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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Seraphina is on a quest to find all the other half-dragons, a quest that will take her into other countries, through danger mostly stirred up by an old enemy, and will ultimately end the very memory garden that has kept her from going basically insane all these years.
Her memory garden's control of her mind-fire isn't helpful when the different countries and dragon factions all seem to be intent on converging on her home country of Goredd for a war no one really wants.
And there's this new Saint that has appeared, whose presence even makes Seraphina's sweetie, Prince Lucian Kiggs, seem to lose his senses. With Orma missing, and Abdo battling for his very wits, Seraphina's mostly on her own.
This book is very much as "let's have Seraphina tour around the various countries and enjoy the details of the author's vivid imagination." Which is enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but I did find myself kind of sighing over the journeying and not really paying as great attention until about two thirds of the way through the book when Startling Revelations appear. And we get to go to Tanamoot, the dragon's homeland, and then we get to rescue Goredd from war. That part was cool. It just took us a long, long time to get there. And there wasn't enough of beta-male hero Lucian Kiggs for my taste, although there is a quite satisfactory (yet somehow slightly ambiguous) ending to the love triangle issue set up in the first book. Kudos to Hartman for that. And also kudos to Hartman for having a transgender half-dragon.
Still, if you're in the mood for fantasy that's got a plucky heroine, showcases lots of imaginative pseudo-european medieval details, and actually has a well-integrated Startling Revelation that kind of turns things upside down-- definitely check out Shadow Scale. Or if you just enjoyed Seraphina, you'll like this one, too. But don't read it without reading Seraphina first, you may not last through all the journeying to get the rich rewards of the last third of the book.
Her memory garden's control of her mind-fire isn't helpful when the different countries and dragon factions all seem to be intent on converging on her home country of Goredd for a war no one really wants.
And there's this new Saint that has appeared, whose presence even makes Seraphina's sweetie, Prince Lucian Kiggs, seem to lose his senses. With Orma missing, and Abdo battling for his very wits, Seraphina's mostly on her own.
This book is very much as "let's have Seraphina tour around the various countries and enjoy the details of the author's vivid imagination." Which is enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but I did find myself kind of sighing over the journeying and not really paying as great attention until about two thirds of the way through the book when Startling Revelations appear. And we get to go to Tanamoot, the dragon's homeland, and then we get to rescue Goredd from war. That part was cool. It just took us a long, long time to get there. And there wasn't enough of beta-male hero Lucian Kiggs for my taste, although there is a quite satisfactory (yet somehow slightly ambiguous) ending to the love triangle issue set up in the first book. Kudos to Hartman for that. And also kudos to Hartman for having a transgender half-dragon.
Still, if you're in the mood for fantasy that's got a plucky heroine, showcases lots of imaginative pseudo-european medieval details, and actually has a well-integrated Startling Revelation that kind of turns things upside down-- definitely check out Shadow Scale. Or if you just enjoyed Seraphina, you'll like this one, too. But don't read it without reading Seraphina first, you may not last through all the journeying to get the rich rewards of the last third of the book.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5*
not NEARLY enough orma if you ask me. also i had about very long conversation about what i thought about this book and i am officially too lazy to type it all up again... maybe i'll make a transcript. most of it was, it must be said, feeling emotional about orma,
not NEARLY enough orma if you ask me. also i had about very long conversation about what i thought about this book and i am officially too lazy to type it all up again... maybe i'll make a transcript. most of it was, it must be said, feeling emotional about orma,
I started this series/world rather back-to-front and inside-out, starting with [b:Tess of the Road|35046472|Tess of the Road (Tess of the Road, #1)|Rachel Hartman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503599285l/35046472._SY75_.jpg|53793345] before doubling back to start with [b:Seraphina|19549841|Seraphina (Seraphina, #1)|Rachel Hartman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387577872l/19549841._SY75_.jpg|17375239] and continuing to this book.
From TotR I wanted a few things from these earlier books: a better look and insight into ityasaari - their powers and personalities, how they approached being a bridge between two species, how the old saints and the new were connected; and how the happy royal threesome worked things out between them so they could be happy.
Finishing this book however, while the series has beautifully answered all that I wanted to know about the ityasaari - and introduced me to several I would dearly love to know more about their futures (Abdo and how his reconciliation goes with his mother and the temple, Ingar and Camba and their very sweet relationship) - it was less successful on delivering a satisfying resolution on the royal threesome. Though I will say Griselda's pining for Seraphina was obvious even in the first book.
Don't get me wrong, it's still nice to have a love triangle solved via non-monogamy, but it would've been nice to read the characters work it out for themselves. All I wanted was Seraphina to get what Comonot was talking about when he was talking about if Eskar would consider him as a partner (which implies dragons have a very open view on relationships) and apply that bit of dragon logic to her own situation.
Some other things I wish were explored more fully (or had answers in TotR): whether Orma's mind pearl is eventually found, if dragon's aren't restricted to their biological sex when manifesting a saarantrai (their lesser cousins quigutl change gender during various life stages and Imlann successfully fooled an entire court for over a decade). Also I'd just plain like to know more about human/dragon relationships - whether it's before, such as with the loving though secretive relationship between Claude and Linn, or after the revelation of the Saints and dismantling of the board of censors. Is there a little bit of a baby boom of sibling ityasaari afterwards with some dragons being a bit more curious about humans in that manner? (I can certainly see Comonot inadvertently finding himself being a father to one.) What about the prejudices that dragon/human couples face? Their potential children may well be revered as saints, but themselves? I doubt they'd be as highly revered.
So ultimately: satisfying plotwise, but not so much relationship wise nor has it fully explored the world it exists within.
From TotR I wanted a few things from these earlier books: a better look and insight into ityasaari - their powers and personalities, how they approached being a bridge between two species, how the old saints and the new were connected; and how the happy royal threesome worked things out between them so they could be happy.
Finishing this book however, while the series has beautifully answered all that I wanted to know about the ityasaari - and introduced me to several I would dearly love to know more about their futures (Abdo and how his reconciliation goes with his mother and the temple, Ingar and Camba and their very sweet relationship) - it was less successful on delivering a satisfying resolution on the royal threesome. Though I will say Griselda's pining for Seraphina was obvious even in the first book.
Don't get me wrong, it's still nice to have a love triangle solved via non-monogamy, but it would've been nice to read the characters work it out for themselves. All I wanted was Seraphina to get what Comonot was talking about when he was talking about if Eskar would consider him as a partner (which implies dragons have a very open view on relationships) and apply that bit of dragon logic to her own situation.
Some other things I wish were explored more fully (or had answers in TotR): whether Orma's mind pearl is eventually found, if dragon's aren't restricted to their biological sex when manifesting a saarantrai (their lesser cousins quigutl change gender during various life stages and Imlann successfully fooled an entire court for over a decade). Also I'd just plain like to know more about human/dragon relationships - whether it's before, such as with the loving though secretive relationship between Claude and Linn, or after the revelation of the Saints and dismantling of the board of censors. Is there a little bit of a baby boom of sibling ityasaari afterwards with some dragons being a bit more curious about humans in that manner? (I can certainly see Comonot inadvertently finding himself being a father to one.) What about the prejudices that dragon/human couples face? Their potential children may well be revered as saints, but themselves? I doubt they'd be as highly revered.
So ultimately: satisfying plotwise, but not so much relationship wise nor has it fully explored the world it exists within.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's all well and good... But what the hell happened to Janoula?
I think I liked book 1 better, book 2 was much longer and things were resolved a bit too abruptly, imo. Still tho, the concept of the world especially the dragons is so unique and whimsical !
I think my actual rating would be somewhere around 3.5… I enjoyed most of it, but the resolution was really disappointing, especially where Kiggs, Glisselda, Orma, and even Seraphina were concerned. They were such amazing characters in the first book, but I felt like they all fell flat by the end of this one. There were a lot of great things in Shadow Scale (like Abdo!) but it didn't meet the expectations the first book set for me.
Seriously...I stayed up way past my bedtime for about three or four nights to finish this.
What I liked about this book:
-awesome world building...languages, customs, different mindsets
-awesome, fleshed-out villain (boy, did I ever hate her! But seriously, it was impossible to completely hate her because there's so much back-story that makes you understand why she is the way she is...sigh...don't you just hate it when you can understand the sick motivations of villains?)
-diversity in race, sexuality and gender, religion
-even though there were many new characters, they seemed to own their differences and idiosyncrasies well; I felt a little something for each of them
-Abdo...duh! As if there could ever be a question about it!
-some awful twists that I could not predict, but somehow made things a little more real, and heartbreaking, and just...ahhhh!!!!
What I didn't like:
-even though there were all these clues that allowed the ending to happen the way it did, I still feel that the final battle happened waaaaaaay too quickly for my liking, and then things wrapped up fairly quickly from there...this isn't really a negative...I'm just complaining because I really just want to spend more time in Seraphina's world a little bit longer. More books PLEASE!!
-how big are these dragons? I feel like there are parts of the book when significant characters could have seriously been crushed underfoot, but somehow aren't, despite being in an enclosed place??!! Probably I'm imagining the place smaller than how the author envisioned it...I might have to do some re-reading...
-I think there were some grammar/spelling mistakes at the beginning of the book...
Overall, despite some nitpicking on my part, I thoroughly enjoyed this as much as I did the first book!
What I liked about this book:
-awesome world building...languages, customs, different mindsets
-awesome, fleshed-out villain (boy, did I ever hate her! But seriously, it was impossible to completely hate her because there's so much back-story that makes you understand why she is the way she is...sigh...don't you just hate it when you can understand the sick motivations of villains?)
-diversity in race, sexuality and gender, religion
-even though there were many new characters, they seemed to own their differences and idiosyncrasies well; I felt a little something for each of them
-Abdo...duh! As if there could ever be a question about it!
-some awful twists that I could not predict, but somehow made things a little more real, and heartbreaking, and just...ahhhh!!!!
What I didn't like:
-even though there were all these clues that allowed the ending to happen the way it did, I still feel that the final battle happened waaaaaaay too quickly for my liking, and then things wrapped up fairly quickly from there...this isn't really a negative...I'm just complaining because I really just want to spend more time in Seraphina's world a little bit longer. More books PLEASE!!
-how big are these dragons? I feel like there are parts of the book when significant characters could have seriously been crushed underfoot, but somehow aren't, despite being in an enclosed place??!! Probably I'm imagining the place smaller than how the author envisioned it...I might have to do some re-reading...
-I think there were some grammar/spelling mistakes at the beginning of the book...
Overall, despite some nitpicking on my part, I thoroughly enjoyed this as much as I did the first book!
2.5 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS
I kept thinking what I should rate this book and while I felt like giving it 2 stars I wish I could give it 2.5 stars. The main-very large section of this book is about a journey our heroine takes to find the others like her. While it wasn't terrible it dragged on and engulfed bits that could have had more potential.
The endless search felt over-world building by sacrificing the possibility of a better woven story. The other thing I didn't enjoy too much was the construction of the villian. Her origin story is intricate but the execution of her character feels forced, onesided and bland.
I was looking forward to this book and while it wasn't terrible it failed to give me the dragon war story and gritty story telling I wanted. The other characters where elaborate and nice to read about. The ending felt forced and the resolution of the love triangle was terrible. There I said it. awkward and just.. no. The most high paced section was concluded with the introduction of a deus exmachina. This annoyed me greatly. It felt like a cop out by the author.
Worth the read if you really like Seraphina the first book a lot. Otherwise read something else.
I kept thinking what I should rate this book and while I felt like giving it 2 stars I wish I could give it 2.5 stars. The main-very large section of this book is about a journey our heroine takes to find the others like her. While it wasn't terrible it dragged on and engulfed bits that could have had more potential.
The endless search felt over-world building by sacrificing the possibility of a better woven story. The other thing I didn't enjoy too much was the construction of the villian. Her origin story is intricate but the execution of her character feels forced, onesided and bland.
I was looking forward to this book and while it wasn't terrible it failed to give me the dragon war story and gritty story telling I wanted. The other characters where elaborate and nice to read about. The ending felt forced and the resolution of the love triangle was terrible. There I said it. awkward and just.. no. The most high paced section was concluded with the introduction of a deus exmachina. This annoyed me greatly. It felt like a cop out by the author.
Worth the read if you really like Seraphina the first book a lot. Otherwise read something else.