dragon mother is dead, her name unspoken by her dragon kin for the crime of having fallen in love with a human, but they believe she died childless. No one in Goredd knew Seraphina's mother was a dragon and her father has kept that secret well. Seraphina has spent her life trying to hide who she is, ashamed of her mixed heritage, and afraid of what will happen if anyone ever finds out.
It is hard not to see the dragons as a metaphor for the other that elicits fear and prejudice in our own society. Seraphina represents the pinnacle of that fear for both cultures. For the dragons, she is seen as the result of emotional chaos, and therefore antithetical to dragon nature. For the humans, she is seen as a soulless hybrid that is a crime against nature and their church. Seraphina's growth in the story is painful, but ultimately profound, as she slowly comes to terms with her own self-loathing, and to understand and see both her mother and her father in herself.
The world building in this book is incredibly intricate, but it never feels overwhelming, probably because the quality of writing is equally impressive. The political intrigue story provides an excellent vehicle for the centerpiece, which really is Seraphina's journey of self-discovery. The feel of this book reminded me a lot of [b:The Goblin Emperor|17910048|The Goblin Emperor|Katherine Addison|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1373039517s/17910048.jpg|24241248], and while the story itself is quite different, there are definite similarities in the themes explored in both. Even though Seraphina is classed as YA, it is one of those books that has clear crossover appeal.
I would definitely recommend Seraphina; it is one of my favourite reads of 2016.
We were all monsters and bastards, and we were all beautiful.
There have been four decades of uneasy peace between the dragons and humans in Goredd, but as the time for renewal of the peace treaty approaches, tensions grow and it becomes increasingly clear that not everyone wants that peace to continue. So begins a tale of murder, mystery, political intrigue and family secrets.
Dragons can take human form, which makes it easier for them to interact with people, although both species still have strong legal and moral codes that prohibit that interaction from going too far. Seraphina is a half-dragon, something most people think is impossible, if they can even imagine the requisite relationship existing between dragon and human in the first place. Her dragon mother is dead, her name unspoken by her dragon kin for the crime of having fallen in love with a human, but they believe she died childless. No one in Goredd knew Seraphina's mother was a dragon and her father has kept that secret well. Seraphina has spent her life trying to hide who she is, ashamed of her mixed heritage, and afraid of what will happen if anyone ever finds out.
It is hard not to see the dragons as a metaphor for the other that elicits fear and prejudice in our own society. Seraphina represents the pinnacle of that fear for both cultures. For the dragons, she is seen as the result of emotional chaos, and therefore antithetical to dragon nature. For the humans, she is seen as a soulless hybrid that is a crime against nature and their church. Seraphina's growth in the story is painful, but ultimately profound, as she slowly comes to terms with her own self-loathing, and to understand and see both her mother and her father in herself.
The world building in this book is incredibly intricate, but it never feels overwhelming, probably because the quality of writing is equally impressive. The political intrigue story provides an excellent vehicle for the centerpiece, which really is Seraphina's journey of self-discovery. The feel of this book reminded me a lot of [b:The Goblin Emperor|17910048|The Goblin Emperor|Katherine Addison|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1373039517s/17910048.jpg|24241248], and while the story itself is quite different, there are definite similarities in the themes explored in both. Even though Seraphina is classed as YA, it is one of those books that has clear crossover appeal.
I would definitely recommend Seraphina; it is one of my favourite reads of 2016.
We were all monsters and bastards, and we were all beautiful.