Saturday 26 September 2015

Book Review: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman



Read: September 22 - 24 Verdict: 3 Stars

Seraphina lives in a world where dragons can take human forms and mix in among human folk. After years of terrible war, a fragile treaty now exists between the dragons and humankind but that doesn't mean that Seraphina is free to broadcast the fact she is half human/half dragon. Seraphina is now 16 years old and working in the palace as an assistant to the music master. Suddenly Seraphina is pulled into an investigation of the death of the Prince, alongside Prince Kiggs.As the treaty becomes close to snapping, can Seraphina try and save both the humans and the dragons she has come to love?

I really wanted to give this book more stars as the premise itself was very interesting. I think the problem I had was that it seemed to take a long time for me to really get into the story and get into the characters. None of the characters really stood out for me, even Searaphina. I didn't get much of a glimpse of who Kiggs was, despite him being nosy and quick to anger, I didn't see anything else there. I would have liked to see a more colourful Seraphina instead which I hope will happen in the next book when she's not so scared of what she is.



The world itself, hmm...while I am impressed at the imagination it took to create such a story and land, I felt very discombobulated for a lot of it. There was no quick explanation or summary about the relationship between humans nad dragons at the start of the book, and the reader is quickly immersed in the life of Seraphina and she lets us know what's going on. However, all the strange words and lands etc dropped into conversation and description threw me off a little bit. I think a map at the start of the book would have been a big help.

Despite my initial reservations, I do think I'll continue on with the series.

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