Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Goodreads snippet: Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page.

Review: After reading a lot of positive reviews about this book, I finally decided to read it for myself. At first, I was skeptical. Dragons? Talented musician girl? Those two are like oil and water, mix them and you get this ugly, splotchy liquid. And so I hesitantly picked up this book, thinking that I would at least get a book review out of it. After reading two pages, I immediately decided that I love this book.

The main character Seraphina was described as talented, but never as beautiful. In fact, she described herself as ugly many times. But her open acceptance of both humans and dragons regardless of species coupled with her spunky, yet kind personality made her very favorable. She's also knowledgeable about many things, mostly due to her half dragon-ness. Yes, that's right. Seraphina is half dragon, with scales around her waist and arm. This is her biggest secret, since half dragons are repulsive to both species, yet it is this very trait that saves her from one very bad dragon near the end of the book.

This book also had a wide variety of different characters, each one having its own personality. Orma, Seraphina's uncle, is very conflicted with his feelings of protectiveness for Seraphina since drangons are not allowed to feel emotions. Prince Lucian, a bastard child, struggles to make himself fit in. Princess Glisselda is portrayed as a flighty, average spoiled princess at first, but quickly evolves into 'queen material' at the hands of Seraphina's guidance and her own experiences. 

The plot was very straightforward, yet so elaborate that it was neither boring nor confusing. I can't really go into details much without spoiling everything, so let's just say it's twisty, and very, very clever. This is definitely a must read: 5/5 for sure.