I decided to read Seraphina after seeing Grace’s review of the galley over at Books Without Any Pictures, and I am very glad I did. Of all the dragon novels I’ve read in the past few years, and I’ve read quite a few, this one is probably the most unusual.
I mean I LOVE dragon fiction. Dragons even have their own tag on my blog. I might not read as much fantasy as I used to, but some of my all time favorite books feature dragons!
I’m not sure if it has been done before, I vaguely recall perhaps Irene Radford having done it, and I know Christopher Paolini has one character that is somewhat of a dragon/human, but having the dragons transform into humans was definitely interesting. And then narrowing the focus even more was beyond incredible.
THERE MAY BE SOME SPOILERS! DON’T READ THE NEXT PARAGRAPH! (After that you’re okay, I think!)
The idea to tell the story from the perspective of a Seraphina, a half-breed (half human, half dragon) was brilliant. You can definitely see that there are more stories to come, especially with the ending, but it’s not done in such a way that it’s obnoxious or annoying. The idea of a person (or group of people) stuck between two worlds isn’t new, but again it was refreshing, specifically because it was so traumatic for those individuals until the end of the novel.
But even with all these refreshing changes to dragon fiction, what I enjoyed most about the novel was Hartman’s writing! She wrote in such a way that it was approachable, understandable and fun! A lot of the characters are in their teens and even though there are a few moments where you want to shake them, it’s not as many times as most novels with teen characters!
Hartman’s writing was great and I enjoyed reading the novel, but what’s better is that she is a great story-teller and character builder. Even though I finished the novel and I know what happens, I still keep thinking that one character is the ‘bad guy’ even though I know he’s not. I keep saying, well why didn’t they get after so-and-so, and then I realize it is definitely explained, but the writing was so convincing I still think he’s the bad guy. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a nice character and I definitely feel he will be back, but he’s not the ‘bad guy’, per say, in this book.
Recommendation: READ IT! I’m so glad I did and cannot wait until the next one is released. I will definitely have to keep an eye on NetGalley to see if I can snag a copy of it pre-release!
Opening Line: “I remember being born.”
Closing Line: “The future would come, full of war and uncertainty, but I would not be facing it alone. I had love and work, friends and a people. I had a place to stand.” (Whited out.)
Even her vocabulary was impressive. I love it when authors don’t talk down to younger readers.
Definitely! I think that’s one of the reasons it was so readable. A lot of times authors try to over explain everything, and she didn’t
I love the cover! I have never read anything that I would call fantasy fiction (that I recall). I was thinking of reading The Hobbit with the movie coming out.
You should definitely read this, it’s not too over the top like some can be! I’m not going to lie I almost always choose a book by it’s cover which is horrible I know.
noooo, its not horrible! I love a good cover. If I’m going to buy a book, I always check out all the covers 🙂
I should find a copy. I read both of your blogs and like your suggestions. Thanks for the warning about the spoiler…I hate stumbling into something that may ruin my reading experience. Dragons are just cool!
You should definitely check it out! Especially if you want a bit of lighter reading than what you usually read. And yeah Dragons are just cool.