Seraphina by Rachel Hartman: Book Review


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Cover of Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

4 Stars

Seraphina is working at the royal court when a prince is murdered. Even though her country has been at peace with the dragons for decades, many people believe a dragon killed the prince. Tensions start rising in the city just as the dragon ruler is due for a state visit to celebrate the signing of the peace treaty. Seraphina starts investigating what happened to the prince and following up on rumors of a rogue dragon in the countryside. But can she hide her own secrets while ferreting out someone else’s?

I honestly hadn’t heard of this until my husband decided to buy it for me for my birthday last year. He’s a brave man; choosing books that I haven’t asked for can go terribly wrong but he picked a winner!

I really liked Seraphina. She’s trying so hard to do the right thing for everyone and the secrets that she’s keeping are some big ones. She feels bad for lying all the time but she doesn’t see any way around it. In her shoes, I wouldn’t either. She’s a smart girl though and she’s much braver than she gives herself credit for. She might not decide to be brave on her own behalf but she’s a lion when it comes to looking out for the underdog. I love that about her.

Of course there’s a love interest. I’ll keep his name to myself. But I loved him too. He’s also brave and curious and trying to do the right thing. He has some major twists and turns to deal with and I found his reactions to be pitch perfect. Not immediately accepting but not close-minded either. I like him a lot.

I did not see the ending coming at all! I’m so happy nowadays when I can say that! There’s enough closure at the end to satisfy most readers but there’s definitely room for a sequel. I’ve gotten sick of cliffhangers recently (mostly thanks to movies) so that was a relief as well. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

I highly recommend this book.

Find author Rachel Hartman on her website, her blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Buy Seraphina at

Off the Shelf 2014

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.

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