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186 reviews for:
Serafina Y El Bastón Maligno / Serafina and the Twisted Staff (Serafina, Book 2)
Robert Beatty
4.03 AVERAGE
186 reviews for:
Serafina Y El Bastón Maligno / Serafina and the Twisted Staff (Serafina, Book 2)
Robert Beatty
4.03 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed [b:Serafina and the Black Cloak|23507745|Serafina and the Black Cloak (Serafina, #1)|Robert Beatty|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1420158894s/23507745.jpg|43111795], so I was excited to read this sequel! I love the character of Serafina because she's a tough girl who has grown up in hiding and is truly working to find her place in the world now that she no longer has to hide. One of my favorite things about this second book is watching how she continues to grow and develop throughout the story. It is a fun fantasy adventure, and I like learning more about the magical abilities of the catamounts as the series continues. At the same time, each book in the series can stand as complete story on its own.
*I received an electronic copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.
*I received an electronic copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.
Finished January 20th 2022
“She realized now that her life wasn’t just about who she was, but about who she would become.”
I read the first book of this series years ago (2016), and even though I enjoyed it somehow I never actually picked up the sequel. I was looking for some middle grade titles to read this year when I stumbled across Serafina again, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to finally continue and finish this series. Serafina And The Twisted Staff takes place a few weeks after the first book ended, and it was easy enough to pick up the thread even though I didn't remember much about the first book. One of the things that stands out in this story is the historical setting and the creepy, almost gothic vibe the author is able to create without it being too scary for the target audience. I really like his writing style in general, and I was able to fly through this one. I loved the focus on animals in general, and the shapeshifters angle adds a little something extra to the story on top of the magic and fantasy elements. I do have to say that I guessed everything about Rowena very early on in the story, which kind of put a damper on things... But I did love Serafina's development and everything wrapped up nicely in the end. I definitely won't be waiting long before I read the next one!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is even better than the first book of the series Serafina and the Black Cloak. New visitors to the Biltmore bring new mysteries and this time the story is a little creepier. It also brings more light on Serafina's past.
This book was very enjoyable. Compared to the first book in the series it is soooo much better. The characters have much more depth, and it's actually good to read. The writing style was much improved. I loved the character development in this book. The mystery was also much more trilling and I actually cared what happened.
My book club read the first book in this series for young adult month. I enjoyed the first one, so when I saw there was a sequel I decided to pick it up. This series is geared towards middle schoolers, so it's a very simple storyline to follow. I enjoyed it, but it was very very similar to the first one. I hope the author changes that for subsequent novels otherwise this series will get old fast.
This is most definitely a middle grade/young adult crossover purely from the violence! Serafina gets herself into numerous life and death brawls across the entirety of the book and there isn’t gore per-say, but lots of puncture wounds (the rattlesnake battle was by far the worse though, akkk).
I’m not thrilled with the direction Beatty took the series in this second installment, but it was still an entertaining enough book (although the side plots were much too unfocused for my tastes). He’s really good with writing the environment (apparently he lives nearby the REAL Biltmore Estate), but the lead plot was fine as well.
I’m not thrilled with the direction Beatty took the series in this second installment, but it was still an entertaining enough book (although the side plots were much too unfocused for my tastes). He’s really good with writing the environment (apparently he lives nearby the REAL Biltmore Estate), but the lead plot was fine as well.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely loved the first book to this series so naturally I had to read this and it did not let me down. I loved the ending of this book. It was amazing and what I wanted to happen to Serafina. I also really loved the suspense in this book. Rowena as a character was so annoying but I love when books give me intense feelings just like this one did. This book is quite violent but for me personally it didn’t bother me. I would say this book is for ages 10 and up because of the violence. I also thought the word building was amazing. We got to see Serafina come out of hiding and engage more with the Vanderbilts. I also thought the world building was great and not too much to handle.