The Ninja Reader

It's a truth universally acknowledged that writing a review about a book you liked is significantly more difficult than writing one about a book you hated. It's even harder when the book is one gathering quite a lot of hype and you feel like you can't possibly say anything new or exciting about it.Well, let me try.Seraphina is the bestest, most amazing, elegant, beautiful and well thought of book I have read all year. There really was nothing about the story that I did not love.Forty years have passed since the kingdom of Goredd struck peace with the dragons, but that doesn't mean old grudges have died completely. Dragons are feared and prejudice runs rampant, and if that wasn't bad enough, a member of the royal family was recently killed in a distinctly draconian fashion. Seraphina Dombegh is the assistant to the court music master, and through a chain of circumstances gets involved in the investigation of the Prince's death. But Seraphina has a secret. And discovery could cost her her life.All of my friends insisted this book was great, and having now read it, I'm glad for my persistance in requesting the ARC, because... damn! Saying it lives up to the hype is an understatement. It's not just the plot, though. The world of Seraphina is incredibly intricate, with details and religion and music and dragons and... I need to breathe. YA fantasy and dystopian books are rarely developed past the basic premise, which kind of gave the genre a reputation for being lazy. Needless to say that Rachel Hartman not only went the extra mile, but also crossed the ocean and probably discovered a new set of islands. The plot, as I said, was an amazing mystery, with twists and turns at every corner. I read the whole thing in a day, with minimal breaks for food, because it was that amazing. And even if you discover the identity of the murderer halfway through, the actual denouement and climax will leave you jumping up and down like holler monkies. When the plot is not racing forward, though, we spend time with the characters, and they are, surprise, surprise, a delight to read. I loved it how everyone turned out to be more than they initially appeared to be, and Hartman uses every single scene to squeeze more character development out for us. Seraphina is obviously our heroine, but she's not unique in being a smart, industrious woman - she doesn't need to be surrounded by stereotypes to hold her own story.Huh... turns out I can write reviews for books I love. Who knew? Anyway, I seriously urge you to read this when it comes out, or, better yet, preorder it (and keep your fingers crossed that the preorder fairy will drop it in your lap a month early). Note: A copy of this book was provided by the publishers for the purposes of this review.