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lastbraincell's review against another edition
4.0
Stayed up until 2 a.m. on a workday just to finish this book. I was that gripped.
After hearing so much about the dragon general, I expected him to be a more dignified character. But he turned out to seem so weak. Maybe that was the point, the reversal? The grandmother queen, though human, had a will of steel, and the supposedly run-by-logic dragon gets so emotional (and drunk, and lecherous, and bewildered:The feels! I has them!) when in human form.
It was nice how the fluffy, giggly blonde princess Glisselda emerged all regal. The mention of excision reminded me of The Golden Compass.
Although I have an inkling about how the sequels will run (Seraphina will gather her fellow halflings, encountering some identity conflict with Jammoula, who seems to be her dark side. Glisselda will find out about the love between Phina and the prince and there'll be a bit of drama there) I'm still curious to see how it plays out. Will try to find the rest of the series.
P.S. I wish I'd figured out earlier what a Daanite was. When I got to the glossary and found out, pieces clicked together and I was like, "Ohhhhh..."
After hearing so much about the dragon general, I expected him to be a more dignified character. But he turned out to seem so weak. Maybe that was the point, the reversal? The grandmother queen, though human, had a will of steel, and the supposedly run-by-logic dragon gets so emotional (and drunk, and lecherous, and bewildered:The feels! I has them!) when in human form.
It was nice how the fluffy, giggly blonde princess Glisselda emerged all regal. The mention of excision reminded me of The Golden Compass.
Although I have an inkling about how the sequels will run (Seraphina will gather her fellow halflings, encountering some identity conflict with Jammoula, who seems to be her dark side. Glisselda will find out about the love between Phina and the prince and there'll be a bit of drama there) I'm still curious to see how it plays out. Will try to find the rest of the series.
P.S. I wish I'd figured out earlier what a Daanite was. When I got to the glossary and found out, pieces clicked together and I was like, "Ohhhhh..."
suki27's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
casein's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dioptasy's review against another edition
4.0
Some of the most interesting dragons I've read about. I love how Hartman characterizes them without any discernible human qualities like emotions or art, and the fact that she can pull it off without alienizing them from us. The raw emotions she puts in Seraphina's viewpoint is very poignant, it's great seeing her stuck between two worlds and the effects that she has to deal with. Overall, this was an incredible read and I can't wait for what happens next!
burningupasun's review against another edition
4.0
Setting/World Building: 5/5 (Best part of this book!)
Main Character: 4/5
Other Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Triggering/Issues: 3/5 (Triggers for romantic cheating plot, ugh.)
AVERAGED TOTAL: 4 out of 5 stars.
This book was very obviously the first book in the series, which was a good thing and a bad thing. Good because it gets you hooked; bad because it leaves you wanting, and the second book isn't out yet. I think my favorite part of this was the world building; I loved the details about the dragons and the different races of people, and how they functioned (or didn't) together. There were some world building things I was confused by, for example the Saints, and why the knights were exiled the way they were. I get 'why', but I don't get why.
I liked Seraphina the character, but I wished she would be more active instead of just having things happen to her (mostly). The few moments she was more active, I loved her, like the scene where she just bluffed her way into interviewing those knights. She's brave and complex and I like that. I also loved all the descriptions of her mind garden and how she tended it, and the first time she found her mother's memories falling from the sky there. It was incredible.
The one thing about this book that made me uncomfortable was the romance. Mostly because I am never a fan of any kind of cheating and I find it hard to get behind a romance that involves someone who is engaged. It squicked me out so I had a hard time rooting for them, frankly. Not to mention they seemed to jump from "being interested" to "soul mate love" rather quickly, after what I thought was some nice build up in the first half.
All in all I did enjoy it, especially because DRAGONS and complex political intrigue, always fun. I wish the sequel was out!!
Main Character: 4/5
Other Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Triggering/Issues: 3/5 (Triggers for romantic cheating plot, ugh.)
AVERAGED TOTAL: 4 out of 5 stars.
This book was very obviously the first book in the series, which was a good thing and a bad thing. Good because it gets you hooked; bad because it leaves you wanting, and the second book isn't out yet. I think my favorite part of this was the world building; I loved the details about the dragons and the different races of people, and how they functioned (or didn't) together. There were some world building things I was confused by, for example the Saints, and why the knights were exiled the way they were. I get 'why', but I don't get why.
I liked Seraphina the character, but I wished she would be more active instead of just having things happen to her (mostly). The few moments she was more active, I loved her, like the scene where she just bluffed her way into interviewing those knights. She's brave and complex and I like that. I also loved all the descriptions of her mind garden and how she tended it, and the first time she found her mother's memories falling from the sky there. It was incredible.
The one thing about this book that made me uncomfortable was the romance. Mostly because I am never a fan of any kind of cheating and I find it hard to get behind a romance that involves someone who is engaged. It squicked me out so I had a hard time rooting for them, frankly. Not to mention they seemed to jump from "being interested" to "soul mate love" rather quickly, after what I thought was some nice build up in the first half.
All in all I did enjoy it, especially because DRAGONS and complex political intrigue, always fun. I wish the sequel was out!!
stormessed's review against another edition
4.0
3,5.
El principio no me convenció, y el estilo de escritura no me gusta nada, pero es una buena historia con una protagonista muy interesante. Aunque creo que toda la parte del jardÃn sobra, me ha gustado el enfoque general del libro
El principio no me convenció, y el estilo de escritura no me gusta nada, pero es una buena historia con una protagonista muy interesante. Aunque creo que toda la parte del jardÃn sobra, me ha gustado el enfoque general del libro
jillselwyn's review against another edition
5.0
Ahhhhhh wowie my family has good taste! This book featured in a pile of books gifted to my mom from her mom. The rest of the books were: The Queen of the Tearling, The Bone Season, and Wildwood. I've read The Queen of the Tearling (also gave it 5 stars, go check out my review if you'd like!), and my mom gave me her copy of The Bone Season to keep since she had it on her kindle and adored it. She even told me to read The Priory of the Orange Tree (which is fitting as I am her lesbian daughter lol) and I definitely plan to - it's on my kindle and I'm saving it for our summer road trip in July. Let's just say, I'm definitely going to be reading The Bone Season ASAP, and then borrowing Wildwood from my mom (hopefully) as well.
The timing of my reading of this book was just about perfect. I had picked up a different book, it had been a Christmas gift from my mom, and it had been rumored to have amazing Jewish and Autistic-coded representation. Well in that book they introduced that character as being an arsonist, loving numbers, etc. Well, going into this one - all I knew was "hey dragons love and turn into humans." I was overjoyed when I discovered that more likely than not (as an autistic woman recognizing particular descriptions that is), the entire race of dragons was based on autistic people. It made me feel seen and so fucking emotional. All the moments with Linn's memories and her talking about how emotions are so complex and metaphors are so abstract but they're the only way to explain her feelings, with Omra being introduced as loving difficult mathematics and hating itchy fabrics, the subtle social cues that Omra misses which are amusing as someone who uhhhh definitely relates... I need more books like these. It's so beautiful too, the prose, the description, the story in general.
While this wasn't one of those books that made me "rethink my rating system" it was one that I connected to so much that it would be a crime not to add it to the favorites shelf. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book.
The timing of my reading of this book was just about perfect. I had picked up a different book, it had been a Christmas gift from my mom, and it had been rumored to have amazing Jewish and Autistic-coded representation. Well in that book they introduced that character as being an arsonist, loving numbers, etc. Well, going into this one - all I knew was "hey dragons love and turn into humans." I was overjoyed when I discovered that more likely than not (as an autistic woman recognizing particular descriptions that is), the entire race of dragons was based on autistic people. It made me feel seen and so fucking emotional. All the moments with Linn's memories and her talking about how emotions are so complex and metaphors are so abstract but they're the only way to explain her feelings, with Omra being introduced as loving difficult mathematics and hating itchy fabrics, the subtle social cues that Omra misses which are amusing as someone who uhhhh definitely relates... I need more books like these. It's so beautiful too, the prose, the description, the story in general.
While this wasn't one of those books that made me "rethink my rating system" it was one that I connected to so much that it would be a crime not to add it to the favorites shelf. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book.