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A review by middenprincess
Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
5.0
WOW. i have so much to say but also have no idea how to articulate it. it was that good. i think tess of the road is a more character-driven story than seraphina was, especially compared to shadow scale. the seraphina books were very much seraphina at the whims of the plot, but tess of the road was a dynamic character study through and through. it was fun and it was silly at times but it was also heartbreakingly serious too. you, as the reader, walk in tess’s shoes, you feel her pains and her joys, and unearth her traumas as she does.
as someone who grew up in purity culture, tess dombegh is such a painfully relatable character. she gets back her sense of adventure and the wonder she had for life when she was younger, before the contempt was beat into her. she’s dynamic and fun and spunky without being too much of a cliche. her emotions feels very human. her love for the quigutls touched me above all else. the quigutls, who were scorned by dragons and humans alike in the seraphina books, are rational and emotional beings with their own culture and language. pathka was wonderful. each character was incredibly complex, even the minor characters. the romance was subtle and well-done. she’s such a different character from her sister that it almost shocks you when you start reading.
notable moments:
the nuns of st. loola are my absolute FAVORITE, including their silly little song. (sometimes i need to be reminded that i am my body and that my body inhabits this earth and that is not a waste). absolutely a religious order i’d actually join.
““Remember, mortal,
As you strive,
That you, ambitious goo,
Must also die.”
i actually quite like st. prudia as well ngl. i grew up catholic so all of this is a mix of fun, nostalgic, and traumatic for me. a great combo for reading!!!! i also love the philosophy involved, it’s very good and honestly comforting.
“ ‘O ignoramus,’ it said, ‘your life is not a tragedy. It’s history, and it’s yours.’ ”
whatever the fuck is going between seraphina/glisselda/kiggs is so great and i love it. the way it seems more people think seraphina is glisselda’s lover and lucian is just There. that’s so real, i honestly always believed they had more chemistry! it’s canon to me. they are in lesbians. lucian’s a boytoy prince consort and i love him for that.
“but I saw Seraphina pregnant.”
“And you’re certain the Queen couldn’t have got her that way,” said Josquin, with a smile that suggested he knew rather a lot, in fact.
also, the juxtaposition of the moment between tess and philomela/dulsia. so good. So so good.
“there were more similarities between nun and whore than she could have guessed. What if those poles weren’t mutually exclusive? What if opposites could be combined and transcended, paradox embraced, a whole life lived in contradictory case?”
william of affle when i catch you!!! When i catch you!!! that’s all. he’s a groomer and manipulative and a very accurate relationship of the shady guy you talk to when you’re 13 and you feel really mature. also josquin reacted i think in a very apt and respectful way. he wasn’t some savior, he was just there for her.
also, speaking of josquin. they parted ways respectfully but it still made me sad. if they’re meant to be though, they’ll find each other again. that makes me feel better. and either way, he was an important experience for tess to have. she needed to know she could experience pleasure without shame, that she could have love with respect and consideration. and also that birth control was a possibility.
“together they were broken/unbroken. All/nothing. And any chasms left between were swiftly bridged.”
as someone who grew up in purity culture, tess dombegh is such a painfully relatable character. she gets back her sense of adventure and the wonder she had for life when she was younger, before the contempt was beat into her. she’s dynamic and fun and spunky without being too much of a cliche. her emotions feels very human. her love for the quigutls touched me above all else. the quigutls, who were scorned by dragons and humans alike in the seraphina books, are rational and emotional beings with their own culture and language. pathka was wonderful. each character was incredibly complex, even the minor characters. the romance was subtle and well-done. she’s such a different character from her sister that it almost shocks you when you start reading.
notable moments:
the nuns of st. loola are my absolute FAVORITE, including their silly little song. (sometimes i need to be reminded that i am my body and that my body inhabits this earth and that is not a waste). absolutely a religious order i’d actually join.
““Remember, mortal,
As you strive,
That you, ambitious goo,
Must also die.”
i actually quite like st. prudia as well ngl. i grew up catholic so all of this is a mix of fun, nostalgic, and traumatic for me. a great combo for reading!!!! i also love the philosophy involved, it’s very good and honestly comforting.
“ ‘O ignoramus,’ it said, ‘your life is not a tragedy. It’s history, and it’s yours.’ ”
whatever the fuck is going between seraphina/glisselda/kiggs is so great and i love it. the way it seems more people think seraphina is glisselda’s lover and lucian is just There. that’s so real, i honestly always believed they had more chemistry! it’s canon to me. they are in lesbians. lucian’s a boytoy prince consort and i love him for that.
“but I saw Seraphina pregnant.”
“And you’re certain the Queen couldn’t have got her that way,” said Josquin, with a smile that suggested he knew rather a lot, in fact.
also, the juxtaposition of the moment between tess and philomela/dulsia. so good. So so good.
“there were more similarities between nun and whore than she could have guessed. What if those poles weren’t mutually exclusive? What if opposites could be combined and transcended, paradox embraced, a whole life lived in contradictory case?”
william of affle when i catch you!!! When i catch you!!! that’s all. he’s a groomer and manipulative and a very accurate relationship of the shady guy you talk to when you’re 13 and you feel really mature. also josquin reacted i think in a very apt and respectful way. he wasn’t some savior, he was just there for her.
also, speaking of josquin. they parted ways respectfully but it still made me sad. if they’re meant to be though, they’ll find each other again. that makes me feel better. and either way, he was an important experience for tess to have. she needed to know she could experience pleasure without shame, that she could have love with respect and consideration. and also that birth control was a possibility.
“together they were broken/unbroken. All/nothing. And any chasms left between were swiftly bridged.”