I got the "preview" on my kobo on a whim (yes the cover got me) and by the time I finished the free chapter I was completely hooked. I wanted to know this character, I wanted to got through her struggles and explore her world as long as I could. So I logged onto the library website and reserved it. And in just 3 days (some kind of record for me) I devoured all 400 some odd pages.
Author Rachel Hartman
(Cover artist Andrew Davidson)
Wikipedia says: Seraphina is a 2012 fantasy prose set in the kingdom of Goredd and follows the sixteen-year-old Seraphina, a court musician. She's drawn into a murder mystery when the Crown Prince of Goredd, Rufus, is found decapitated in a manner that insinuates that he was murdered by dragons. The murder occurs on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the signing of a treaty that ended the war between humans and dragons.
But its so much more than that! I loved the depth and detail that was in the construction of this world and characters. I was so sad to say goodbye to Seraphina when the book was done. I really liked her. The novel's build up is graceful, the love element is not too much like mush (almost), the mystery is complicated enough to be challenging (but not too frustrating). I didn't get subjected to any dramatic sound effects in my head at the end of the chapters like some popular fiction - oh how I loathe those cheap literary hooks. It was gentler than that while definitely NOT being boring. It may be youth fantasy, but it wasn't immature or simplistic.
I hope Ms Hartman (of Vancouver) writes more stuff like this I really do.
