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A review by snukes
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
4.0
I bought this book through BookBub back in the day when I remembered to check their emails now and then. I shelved it along with all the other discount books I bought through them, and then forgot all about it until Bethany posted a review not so long ago, saying really nice things about it.
And well-deserved! The story wasn't quite what I'd expected, given its description. Instead of a Special Girl with Special Powers who uses her Specialness to Win Everything, we get a well-drawn character who IS special, but in a way that is not only embarrassing and shameful to her through most of the book, but is also dangerous should anyone else find out about it.
Okay, so she's also really pretty and gifted at music (Mary Sue benchmarks!) but the story is well-crafted and I never felt like rolling my eyes at the character. There's a little formula to all the characters, when you get right down to it, but I almost found that to be strength rather than a defect. I knew what to expect from the bastard prince, from the teenage princess, from her slightly evil mother. I knew what Seraphina's father's role was, and her dragon mentor. For all that, I didn't really know how the story would go, and enjoyed watching it unfold, with the good guys and bad guys ultimately not being as easy to pick out as I would have expected.
Definitely looking forward to following this one into its next installments.
And well-deserved! The story wasn't quite what I'd expected, given its description. Instead of a Special Girl with Special Powers who uses her Specialness to Win Everything, we get a well-drawn character who IS special, but in a way that is not only embarrassing and shameful to her through most of the book, but is also dangerous should anyone else find out about it.
Okay, so she's also really pretty and gifted at music (Mary Sue benchmarks!) but the story is well-crafted and I never felt like rolling my eyes at the character. There's a little formula to all the characters, when you get right down to it, but I almost found that to be strength rather than a defect. I knew what to expect from the bastard prince, from the teenage princess, from her slightly evil mother. I knew what Seraphina's father's role was, and her dragon mentor. For all that, I didn't really know how the story would go, and enjoyed watching it unfold, with the good guys and bad guys ultimately not being as easy to pick out as I would have expected.
Definitely looking forward to following this one into its next installments.