Adam, it turns out, is immune to her deadly touch. After months of isolation, her captors suddenly give her a cellmate-Adam, a drop-dead gorgeous guy. Juliette’s journal holds her tortured thoughts in an attempt to repress memories of the horrific act that landed her in a cell. Juliette was torn from her home and thrown into an asylum by The Reestablishment, a militaristic regime in control since an environmental catastrophe left society in ruins. But her growing friendship with the princess and the princess’ betrothed, plus her unusual understanding of both humans and dragons, all lead to a poignant and powerful acceptance of herself.ĭragon books are common enough, but this one is head and talons above the rest.Ī dystopic thriller joins the crowded shelves but doesn't distinguish itself. The wealth of detail never overwhelms, relayed as it is amid Seraphina’s personal journey half-human and half-dragon, she is anathema to all and lives in fear. By turns pedantic, lonely, scared, drily funny and fierce, Seraphina brings readers into her world and imparts details from the vast (a religion of saints, one of whom is heretical) to the minute (her music, in beautifully rendered detail). Hartman has remixed her not-so-uncommon story and pseudo-Renaissance setting into something unexpected, in large part through Seraphina’s voice. As the anniversary of the treaty approaches, things fall apart: The crown prince has been murdered, anti-dragon sentiment is rising, and in the midst of it all, an awkward, gifted, observant girl unexpectedly becomes central to everything.

As musician Seraphina describes it, attempting to educate the princess, humans are like cockroaches to dragons, but interesting.

The dragons could destroy the humans, but they are too fascinated by them. In Hartman’s splendid prose debut, humans and dragons-who can take human form but not human feeling-have lived in uneasy peace for 40 years.

Seraphina book series rachel hartman