DNF Explanation & Giveaway: Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

Goodreads
#2 in the Seraphina
ARC from publisher
Read 139 of 608 pages

I wasn't a huge fan of Seraphina, but I liked it enough to want to read the sequel.

Unfortunately, I didn't like the sequel enough to finish it.

I am very much in the minority on this series and I really, really wish I could love it as much as everyone else seems to love it. I think my issues with it are more on the personal side of things and those are usually hard to articulate. But I will try.

Five reasons Shadow Scale is not for me
(kinda spoilery for Seraphina)

1. Seraphina is not slumber party material for me

She seems so dreary and almost contradictory. I think that's in part because she is actually a pretty decent character, but she does not see those good qualities in herself. So her actions show one thing and her self-evaluation says another. 

I can see how that could work as a writing approach, but for me, that way of presenting her characterization isn't pleasurable to read. It makes Seraphina come across as a drag and I can't enjoy her more positive qualities. 

She also spent a good part of Shadow Scale making some stupid decisions and assumptions regarding the other half-dragons. This is her "lesson" in the book, so at least the point is that her decisions aren't correct. That makes it better, but still not fun to read.

2. The writing doesn't work for me

It feels so plodding. Like I'm swimming through honey. Making this Seraphina's "voice" makes her seem like such a bore. For me, I really think I would have enjoyed this more as third person. Though, I imagine that would be hard to do given all the action that takes place inside Seraphina's head.

3. Her garden

It is explained much more in this book, but I just...don't care. I don't care about Jaounella and Seraphina's presentation of her rubs me the wrong way. She's very knee jerk about it all, and that's frustrating to me. It makes Seraphina seem reactionary, unreasonable, and hyper-sensitive. And cowardly.

Since I don't know what happened in the past, all I can do is base my impressions off of the little information Seraphina gives me now, and that isn't enough for me to sympathize with her in this situation.

It just frustrates me and makes me want to tell her to suck it up and face her fears. After all, all I have as evidence is Seraphina successfully beating and containing Jaounella. So how bad can she be? (possibly very bad, but that isn't being communicated well).

4. Characterization

It seems to have suffered a lot in the sequel. In the first book, the side characters were so vivid and full of life. Here, they seem like sketches of themselves. Like we're relying solely on the development of the first book to carry over their characterizations in the sequel. 

As a result, characters I loved in the first book I just don't care about at all in the sequel. I'm so disappointed by this because I adored the character interactions in the first book.

5. I'm not into where this is heading

I read vague spoilers about what happens in the rest of the book and it doesn't really appeal to me. I don't feel invested in the story and what (I now know) will happen. I also don't like the resolution to the romance. 

Bottom line

There are certain authors I instantly click with and it's like they're writing specifically for me. Rachel Hartman is the opposite. There's just something that doesn't click with me.

Info for the giveaway:

• What you can win: A finished copy of Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
• As always, you do NOT have to be a follower
• This giveaway is US/CA only
• You must be 13 years of age or older
• One entry per person
• I will contact the winner through email and the winner will have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen 
• This giveaway closes on April 30th 

Click here to enter the giveaway!

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Book Review & Giveaway (US/CA): Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Goodreads
Review copy from publisher
3.5 out of 5 stars

I was told there would be amazing world building

I thought it was pretty good, but nothing special. It's a neat, though not really unique, world where dragons transform into human form and live in a tense alliance with humans. There's all sorts of heavy handed shades of prejudice, fear, and related racial issues. There was a prior war. There is an impending war.

See? None of that is very unique or amazing, so I definitely am not in the camp that hails the world building as something uniquely special.

That said, I liked the world. I could have done with a lighter touch on the "racism is bad" front (this made some characters ring less true—the princess in particular), but overall I liked reading about the less preachy parts of dragon-human interactions. I'm a sucker for the medieval-ish fantasy world with warring kingdoms and pretty princesses, so Seraphina's world was a good fit for me.

My biggest gripe about the world building though is that there are a lot of holes. I understand this is part I of II, but I don't think there should be this many holes. I have a ton of questions, and they're not of the "Just wait, that will be revealed" variety. This is the kind of world that looks really nice at first glance, but does not hold up under scrutiny. 

I was told the writing is beautiful

It is very nice. Even though the book is massive, and even though the plot is slow (very!), and even though I hate both of those things, I still loved reading Seraphina.

The writing totally drew me in and I barely noticed that I had read a lot and not much had actually happened or that I had barely made a dent in the pasta-bowl page count. I was just really enjoying reading.

But, there's also a whole lot of telling going on. I felt like I had a very unclear picture of who Seraphina was as a character until Kiggs was introduced and started telling me. Seraphina felt like one of those wallflower characters: likable and nothing to complain about, but also nothing to remember once the story is over.

Enter Kiggs, and suddenly Seraphina is bold and daring and other This Is A Memorable Character descriptors. And, yeah, he had a point I guess, and I understand he was telling Seraphina as much as he was telling me, but it still felt very forced. The same thing happened with other characters, too (I was reminded frequently of how regally the princess was acting).

I was told the politics were twisty

Yes-ish? A little? I like political fantasy stories, and Seraphina can definitely fall into that category. I'd fit it somewhere in the middle to low end though as far as twisty-ness is concerned. It's no Megan Whalen Turner, that's for sure.

The politics are more straight forward and while there is a dastardly plot, this is not the kind of political book with lots of subtle maneuvering. There's nothing wrong with that, and I enjoyed the story for what it was, but my expectations bar had been set for the latter and so I was a little disappointed.

I was told the romance was swoony

It's slow burn and built on friendship first, which I like. Her romantic interest is a good guy with solid morals and good character development. He's not a charmer or a bad boy. Their romance was very nice and I was happy to see it included in the book. Their conversations were engaging and reminded me of those rare special friendships where you just click with a person.

I loved reading the romance, but I did not swoon. 

I was told the characters were great

This is the shining part of the book for me. I'm a character girl, and I totally connected with these characters. Or, less the actual characters (because I don't feel compelled to start handing out sleepover party invites, even though they were nice) but more the relationships.

Seraphina's relationships with the various characters truly touched me. I almost cried at various points, both in sadness and in pure joy. I looked forward to seeing her in scenes with the different characters, less for plot progression and more just because I liked seeing them together. I think this is what really hooked me, kept me reading, and will keep me coming back for the sequel. 

But, this wasn't entirely solid, either. Characterizations were shifted in order to fit the narrative. People would change or make decisions that just didn't make sense. Why now? Why this way? I guess they could happen that way, but I wasn't convinced and that doubt interfered with my enjoyment and immersion in the story.

Bottom line

Rachel Hartman is an author I'm going to follow. Seraphina is her debut, and in a lot of ways it reads like a debut. There are things that can be improved, and that is to be expected with a debut. But there is also a lot of promise and a strong foundation, and I'm excited to see how she builds on that.

I wish I hadn't been exposed to so much hype for this book. I'm not sure if it would have changed my enjoyment level, but it may have had an effect. Expectations are a powerful factor.  

The ending actually wraps up a lot better than I was expecting it would, but of course there's all that impending doom stuff that will happen in the sequel. I'm pretty sure this is a duology and not a trilogy, and I am extremely happy to hear that. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, and while I don't feel like I need it RIGHT NOW, I am glad I won't have to wait long to find out what happens next.

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Click on the covers to go to my reviews


Info for the giveaway:

• What you can win: A finished copy of Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
• As always, you do NOT have to be a follower
• This giveaway is US/CA only
• You must be 13 years of age or older
• One entry per person
• I will contact the winner through email and the winner will have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen 
• This giveaway closes on March 14th 

Click here to enter the giveaway!

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