I am not a fan of dragons, but Rachel Hartman's award winning debut novel Seraphina won me over with its brilliant writing and wonderful characters. When I heard there would be sequel, I was very excited but unfortunately the book did not meet my expectations. Many thanks to Random House and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book.

Description: The kingdom of Goredd: a world where humans and dragons share life with an uneasy balance, and those few who are both human and dragon must hide the truth. Seraphina is one of these, part girl, part dragon, who is reluctantly drawn into the politics of her world. When war breaks out between the dragons and humans, she must travel the lands to find those like herself—for she has an inexplicable connection to all of them, and together they will be able to fight the dragons in powerful, magical ways.
  As Seraphina gathers this motley crew, she is pursued by humans who want to stop her. But the most terrifying is another half dragon, who can creep into people’s minds and take them over. Until now, Seraphina has kept her mind safe from intruders, but that also means she’s held back her own gift. It is time to make a choice: Cling to the safety of her old life, or embrace a powerful new destiny?

Review: World building is an important aspect of a book in which the book's setting is a place other than our real world. For a reader world building can grab your interest and make you invest your time in spending and exploring the author's world. It can also deeply hinder the reader's enjoyment if it is not too clear and detailed. Like too much of any good thing, world building can also be overwhelming and overshadow every aspect of the book, which happened in the case of Shadow Scale.
  For more than half of the book, Hartman spends her energy and focus on detailing kingdoms, their constitutes, and every aspect of their customs as Seraphina goes on a mission to find other half-human/half-dragon beings. With her loyal friend, Abdo, she searches the lands for the creatures she has only met in her mind garden. While I loved the intricate details that Hartman showcases, Seraphina's travels become repetitive and tedious. Though I understand that Serphina's mission is important in building the theme of family and community since our heroine has only lived in isolation because of her hybrid identity, I gave up on reading closely to this aspect of the story and skimmed quite a lot. The over abundance of world building is what hindered the book's pacing.  
  The plot of Shadow Scale picks up a little bit as we are introduced to the main villain and I would argue the star of the novel, Jannoula. Jannoula is a half-dragon whom Seraphina contacted telepathically in a time before she knew there were others like her, once usurped Seraphina's consciousness, and it was only by great effort and luck that Seraphina managed to fight her off. I really liked the complexity of Jannoula's character who does garner some of our sympathy as we learn how horribly she was treated and abused, but also admire and are terrified by her powers of manipulating her foe's strengths against them. She really reminded me of Queen Levana from the Lunar Chronicles. Jannoula is a worthy foe of Seraphina, but unfortunately it took Seraphina quite some time (i.e. hundreds of pages) to stop dawdling, gather her courage, and finally take some action.  I was disappointed that it took Seraphina a very long time to pull herself together along with a deux ex machina to come in the 11th hour of the civil war to defeat Jannoula. I was sad to see all the characteristics that made me love Seraphina in the first book disappear in this one.
  I was also disappointed in not actually seeing the civil war, which is what Shadow Scale was building up to and it felt very anti-climatic as it happened in what seems like less than a page. There were many new twists that seemed to be haphazardly thrown without any development or explanation in such as solving the love triangle between the Queen, Kiggs, and Seraphina, which made me scratch my head in confusion. I would have loved to see more romance between Kiggs and Seraphina. I would also have loved to see more of Orma who was hardly present in the book at all. 
 Overall Shadow Scale did not live up to my expectations and I was disappointed. What would have been a highlight in my reading for the month of April turned out to be a chore to read. Hartman is clearly a gifted writer, but she lost me early on in this lengthy book and could not win me back. I do, however, look forward to what she writes next. 

Rating: 3 stars

Words of Caution: There is some violence such as mental torture and a character getting stabbed, however, it is not graphically detailed. There is also minor language. Recommended for Grades 7 and up.

If you like this book try: Eona by Alison Goodman, Seven Realm Kingdom series by Kristin Cashore

 I've always had trepidations when it comes to reading high fantasy. I often get too overwhelmed by the rich, complex world building and a wide variety of characters from different backgrounds which why I had to pause and wait to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a film before diving back into the books. While Rachel Hartman's debut fantasy series is high fantasy, I can't help be drawn to the characters and the world.

Description (from the publisher): 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.

Review: Dragons have always been fascinating fantasy creatures that have captured our imaginations for quite some time. Hartman proves dragons are more than flying beasts who can spit fire. The Kingdom of Goredd has had a rocky peaceful treaty amongst between human and dragon kingdoms for forty years. The defamed treaty is on the verge of collapse and  tensions are high with an influx of dragons, who reluctantly shape-shift to their lessen human forms, arriving for their ruler Ardmagar Comonot’s anniversary. The anniversary comes at an ominous time when Prince Rufus is found murdered in the fashion of dragons (i.e. his head has been bitten off) and things reach a fever pitch as dragons and humans being pointing figures at one another.
    I was absolutely enthralled with Hartman's world building in Seraphina. The world seems to be heavily influenced by the Renaissance. The arts, philosophy, learning, and religion are given great importance in the society. Instead of believing in one deity, the people of Goredd believe in a variety of saints. There is a rigid social hierarchy amongst the citizens of the kingdom. Humans are the rulers while dragons are second class citizens, and the quitl are virtually the untouchable.
  In addition to the social order, the dragonlore of Seraphina is very tangible and easy to understand. The dragons only understand logic and order. Emotions are considered one's greatest weakness. Love, in particular, is viewed as a disease that must be avoided at all costs. I loved how throughout the book humans and dragons are trying to understand one another though they refuse to work together as each believes they are the superior creature who ought to rule.
  Our heroine Seraphina, a gifted and secretive court musician, bridges the gap between humans and dragons. I found Seraphina extremely likable. She desperately tries to go unnoticed as the investigation of Prince Rufus's murder draws close. Seraphina knows that her real identity must never be revealed since she is considered an abomination by her society. Her plight throughout the book is finding her own place in her world and trying to educate people about their prejudices to the different races without revealing herself. Some readers have called Seraphina cold, but I thought she was very resourceful (one can argue manipulative), smart, courageous yet vulnerable at the same time. Her emotions made sense to me after learning about who she is. 
  In addition to Seraphina, the secondary characters are important and fully realized as they represent different parts of society. Out of the many secondary characters, my favorite is Orma who reminds me in some ways as Snape from the Harry Potter series. Though he has no malice towards Seraphina, he struggles to identify with his human emotions, especially when he shape-shifts from dragon to human.  
  Though marketed as a fantasy, Serphina could work as a political thriller, murder mystery, bittersweet romance, and coming-of-age story. Since Seraphina is the daughter of high esteemed lawyer and a worker at the court, she is fully aware of the investigation. When Prince Lucian Kiggs asks for her help with the murder investigation, she has no choice but to become involved, even if Kiggs’ acute perceptiveness is a danger to her. The romance is slow burn and for once I didn't want to hit the love interest with a frying pan for being overly alpha.
  The only flaw that I can see preventing readers from fully enjoying Seraphina is its slow plot. The first hundred pages moves very slowly but I didn't mind too much as Hartman establishes her intricate world, but I know I was a bit surprised by the lack of action in the first half of the book. Once political intrigue started to develop, I thought the book moved much faster. Soon I found myself involved with the characters and waiting to know what would happen next. Though this is the first book in a series, I'm happy to say there isn't a cliffhanger but I'm eagerly awaiting to see how the story progresses.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is some language and disturbing images. Recommended for Grades 7 and up.

If you like this book try: Dragondrums by Anne Caffrey, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Dragon's Bait by Vivan Velde Vande, Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey, Alanna series by Tamora Pierce