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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the book, but I should have reread book one. It took me a few chapters to remember what was going on, although Hartman did have reminders in the story.
Super spannend und mysteriös. Kann ich jedem Drachen Liebhaber empfehlen.
Words fail me... Honestly one of the best books I've read in a while. The world building was spectacular and I can't wait to read (as I've heard) other books set in this universe!
(I dragged out the last 10% of this book over 24 hours in a desperate attempt to keep the series open!)
(I dragged out the last 10% of this book over 24 hours in a desperate attempt to keep the series open!)
Five stars, only because I can't give a book five hundred stars.
I was really hoping I could finish this book and write a well-reasoned, thoughtful review (instead of the frothing mess I wrote about Seraphina). However, this book has blown my mind into tiny pieces and touched me in places I barely knew I had, so it's pretty hard to form coherent thoughts right now let alone string them together into something resembling eloquence. Maybe I'll try again later.
All I can say for now is that I wish this book had been around when I was fifteen. It is already so, so important to me after <24 hours (and 27 years of being alive); I think it might have changed everything for me as a younger person.
In this book Seraphina embarks on a quest to assemble all the world's half-dragons (both to stop a world war and to bring what she has come to think of as her extended family together). But while this quest, and the war, and dragons, form the story's backdrop, it's not really about that at all.
It's about how people's stories are important, why it's ok to be wrong and to learn from it, the difference between what you want and what other people need, and celebrating differences. It's about justice for those who need it, not those who 'deserve' it. It's also about friendship and love and loss and acceptance and how we never, not for a moment, stop growing.
It's a how-to manual for how to be a citizen of the world and Rachel Hartman is the best teacher we could ask for.
I was really hoping I could finish this book and write a well-reasoned, thoughtful review (instead of the frothing mess I wrote about Seraphina). However, this book has blown my mind into tiny pieces and touched me in places I barely knew I had, so it's pretty hard to form coherent thoughts right now let alone string them together into something resembling eloquence. Maybe I'll try again later.
All I can say for now is that I wish this book had been around when I was fifteen. It is already so, so important to me after <24 hours (and 27 years of being alive); I think it might have changed everything for me as a younger person.
In this book Seraphina embarks on a quest to assemble all the world's half-dragons (both to stop a world war and to bring what she has come to think of as her extended family together). But while this quest, and the war, and dragons, form the story's backdrop, it's not really about that at all.
It's about how people's stories are important, why it's ok to be wrong and to learn from it, the difference between what you want and what other people need, and celebrating differences. It's about justice for those who need it, not those who 'deserve' it. It's also about friendship and love and loss and acceptance and how we never, not for a moment, stop growing.
It's a how-to manual for how to be a citizen of the world and Rachel Hartman is the best teacher we could ask for.
I am very mad at this book. Seraphina was SOOOOOOO good, and I devoured this sequel. It was amazing, even better than the first book, for the first, like, 9/10 of it. But the ending was so dissatisfying. I don't like how everything was pulled together. What Seraphina and Abdo did at the end just didn't fit with the rest of the story and their characters, and the thing with Pandowdy was just a quick way out of it. Too easy and it just didn't fit right with me for how the whole story that I knew and loved had been going. I absolutely loved Abdo throughout the book, but how he was at the end was not how I expected or wanted him to turn out and I don't like it. Also I loved the flashbacks and letters that depicted Orma, but when we actually saw him at the end of the book... it's just cruel to the readers who love him (me) and I do not like how it ended. I don't really care for the romance part of the story, but I have to say I didn't see Glisselda coming, and I feel like the whole situation could have been handled differently than it did. Again, I LOVED the Seraphina, and I LOOOOOVED Shadow Scale even more; the story and the characters, but I really hate how it ended. I didn't like it, I feel like it didn't fit the story, and I'm very disappointed that it was the conclusion to such an amazing duology.
I love the way gender is handled in the Porphyrian culture and language, and I love the way the love triangle works out.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Seraphina” was one of my favourite fantasy reads so far this year, and this is a delightful follow-up! I love Hartman’s worldbuilding, and it was fascinating delving deeper into the mysterious inner workings of a half-dragon’s mind. Though the plot was slow to start and a bit formulaic at first, the characters we encountered during this quest were so wonderful and full of life, and I fell in love with each of their stories. Like the previous book, there is a brilliant focus on Seraphina’s personal growth and the fight against inner and outer demons, which makes her feel so complex and real. I wish I could spend more time in Goredd (or Ninys, or especially Porphyry), arguing logic with dragons and philosophizing with our dear Kiggs!
I... don't know what to think.
I enjoyed Seraphina so much. It was complex and beautifully written. But Shadow Scale just seemed so... long. And despite its longness, there are so many loose ends that aren't tied up.
I still love Rachel Hartman's writing voice and I enjoyed exploring the world of Seraphina in more depth, but this book was just... strange.
I enjoyed Seraphina so much. It was complex and beautifully written. But Shadow Scale just seemed so... long. And despite its longness, there are so many loose ends that aren't tied up.
I still love Rachel Hartman's writing voice and I enjoyed exploring the world of Seraphina in more depth, but this book was just... strange.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced