Seraphina (Seraphina, #1)

by Rachel Hartman

The kingdom of Goredd is populated by humans and by dragons who fold themselves into a human form. Though they live alongside each other, the peace between them is uneasy.

But when a member of the royal family is murdered, and the crime appears to have been committed by a dragon the peace and treaty between both worlds is seriously threatened . . .

Into this comes Seraphina, a gifted musician who joins the royal court as the assistant to the court composer. She is soon drawn into the murder investigation and, as she uncovers hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace in Goredd for good, finds herself caught desperately in the middle of the tension.

For Seraphina hides a secret - the secret behind her musical gift - and if she is found out, her life is in serious danger . . .

• ISBN10: 0552566004
• ISBN13: 9780552566001
• Publish Date: 3 January 2013 (first published 10 July 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK
• Imprint: Corgi Childrens
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[elysium]

4.5 stars

Seraphina is half-dragon, a thing that is supposed to be a myth. She’s able to recall her birth, remembers her time as a baby and has her late mother’s memories. She has always loved music but her father doesn’t let her play it. After Seraphina finally convinces her father into letting her get lessons, Phina soon starts to get attention for her skill.

Seraphina is drawn into court politics after Prince Rufus is found dead supposedly by dragon attack. While working with Prince Lucian Kiggs to resolve the murder, she finds that secrets are getting harder to keep.

What a great start for the year! I loved this book and I’m happy I chose this for the first book of the year.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever read a book where dragons play such a big role so can’t compare to anything but I loved the idea. It was interesting to see how dragons could have view humans.

I loved Seraphina and Kiggs and I so hope they end up together! And yey for no-insta-love! Even after realizing she loves Kiggs, she could use her brain and think rationally.

Oh why writing reviews for books you love is so much harder? So I’ll just say I loved the book and I’m surely reading the next one too!

[Kelsenator]

(4.5) Review to come soon!

[Jack]

The writing is dense, but beautiful and very descriptive. I can easily visualize the world that the author has created.

The book is categorized as young adult, but personally I think it might be a bit difficult for some people to get through, as the writing is a bit dense, and you have to pay close attention to whats going on or you'll get lost and confused.

There is so much information to digest throughout the book. In fact there is a whole new world to understand, religions, species, and places. Readers have to pay attention to get all of what is going on in this world.

I did find the grotesque garden a bit hard to visualize. I was really confused by it at first, how she "entered" the garden, and dealt with the people in there. I actually don't really like those parts of the book, it takes me out of the story a bit. I find myself so easily engrossed in this world, what the palace and village looks like, the dragons, yet when Seraphina goes into her garden its like i'm pulled out of the story, or into another story altogether.

I feel that the garden wasn't executed as well as the rest of the story. It was confusing, and very hard to picture what was going on. Until the last parts of the book, the garden didn't really have any connection with the main plot.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Kiggs and Seraphina that developed throughout the book. There was no "insta-love" that has been seen in a lot of YA novels lately.

I like that the mysterious death of Prince Rufus is woven intricately throughout the novel. It's only half way through that Kiggs and Seraphina, while on a quest to find a knight, really start to dig deeper into how/why the Prince was killed. There was a nice air of mystery about the whole thing that made me not want to put the book down and keep reading.


There is a glossary of terms and characters found at the back of the book. Personally, I think this would have been a lot better if it was in the front of the book. Or at least a name of the most important Saints in the front, as there were a lot listed, and it wasn't always clear what their purpose was.

Everything flows together wonderfully and vividly that it feels like I'm actually there. Overall an amazing book, and I'm quite excited for a sequal.

[ladygrey]

I'd heard a review, or several, that this was a beautifully written book. It's not. Which isn't to say that it isn't good, but the words are awkward and sometimes ugly. Overall it's rather plain-spoken and straightforward except for the big words that seem to have interjected themselves rather than lacing through the linguistic style. It's a book that isn't afraid of ugliness, with its medieval setting that doesn't shy away from layers of ugly clothing and out houses.

But it's got fantastic characters!

And, I think, they're all the more wonderful for being allowed ugly moments because then, when they rise above them, it's startlingly beautiful.

To be honest, I think I only liked Seraphina. At first she was as distasteful and awkward as everything else with her grotesque garden and I just couldn't reconcile myself to this girl who lived so blithely with ugliness. But she evolved so nicely that I believed it when other characters said she was brave (and I don't often). And I liked that she was kind and prickly and not afraid of being prickly and even loved for it. I like how well she lied and how honest she was with herself about lying. Because they made her moments of honesty so startling and true on a level deeper than the words. I liked when other characters protected her and defended her because I believed that they loved her, even if I only liked her.

I loved Kiggs; I also loved his unrelenting honesty. And Grisselda. And Orma. The story is littered with so many exceptional secondary characters that come across as distasteful in the beginning but open up so wonderfully when we see how good they are at their core. I adored the friendship between Kiggs and Grisselda and it's probably part of what made me love them so much. And I love their friendship with Seraphina. It's so much fun to see friendships given so much weight in a YA novel and to see them nurtured. It was clear to see how both Kiggs and Grisselda gave Seraphina strength.

The slow romance was also really nice. There was no heat in it, no flustering passion that YA novels are so wont to get caught up in. The underlyings of friendship gave it strength and it was painful and beautiful and fantastically sweet.

I like pretty things. But this book goes to show that something can be good, at its very core which is a sort of strength and kind of wonderful, without feeling the need to be pretty. And that I remember how good it is much more than anything else.

[Beth C.]

I like dragons. I'm a huge fantasy reader, and dragons often have a part to play within the fantasy genre. However, it gets harder and harder to find good fantasy where the dragons aren't cliches of all that have come before. Within the pages of Seraphina, dragons come to life as never before.

Seraphina lives in a time of peace between dragons and humans - but it is an uneasy peace, where it is still illegal to marry a dragon or have a child with a dragon. Where dragons are treated much as blacks were in our history, and half-breeds (if they were believed to exist) would not be tolerated. And yet. In this atmosphere, Seraphina finds a place at court as a musical assistant during the 40-year anniversary of the treaty, and ends up investigating the murder of a Royal, all while trying to hide a secret that could get her killed.

Such a fascinating world to be immersed in! The characters are incredible - fleshed out and realistic, none totally good or totally evil. I could picture the place in my head as clearly as if I had seen a movie (not a bad idea, by the way!). And the dragons - the dragons were awesome. The idea that dragons could take human form, but might be afraid of the emotions that humans feel? Such an intriguing idea! The way both societies played out around that fear, as well as the uneasy peace, was clearly well thought-out and brought so much *truth* to the story. As for Seraphina herself - she is a true heroine, not just some caricature of what one should be. She makes mistakes, but she learns from them. She feels ashamed of who she is, yet learns that "Love is not a disease" - even when that means loving herself.

Honestly, I am hoping that this will not be the only book to be set within this world. It feels like there could be so much more story to tell, and I would happily immerse myself here again, and again. I don't give a lot of 5-star reviews, but Rachel Hartman has created a story that is breathtakingly original and truly alive in spirit. May we all get invited back again...

Beautiful, captivating, and richly detailed, Seraphina is wonderful coming of age story...with dragons.


The characters throughout this book were simply wonderful. Seraphina is such a strong-minded, capable and resourceful young girl. Kigg's happiness was contagious and his brilliant mind was worthy of praise. Glisselda was so innocent yet hardworking and Orma was simply and wonderfully complex. Yet what was so extraordinary about all these characters were their flaws. You get a raw view of each character and their fears. It's all out in the open, yet that's what made it so beautiful. They weren't perfect, but I didn't want them to be. This story was about them learning about who they are and learning to accept it, flaws and all.


The world itself is rich and complex, yet easily read. The pacing wasn't fast, but it certainly wasn't slow and agonizing. It was the perfect journey, like taking your time to drink the perfect cup of coffee. The plot had a simple beauty to it, yet it was so wondrously complex.


The dragons in this book were a phenomenal mix of the well-known and the unknown. Don't worry, you get your fire-breathing, town-destroying action. But these dragons aren't all about plundering villages. These dragons can fold themselves into human-shapes and value knowledge above all else. They believe emotions add unnecessary baggage and only wish to gain knowledge. What was so intriguing about them was watching their awful attempts of humans customs. Honestly, it was like waiting for a train wreck to happen. Watching these dragons try and grasp an understanding of human nature and emotions was like watching Sheldon try and understand social customs.


Oh, Sheldon.

But the underlying theme of love and acceptance is what truly makes this a beautiful book. These characters aren't without problems but its how they overcome these problems that make them so utterly wonderful.


Overall:


This book is a beautiful story about accepting who you are, no matter what makes you different. Seraphina is such an honest, open book with a richly complex world and simply fantastic characters. It's creativity and beauty are astounding and truly worthy of praise.

All the best ♥
Mackenzie @ Oh, For the Love of Books!

[wcs53]

I haven't read too many books that contain dragons as major players in the story. The most enjoyable that comes to mind is J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit', which is one of my all-time favourites. 'Seraphina' is not like 'The Hobbit' in any way, but it is definitely worth reading.

When I read the description for this book a couple of months or so ago my interest was piqued. I figured it might be an interesting read that I could probably pick up eventually in paperback or borrow from the library. Fortunately, I found it on NetGalley and was able to receive an ARC copy of it for my Kobo.

The story is narrated by the title character, 'Seraphina', who is a court musician to the human royal family of the kingdom of Goredd. This is a place where humans and dragons live under a treaty of peace. Because of this there are many tensions as both races try to live together in harmony. The dragons are able to take on human form, but there is much mistrust on both sides. The forty year treaty is coming to an end and tension increase when the queen's son is found murdered, without his head, which points to the possibility of a dragon being the murderer.

Seraphina has a secret, which she has had to live with and hide for her own safety, as well as that of her father. She also has a mysterious tutor, Orma, who is also her uncle, but I don't wish to give away too much in this review about the significance of the secret or her uncle. The secret slowly unravels during the book as she gets drawn into the investigation of the murder, helping the Captain of the Queen's Guards, Lucian Kiggs, who also happens to be engaged to his cousin, Princess Glisselda, second heir to the throne.

What I really liked about this book is that it wasn't too predictable. The book wasn't too fast paced, but I never felt bogged down at any point, either. There are some great characters in this story. It was good to see a strong female lead who was able to stand up for herself when she needed to. The way in which her secret became slowly unraveled added to the enjoyment of the book. To have had all the information at the start would have taken away most of the mystery and would have made for a less exciting read.

At one point I thought that this book would bring the whole story to a conclusion, but the nearer I got to the end I realized that the reader was being set up for the next installment in the story. This is fine, and I look forward to the next book in the series. However, the downside for me is that 'Seraphina' isn't released until next month, so it's going to be a long wait for the sequel!

Hopefully I haven't given away too much here to spoil the story for anyone, but hopefully I have also given enough persuasion for anyone reading this to check this book out for themselves.