Seraphina

not my kind of book....i couldnt finnish it

Many of my fellow reviewers loved this. I don't know why but somehow I put off reading Seraphina and then kind of forgot I had it as time went on. I've been wanting to whittle down my list of review copies for a while and so I finally picked it up. Seraphina is an ode to music, the role it plays in society and how it's woven into everything. The story follows Seraphina, a talented musician living at Goreddi court as assistant to the court composer Viridius. But that's not all there is to her which becomes evident as the plot unfolds. Goredd is preparing for peace treaty (between dragons and humans) celebrations and the Ardmagar's visit. But not everyone in Goredd is happy about it and dark things are brewing in Goredd with Seraphina right in the thick of it... Hartman's writing is lyrical and compelling, making it easy to breeze through. Here love for and knowledge of music shines through (though I myself never found passion for playing an instrument). I found Seraphina's behaviour a bit perplexing and infuriating at times because of the recklessness of it all. Nevertheless, she was interesting character to follow and it was all too easy to sympathize with her when she was feeling lonely, isolated and alienated due to her otherness. I also really liked Kiggs and Glisselda, Abdo and Lars. I'm not sure yet if I want to read the sequel because Seraphina finished with an open end but enough of a glimpse into the future to see how it might turn out. Disclaimer: I was provided an advanced reader copy by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3,5 stars. It took some time for me to get into the story, but all in all it was entertaining and interesting. I like Seraphina, but couldn't get the 'love'-story part. it seemed a bit rushed at least the confession and conclusion...