Seraphina is a book about a young woman with a big secret.
The story begins with a funeral for a murdered prince. Seraphina works at the
castle, teaching one of the princesses music, and as a result gets involved in
trying to work out who killed Prince Rufus. The world she lives in is one where
humans and dragons live side by side. There is currently peace between the two
species although there are those on both sides that do not approve. In this
world dragons have the ability to change in to human form in order to
communicate with us. With some people convinced that a dragon must have killed
the prince, Seraphina and her friends must find out the truth. Can they do this
without her having to reveal her secret?
The world that Hartman has created is your traditional
medieval castle town with ranging mountains and countryside around it. There
are other areas in the world that are mentioned but there is no real
description of those. There is a possibility that we may learn more about them
in the next book so the author may be saving it. There is no map in this book
so it’s not clear how far away the other places are. The city itself is really
well described and you can picture the characters walking down the streets and
the people and creatures they encounter. The castle is a bit confusing, with
hidden corridors, but it doesn’t really matter because you just let the
characters take you along.
Seraphina is a really likeable character. She’s not too
annoying and just takes things in her stride and isn’t always looking to others
to do things for her. Most of the female characters in this book are strong and
know what they want. There is a queen on the throne and there are only females
in line to the throne. The male characters are just as good. Prince Lucien is
smart and kind and eager to help Princess Glisselda and Seraphina if they need
him. Seraphina is a bit of a recluse but she does try to get along with
everyone. Of course, she ends up making some enemies. They didn’t feel
particularly frightening to me and they maybe could have been a bit more
intimidating. Overall, the characters were excellent.
The book is told entirely from Seraphina’s point of view,
which is good because you really need to see what goes on in her head. There
are some flashbacks, but it’s obvious when you are reading one as it is
italicised. I found the writing to be exactly as it needed to be. Being a
fantasy book, there are some made up words. Most were easy to pronounce but
there were one or two that weren’t. That’s normal so I don’t count that against
the book. There aren’t too many characters to keep track of but there are
family trees in the back. There are also definitions of words that the author
has made up. I didn’t realise it was there until I’d finished the book but had
managed to grasp what she meant from the context.
I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading
the next when that comes out. I want to see what happens to Seraphina and the others.
The book wasn’t left on a cliff hanger but it left it open for their next
adventure and some hints as to what it will involve. Seraphina grows so much in
this book that it will be good to see her with her new found confidence in the
next. There is a bit of everything in this book. It starts off kind of slow as
you learn her background and the world. It then picks up and the second half of
the book is filled with action. There’s a bit of romance too, but not too much,
so there’s something for everyone.
Overall rating 5 out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment