Seraphina (review)

A gift for music isn't the only legacy Seraphina's long-dead dragon mother left to her; the sixteen-year-old girl also inherited a ring of telltale scales and a psychic connection to other human-dragon half-breeds. In the kingdom of Goredd, where the tentative peace between human and dragons strains under fear and prejudice, Seraphina's heritage could very well get her killed by either the bigoted humans who would view her with disgust or the coldly rational, emotionless dragons who would take her existence as an affront to scientific reason. Thus far, she's been able to keep her reptilian side a secret, but the task becomes more difficult when she finds herself ensnared in a political plot after a prince is murdered and a dragon is blamed. The medieval-esque world, filled with saints and dragons, is as deftly crafted as the characters themselves; Goredd has a distinct history, fraught with struggle and survival, and its residents reflect the conflicting ideologies that and traditions that inform their world. Seraphina's voice—passionate, wry, and wise—easily conveys her internal battle as a half-breed: the nonchalance of her self-loathing makes her struggle for identity even more heartbreaking. Secondary characters are given just as much nuance, and the romance between Seraphina and a bastard prince proceeds with believable hesitation and wariness, given the complications it will bring to both their lives. That romance is eventually put aside in this installment, but readers will want to plan to return to this richly developed world to see where this intricate fantasy goes next.