A review by laurafrxc
Serafina and the Twisted Staff by Robert Beatty

4.0

Another Serafina book! This series follows the adventures and encounters of a girl called Serafina on the Biltmore Estate and the surrounding mountains. Magic, mystery, and craziness follow her and her friends wherever she goes. This is a pretty good middle grade book. What makes this especially appealing to me is the fact that I was able to visit the Biltmore Estate and tour the house quite recently, so all of the history, architecture, and characters are very easy for me to imagine. This book has very good pacing, there is a lot of action, mixed in with the mystery and other parts. The mystery did have me guessing up until nearly the very end, when I was able to figure a couple things out myself. One thing I did not like about this book was that nearly every chapter ended with a cliffhanger. This just felt like a desperate way for the author to keep me reading, which I disliked. The cliffhangers weren't necessary; I would have continued reading anyway. But, overall, besides a couple things it lacked or I disliked, this book was wonderful. I really love Serafina as a character, as well as Braeden, Essie, Waysa, and the others. The plot was strong and the mystery was intense. Overall- a very good book.