Review: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

Pages: 480 (Kindle Edition)
Author: Rachel Hartman
Add It: Goodreads
Series: Untitled? (#1)
Publisher: Random House

“I remember being born, in fact, I remember a time before that. There was no light, but there was music: joints creaking, blood rushing, the heart’s staccato lullaby, a rich symphony of indigestion. Sound enfolded me, and I was safe. Then my world split open, and I was thrust into a cold and silent brightness. I tried to fill the emptiness with my screams, but the space was too vast. I raged, but there was no going back.” [ARC]

Rachel Hartman has come into the fantasy genre with a beautiful debut, a book filled with lovely paragraphs such as the one above, and intricate but enjoyable world building. She takes a different approach to dragons; the dragons shift into human form but mostly remain emotionally detached and incredibly intellectual. This idea pays off and creates a very interesting dynamic between humans and dragons that I really enjoyed reading about.

One of the most heartwarming relationships between dragon and someone with human emotions in the novel is between Seraphina and Orma. I really loved watching how they navigated their bond to each other, as Orma struggled with acting more like a human companion, and Seraphina attempted to learn how to accept loving someone who didn’t know how to love her back in ways she could understand. A struggle for Seraphina was to learn to accept that she loved and was bonded to someone who could not legally show affection for her without the threat of having his memories erased.

“What if our mothers were not the fools we had taken them for? What was love really worth? A hundred thousand wars?” [ARC]

Seraphina’s own personal journey was an emotional one. I think most of us can relate to having a part of ourselves that we are afraid for people to see. She reminded me of one of my favorite literary characters, Fire, and her occasional hatred for the monster that she was. There is also a moment that touches on self-harm that I thought was nice to include, especially since this is being marketed as a YA novel, and I know it is a subject that a lot of teens deal with.
That being said, I’m not really sure why this is being marketed as YA. The only part of the novel that strikes me as YA at all is the romance, and that’s not a very large part of the book. I’m not sure how much the politics will appeal to most younger readers, or how many of them will take the time to deal with a slew of made up words, and the more advanced language used throughout the novel. I would hate to see adult readers who don’t typically read YA but are fantasy fans miss out on the story because of how it is marketed or the smaller YA elements.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my absolute favorite part of this novel: Seraphina’s garden of grotesques inside of her mind and the role they end up playing in the story. They gave the book something extra and completely original that I loved. I can’t wait to meet more of the characters from the garden. Another favorite of mine in this story was Hartman’s descriptions of Seraphina’s music. You can tell that Hartman is a lover and player of music herself because the descriptions are incredibly intimate and lovely.

Definitely a book worth checking out if you’re a lover of fantasy.

An Egalley was provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

New soul

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

No soul

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

Heart

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Pages: 384
Author: Jodi Meadows
Add It: Goodreads
Series: Newsoul (#1)
Publisher: Katherine Tegen
Rating: 3/5

I am a big fan of the world that Jodi Meadows has crafted in her Newsoul series. With so much dystopia on the shelves I didn't realize how refreshing it would be to read about a utopia.

In a world where people die only to come back in a different body to different parents there is much opportunity for fascinating relationship dynamics. There is also an opportunity for the exploration of what it is like to have lived life in both a woman's body and a man's. The novel also discusses what might happen if two lovers come back as the same gender and that wasn't their physical preference. I thought that raising these sorts of questions made this a very smart book and let it stand out among other YA books on the shelves today.

My complaint is that I think too much time was spent on the romance and not enough time exploring these very interesting ideas. I did enjoy Sam as a character. I think he may be one of my favorite male leads. I just wish the romance had taken a bit more of a backseat. I also thought it was sweet that their relationship grew with music, but beyond that I didn't see much between them that would have built a romance, other than the fact that Sam was her first friend and that she was the only new person in the entire world he hadn't met yet. That made the relationship seem less real to me. In fact, I kind of think it made it sort of unhealthy given Sam's actual age and power over Ana from the start, even if he didn't seem to be trying to use that power.

Ana's personality is very combative and at times irrational. I thought that it was very realistic given the abusive environment she grew up in and I really respect Jodi for not creating another bland and likeable character who is loved by everyone. I know from personal experience that Ana's behavior after leaving her abusive childhood is realistic. Mental abuse (and physical) leaves its mark. It colors the way you perceive the world and other people. It takes years to recover from that type of abuse, and I'm not sure that you ever completely do. I hope that Ana is able to grow throughout the series and learn to trust people. I am excited to go on that journey with her.

Another wonderful thing about this book is the addition of dragons and sylphs. I love fantasy and am immediately drawn in by books that include magical creatures. I thought they added extra enjoyment to the conclusion of the book. I was a little disappointed with the other answers provided at the end so I was happy the dragons and sylphs were present to keep the ending exciting.

I would recommend this series to others while admitting that it is very much a first book and doesn't quite reach the potential of the questions it raises. I do think that given time to grow the series can be very worthwhile and I think it should be given a chance. Jodi has created a very original world and I'm eager to see where she goes with it as she continues to build Heart.

Book Review: Cold Fire by Kate Elliott

Finished: January 3, 2012

Pages: 512 (Paperback)

Author Kate Elliott

Add It: Goodreads

Series: Spiritwalker (#2)

Publisher: Orbit

Source: Purchased

Only one thing is certain: when Hallows' Night comes, the Wild Hunt will ride - and it feeds on mortal blood. Cat and her cousin Bee are caught in a maze of intrigue, treachery, and magic. Everyone seems to want something from them: the Cold Mages are trying to take them prisoner, and the warlord who wants to conquer all of Europa seems sure they have a special destiny to aid him whether they want to or not. Worse, hidden powers deep in the spirit world are rising, and they are the most dangerous of all. Cat must seek allies and figure out who she can trust in order to save the ones she loves. For if she doesn't, everything will be lost.

There will be spoilers for book one of the series: Cold Magic. To see my review of Cold Magic instead read it here.

Quote: “I can’t endure these constant protestations about the chains women bind on men. In truth, the chains all bind women at the feet of men.”

His eyes opened, corpse-still one moment and full of ire the next.

“Bold Taranis spare me from the compaints of virgins!” His voice was resonant, as lovely as a caress, even in anger. “Especially ones whose black hair is a snare to entwine the helpless and whose dark eyes provoke the tenderhearted to grief. How I despise the beauty of women!”

“Only because you feel entitled to something you have no natural right to possess!”

Cover Love: For some reason I really love the covers for this series. I like that the girl isn't white washed and that the Cold Magic cover was blue and Cold Fire has an orange/red theme.

Thoughts: After Cold Magic got off to such a rocky start for me, I was very much hoping that the sequel would not go down the same path. Delightfully, it did not. Cold Fire picks up where Cold Magic left off. While the first half of Cold Magic was weighed down by awkward amounts of exposition, Cold Fire doesn't suffer the same fate. Since much of the detailed world Kate Elliott was building was already set up in Cold Magic, we are allowed in this installment to focus more on the characters and the action. New characters and magic are introduced but I did not feel that it was too much, or find it confusing. We are thrown right along with Cat on to an island inhabited by zombies and fire mages. I found the new storyline to be exciting and never dull.

I liked Cat and Bee in the first book but I must say I absolutely fell in love with them here. They're very strong women. It's nice to see females who can be both romantic and gullible but also strong and logical too. I think too often female characters get written as too much one or the other, falling into a certain role, instead of standing on their own two feet. We watch Cat make mistakes. We watch her get drunk and act in ways she'd like to forget. We watch her swing a sword like a genuine badass and approach situations rationally. It's wonderful...

"He said nothing. Yes, he was physically handsome, and attractive in some other intangible way. After those first disastrous days, he had made an effort to help me. His kiss had certainly pleased me in a most startling manner. But I did not love him. How could I? I didn't even know him. And whatever he might think, he did not truly know me. He only believed he did."

I like that above all else Cat stays loyal to her cousin Bee and that is not lost in this book. Having grown up together and relied upon each other through it all, Bee and Cat do not dump each other when it's convenient, or when they'd rather be with a man. They are not catty toward each other or in competition. Even if blood does not necessarily tie them together they never even dwell on it. They know family is not defined by blood and that's something I really respect. We also finally learn more about Cat's parents in this installment. I liked the twist.

My favorite thing about this book was probably the romance. I don't swoon too often. It takes a lot for a romance to impress me. I found myself deeply invested in Andevai and Cat's relationship. I thought it was passionate and respectful. Built upon something important. I liked that neither character sacrificed who they were or expected anything of the other that they did not want to give.

I am immensely glad that I stuck it out after the rough start of book one in the series, because the world Kate Elliott has built and the characters here are way too good to miss. Like Cold Magic, this book definitely isn't a light read, Kate Elliott's book are lengthy and detailed and full of heavy world building. This book was more fast paced than the first though and I hope that the third book is even more impressive.

Recommendation: Fans of rich Fantasy stories who enjoy slow burning romances and tough heroines.

Rating:

Four out of Five Coffees

Cold Fire is on sale now in paperback. You can purchase it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository and other retailers. The final book in the trilogy, Cold Steel, will be released in September of 2012.

Review: Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Finished: August 13, 2011

Synopsis: Jacinda is a Draki - a descendent of the dragons from long ago. She is also a fire breather which is rare among the Draki. Forced to leave her pride, Jacinda must attempt to survive in the human world, and slowly let her Draki die. She struggles to keep that part of her alive while also keeping her true nature a secret.

Thoughts: I was torn in two directions by this book. It was a page turner and the story had wonderful pacing. I never felt bored and was eager to see where the story would go next. I loved learning about the history of Jacinda’s pride and the different traits possessed by the different dragons. I thought the dynamics in the pride were interesting as well. That part of the book was very well done and since I have not read much about dragons this really held me to the story. I’m definitely going to be reading more books in the future that center around dragons.

On the other hand, the romance in this book was too Twilight-esque for my taste. Jacinda is immediately drawn to a boy named Will and he quickly becomes all that she can focus on. We receive lots of physical descriptions of Will and just how beautiful he is to the point of nauseating clarity. He is the only thing keeping Jacinda’s Draki alive and I really did not like that. Jacinda is a descendent of dragons and you’re telling me she needs some high-school boy to keep the fire inside her alive? I think not. Even with what we learn about Will in the end (which I saw coming) I still can’t see why Jacinda couldn’t rely on herself to keep the fire inside of her burning.

I wish this book had focused more on Jacinda and her dragon side instead of the “hunter falls in love with the hunted” aspect of things, but it was very enjoyable and I will pick up the sequel as soon as it is available.

Rating:

Three out of Five Coffees