Seraphina Hardcover – July 10, 2012

I have been meaning to re-read Seraphina ever since I first read it back in May 2012. But it never happened. Then, yesterday, I was looking at all my copies of it. And I knew I couldn't wait any longer. And I'm so so glad that I finally re-read this book. Because, oh. Seraphina is such a stunning book. Just perfect. And heartbreaking. And I love it so much. But damn. The wait for book two, Shadow Scale, is going to be even more painful now. I just cannot wait to read it. I'm so excited for it to come out. <3Seraphina is a different book. Different and all kinds of special. I'm just so glad I finally decided to read it again, because now I loved it more, I think. And I'm a bit sad about all the things I had forgotten about it. Hmph. I had forgotten how very amazing it was. I had forgotten how much I adored Seraphina. And how much I loved Lucian Kiggs. Just, sigh. This book is beautiful. And I love it to pieces. Now I'm excited about reading it a third time someday, hih. I cannot even imagine never not loving this book.I'm not sure what I want to share about this book. I want to talk about all of it, yet I don't. Because I need you all to read Seraphina right away. Because it is best to read it yourself. This book is just stunning. So much fantasy and history and surprises. There is so much to love about it. Like the amazing romance. Which is very small. But it is perfect too. Reading about Kiggs and Phina was my favorite part. How they argue and flirt and just are around each other. A bit of forbidden love too.This book is told from the point of view of sixteen year old Seraphina. Whom I loved like crazy. She is just.. so amazing. So lonely and a bit broken. Yet so kind and strong too. But she has a huge secret. And it is all kinds of awesome. I love what she is. I love how it is on her body. But that one scene, with one scale, shudders. That was so heartbreaking. Yet also so real. Phina is sad and lonely a lot of the time. And I understood her so well. She's hiding what she is. Which she has to. But oh, it is also just so sad.But then she starts getting friends. And I loved reading that. I loved reading her getting to know Princess Glisselda. And getting to know Prince Lucian Kiggs more too. Sniffs. Though, yeah. This forbidden romance kills me. As he is engaged to the princess. And gah. It kills me. Yet I have hope. I just. I have to. They are too cute together. And I need them together. Anyway. There are so many beautiful relationships in this book. So many friendships. Like Lars. I adored him. And the others. Sigh.I also really liked her father. Okay, he is kind of cold most of the time, but I enjoyed reading about him. Because I understood him too. And Orma. Sigh. He is just all kinds of awesome. So cold and yet so warm and loving too. I loved that he is her uncle. I just loved Seraphina's relationships with everyone. It is so much fun and heartbreaking and sweet to read about. And omg. Her garden. I had forgotten about that. And it is so amazing and different and just perfect. I cannot wait to get to know them all so much more.There are dragons in this book. And they are all kinds of awesome. Creepy yet amazing. There is so much about them. So much I still want to know. It was just all so interesting and different and I loved it to pieces. I cannot wait to know more. I just feel like book two will be so perfect. I cannot wait to read it. Because Seraphina is such a perfect book. It is full of heartfelt moments. Exciting moments. A cute and forbidden romance. Amazing friendships. Beautiful and creepy dragons. This book has everything.There is so much I could say about this book. But I have already said too much, I think, hih. I just. I'm so so glad that I decided to re-read Seraphina. Because now my heart is full. I feel so much for this book. And it makes me so happy. I simply cannot wait to read Shadow Scale. Would give anything for it. <3 Waiting is torture. Ack. But anyway. You have all read this book by now, yes? If not, then you really should. This book is worth it. And I think it ends in a good place. Well, for the most part :D Go read it.---I first read this book on May 6th 2012. My old review here: http://carinabooks.blogspot.no/2012/05/review-seraphina-by-rachel-hartman.htmlI read Seraphina for the second time from October 7th to 8th 2014. My book recommendation here: http://carinabooks.blogspot.no/2014/10/book-recommendation-seraphina-by-rachel.html

Rich, beautiful writing in a uniquely created world full of compelling characters. It's not an action-packed book, but the people in the story and the writer's unique voice make it great. Don't worry though, there are some truly exciting parts in this novel, just not that many. One of the best is a pretty sweet mid-air fight between some dragons. Oh yeah, there are dragons! But they are very unique, not like ones you've read about before. Before I explain that, here's a quick plot summary:Seraphina Dombegh is an assistant music director at the royal castle in a fantasy world called Goredd. However, planning elaborate musical productions and training the posh royalty on various instruments is the least of her problems. Seraphina is a half breed - part dragon and part human. She's spent her whole life keeping her true nature secret because if it were ever exposed, she'd be considered a reviled outcast by both groups. Her careful existence is put in jeopardy when the fragile peace between dragons and humans begins to crumble and it becomes obvious that her special characteristics can benefit both sides.Ms. Hartman expertly builds this novel's world and as I mentioned at the top, her deeply intriguing characters are highly compelling. I really felt immersed in the medieval-type setting as her lush descriptions allowed me to taste, see, and hear everything. Her human characters display an intriguing combination of conflict and loyalty as they try to conduct themselves in a civilized manner to uphold the peace with the dragons, whilst constantly wondering if that's truly the safest course of action. The dragons are unique because, as part of the treaty, they are required to appear in human form when associating with the people. But even in "saar" (human) form, their draconian nature keeps them very clinical and devoid of emotion, and always on the outskirts of society. Ms. Hartman skillfully describes them struggling to cope with the frailties, the different sensory inputs, and the heightened emotions of the human form. All this presents a situation where the surface of this fantasy world endeavours to stay calm, but everything underneath is bubbling and boiling and soon enough, the tension breaks.In the midst of all of this is our heroine Seraphina, a simply wonderfully-written female lead. She's a fascinating character who grows and changes for the good throughout the book, selflessly accepting new burdens that are thrust upon her by the rising conflict between people and dragons. Though she's strong-willed, honorable and capable, she's not without help. Always supporting and advising her is her friendly uncle and life-long teacher, a wise and kind dragon named Orma. And as the plot progresses, she finds herself entwined with Kiggs, a human and the captain of the royal guard. Kiggs is a very Holmes-esque inspector, which makes it harder and harder for Seraphina to conceal her half-breed secret. This dynamic provides a nice " for various reasons, romance can never happen between Kiggs and Seraphina even though the reader wants it" sub-plot, which Ms. Hartman neatly works into the story.Perhaps the most fascinating part of Seraphina's character is her "mind garden", a concept that's pretty tough to quickly break down here, but that really adds a mysterious, thought-provoking layer throughout the novel. Phina's (as those close to her call her) half-dragon/half-human makeup causes her to suffer from suddenly recalled memories as well as other mental strains. To manage these problems, she uses a meditation technique of placing certain aspects of her mind into specific parts of a mental garden. When she's overcome by memories or heavy emotions, she can meditate into this place and "tend her garden", thus calming herself. As it turns out, the things she meditates on aren't just her own thoughts categorized in her brain - they are real people living out and about in the real world. And they are all connected with Seraphina by one shared, special characteristic. But I won't reveal more about this, as it would spoil an entirely creative and remarkable aspect of the novel.I will say that even though it is nicely incorporated into the plot, this "mind garden" part is a little complicated to understand, which is why this book is probably best for middle schoolers and up. That and the length - Seraphina comes in at over 400 pgs, so it's a bit of a challenging read. And since it's largely character and voice driven, not action-packed, it takes a more mature reader to enjoy the book's subtleties and to appreciate Ms. Hartman's enchanting writing skills. And it likely leans more toward female readers due to the impressive MC Seraphina herself, but there are strong boy characters in there as well (Orma, Kiggs and others), and don't forget those DRAGONS!Before closing, I also want to mention Ms. Hartman's focus on music throughout the book, which was another unique and remarkable element I especially enjoyed. You'll delight in her many rich, beautifully crafted, almost lyrical descriptions about the royal musical performances at the castle. Seraphina conducts orchestras and choirs and plays many instruments, as well as being a private teacher - so it's always clear she has a particularly close bond with music and it's a critical component to her character. There can be no doubt that the author Rachel Hartman is a big music lover as well, and that good tunes are/were always an important part of her creative process.And now, the best news of all, I get to read my ARC of the sequel! It's called Shadow Scale, and you can look forward to a review on it soon.Happy Reading!

Unique plot among fantasy genre. The protagonist, who is a half dragon and a musician, is brilliantly used. All characters, scenes, expressions especially music, narrated and detailed beautifully.

Seraphina crea un mundo mágico en el que aparecen dragones. El misterio del asesinato del príncipe es el eje central de la historia.

Great book, great universe and story. I have nothing else to say, except that it is very well written! I had a first encounter with this universe with "Tess of the Road", which was written after "Seraphina" and "Shadow Scales", in which the character Seraphina can be found: she is the sister of the main character of "Tess of the Road" (Tess). Despite having read the third book first, I still understood what was happening, and at the end of "Tess of the Road" and "Seraphina", there is an index of all the characters and specific terms. I didn't realise it at first, and trust me it is helpful and it was a great idea to incorporate it!I loved this book and the creation of a world with dragons, capable of turning into humans, and this somewhat "war" between them and the humans. I have read all 3 books of Rachel Hartman, and I haven't been disappointed, instead I was mesmerized by her writing and imagination. I'm in love with her books! I definitely suggest anyone to try it, if you like science-fiction.

The writing in this story is whimsical and beautiful and I could not stop reading until I’d reached the end.

What I really liked about Seraphina were the dragons. They felt fresh and well thought out, and I loved how they fit into the politics of the world Hartman created. Here dragons are a highly rational and a dangerous political force to be reckoned with, despised by humans yet powerful. The humans on the other hand are living in a society that is traversed by religious propaganda that antagonises against dragons while strongly believing in its moral superiority (I mean, duh, that’s what propaganda usually is). Being a dragon in human disguise or sympathising with dragons is a dangerous business in such a society.This well developed world was very intriguing, felt very lifelike and it was what really set this novel apart from other YA novels for me. It was innovative and did its own thing, really branching out into fantasy, not getting lost in hormonal side plots (although there is romance involved. It just does well at not becoming the main focus and only purpose of the heroine). The theme of music added another touch to the story.The main character Seraphina’s character development from a very cautious person to a more trusting and open one is mirrored in the tone of the narration, that starts out rather subdued, almost sinister to get more colourful yet never light when Seraphina meets and opens up to some people, interspersed with unexpected bursts of humour. Overall, the tone is rather on the serious side.I noticed that there seem to be many male characters, yet rather few females, although those females that do play a role were glorious badasses, definitely not on the submissive side and wonderfully developed characters. Overall, the character game is very strong in this one. I loved the relationships that developed and how quirky some characters were. You won’t find your typical YA stock characters, although some might be reminiscent of them but always with an additional particular touch to them that sets them apart and makes them original again. Even weeks after reading this book they are still alive in my memory and I want to know so much more about them and meet them all again in the next book.What irked me a bit was how trusting certain members of the royal family were towards Seraphina from the beginning of the book. It was never clear to me if they knew each other before, but it always seemed like Seraphina was new to the court and thus wouldn’t know the royal family. And I mean, the royals just had a family member killed and there they go trusting what I thought was a random stranger. When you read the prequel The Audition it becomes clear that at least some of these family members have known Seraphina for a while, thus maybe having the chance to build some trust and maintain it even after having a family member killed. Nevertheless, I always found it confusing how seemingly randomly they trusted the cautious Seraphina.Seraphina is the first book in what looks like it will be a duology. The second book Shadow Scale comes out 10 March 2015 and I will definitely be reading it. I need to have more of this world.