In a world where dragons and humans coexist in an uneasy truce and dragons can assume human form, Seraphina, whose mother died giving birth to her, grapples with her own identity amid magical secrets and royal scandals, while she struggles to accept and develop her extraordinary musical talents.
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In a world where dragons and humans coexist in an uneasy truce and dragons can assume human form, Seraphina, whose mother died giving birth to her, grapples with her own identity amid magical secrets and royal scandals, while she struggles to accept and develop her extraordinary musical talents.
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Good. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 528 p. Seraphina, 1. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. May show signs of wear, highlighting, writing, and previous use. This item may be a former library book with typical markings. No guarantee on products that contain supplements Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Twenty-five year bookseller with shipments to over fifty million happy customers.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 528 p. Seraphina, 1. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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Seller's Description:
New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 528 p. Seraphina, 1. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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Good. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are solid. the cover is intact, but may show scuffs or light creases, as well as a possible rolled corner. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting, The former owner may have written their name inside the front or back cover. COVER WILL VARY.
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The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.
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Fair. The item is very worn but continues to work perfectly. Signs of wear can include aesthetic issues such as scratches, dents, worn and creased covers, folded page corners and minor liquid stains. All pages and the cover are intact, but the dust cover may be missing. Pages may include moderate to heavy amount of notes and highlighting, but the text is not obscured or unreadable. Page edges may have foxing (age related spots and browning). May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.
A much hyped novel that I finally decided to read, Seraphina came across as a little underwhelming. Not that I had much expectations before - prior to starting I only had a vague idea that it is an epic fantasy with dragons, and seemed much older in publication (that cover tricked me!) than it is. Seraphina's story takes place in the kingdom of Goredd, where she is a human-dragon hybrid in a society that has had just 40 years of peace with dragons. If you are thinking about the mechanics of such a conception, worry not - the dragons can shift to human forms called saarantrai when they want to enter human society. The two species are vastly different - humans are, well, temperamental, prone to making decisions on emotions rather than logic and quite judgemental. Dragons, for their part, are an advanced species, logical to a fault, and uncaring of emotions, and utterly disrespectful when it comes to human customs. In the past, they waged a war with the humans for the hunting grounds that became human kingdoms, but in this relatively newer peace of four decades, tensions are rising again now that the leader of the dragons is about to sit the kingdom that forged the truce.
The major arc of the novel is very political - there are forces, internal and external that don't see a point to the peace. Seraphina, for her part, has stayed out of court politics, but now that she has been made assistant to the court musician (and the unfortunate one who has to arrange ALL the entertainment at the palace) and teacher to the younger princess, she is unwillingly drawn into it. Also, there is the bastard prince (who is also fiance to the young princess) who is continuously amazed by her bravery and keeps thinking she is doing it out of civic duty or something. So, she is trying to hide her dragon part, while also helping out her dragon uncle find the perpetrator to the crime of killing the older prince, and trying to also defy her father who always forbade her from pursuing her musical talents. She embodies some aspects of a biracial identity in that she passes for human, and yet because of her status as belonging to both humans and dragons, understands and bridges the gap between them.
The novel is not all court intrigue and seriousness, though. It also has lighter moments like the running gag of everyone identifying her as 'that Maid Dombegh who played so wonderfully at the funeral', the dragons being confounded by any and all human emotions (especially the leader of the dragons who becomes convinced he is in love), her fellow musicians at court who are a little in love with her and tease her for trying to be as strict as the old court musician. She is adored by most of the people, yet she feels a bit alone - she feels insecure because of her dragon heritage and thinks that no one will accept her if they knew (which is partly right, because most of them are dragon-haters). There is the heartwarming friendship trio that forms between her, Glisselda (the princess) and Kiggs (the prince), which, while not exactly a love triangle, presents a similar obstacle for the slow burn romance between Seraphina and Kiggs to proceed. There are also some awesome half-dragon characters who save the day, and which I hope to see more of in the sequel.
