"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."
I knew I'd love Seraphina from the first page. Any author that could describe the birthing process with such eloquence was worth reading. Not since Daughter of Smoke and Bone has the language of a novel enthralled me like this. I lost myself in this story. Every page I read felt like a treat, and the grace of Rachael's words is really just the tip of the iceberg in what makes the story so great.
Seraphina was born different. Her perceptions are keener than other children's, and her mind works in ways few can fully understand. Music is her entire universe. She has a host of people living in her head, clamoring to be heard, and secrets locked away in a box within her mind, ready to burst forth and destroy her. She blacks out periodically, over taken by memories not her own. She is lonely, sad, brilliant, and brave.
She is pulled into the murder investigation of a dead prince by proxy of her extensive knowledge of dragons. She's one of the few humans to be tutored by a dragon, and as such she knows more of their kind than most.
Joining her in this investigation is Prince Lucien. He's the captain of the queen's guard, and responsible for investigating his relative's death. He is intelligent, obsessed with mystery, and few things escape his notice. The synopsis depicts him as "dangerously perceptive" and I find this an apt description. He reminds me a bit of Sherlock Homes. He's the type of investigator that goes onto the scene of a crime and can tell you what kind of shoes the villain was wearing, how much he weighed, and what he had for dinner that night. His perception is a gift and a terrible danger to Seraphina who has so many secrets to keep. He sees her, even the parts she tries to hide, and who does not yearn to be truly seen and understood? Despite the danger his clear sightedness poses (or maybe because of it) they form a friendship. They are cut from the same cloth in many ways, and more similar in spirit than either of them knows.
Rachel Hartman took a bold step in writing Lucien and Seraphina the way she did. They are both highly intellectual, much more so than I'm used to seeing in fantasy novels. It's difficult to write cerebral characters and make them loveable. I think readers connect more easily with passionate, brazen personalities. But Rachel created two characters that live more in their minds than their hearts, and made them sympathetic and loveable. I adored both Seraphina and Lucien. I connected with them, admired them, and cared for them.
The romance in this novel builds slowly and with great intensity, but it is tempered by duty. Both Seraphina and her love have too much honor to throw themselves into a wild romance, especially when the price of such a connection would be so high. There is no insta love to be found here. Instead we have feelings that build realistically, and love that is founded on mutual respect and trust. Despite its more cautious pace, this romance was suitably swoon worthy and left me fanning myself more than once.
At its heart, this is a mystery story. It's about uncovering the lies surrounding the prince's murder, and the secrets that live in the hearts of each of the characters. On a deeper level, it's about learning acceptance of oneself and others, and seeing the beauty in all things.
For nitpicks, Seraphina is a high fantasy novel which means there's a good portion in the beginning of the book dedicated to world building. The language of the story, while beautiful may also not appeal to some. Spending paragraphs describing the how a kiss can be like flying towards heaven might drive you up a wall.
However if you are a fan of epic fantasy, and love the poetry of the written word, I think you will adore this novel. It's a magnificent story, with top notch world building, likeable characters, and a surprising and exciting plot. It's easily one of my favorite novels of the year.
"If I could keep a single moment for all time, that would be the one. I became the very air; I was full of stars. I was the soaring spaces between the spires of the cathedral, the solemn breath of chimneys, a whispered prayer upon the winter wind. I was silence, and I was music, one clear transcendent chord rising toward Heaven. I believed, then, that I would have risen bodily into the sky but for the anchor of his hand in my hair and his round soft perfect mouth. No Heaven but this! I thought, and I knew that it was true to a standard even St. Clare could not have argued."
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Reviews with images
I love this kind of medieval fiction.
Starting from a school project about the similitude of mythologies from around the world my daughter wanted to read something akin to what she had researched, her teacher recommended this book, which to my dismay came with some kind of gunk that pasted this and another book together so tightly that it ended up damaging the back cover of this one, luckily my daughter didn't care and has begun reading it :D
Top reviews from other countries
David Rosell
Una historia original de dragones y príncipes
Reviewed in Spain on July 15, 2022
