Welcome to Litsy!

Not great.

FULL REVIEW: https://abookandateacup.blogspot.com/2016/08/shadow-scale.html

I'm going to try out the #BookSpin reading challenge. All of the books I've listed qualify for #COYER, another reading challenge I've joined for 2024 so I figured I would use the notebook function in my new Kindle Scribe.

@TheAromaofBooks please add me! 😁

2.5/5⭐ A large portion of the middle could have been cut out because it killed any sense of momentum & progress. The reader was bludgeoned in the face with the themes. Seraphina often seemed to be a spectator rather than an active character. The ending concluded via deus ex machina & included a lot of sudden, overpowered mechanics. The whole plot with Jannoula stretched out & felt over the top. Overall the book suffered from a lack of focus.

I‘ve seen several reviews that said this was a letdown after Seraphina—I understand why, but it was still a pick for me. Seraphina is traveling during much of the narrative, isolated from most of the characters we grew to love in the first book, and often thwarted in accomplishing her mission. But I appreciated the way the narrative gradually fills in the history of half-dragons, and Seraphina‘s growth as a character was wonderfully done. ⤵️

Yikes, but also 😂

I can‘t get over “Sitting smugly upon a disbelieving bottom” 🤣

Happy Friday! 🎉🎊🎉🎊 I hope everyone has nice long weekends ahead of them! Starting today I am off for four days so I am super excited about that! I foresee lots of reading in the days to come! 😋📚💕

LOOK AT THIS GORGEOUS CROCHET DRAGON ONE OF MY FRIENDS AT WORK GIFTED TO ME! 😱😍🐉🐲 I decided to name him Mirgalad, which means jewel of the trees in Elvish! I have such kind and wonderful friends! ❤️

Thank you so much, @glowyone

I know this sequel to Seraphina gets mixed reviews but I loved it! I think I was just happy to spend time in Goredd (and beyond!) with all our half-dragon, human, and dragon friends. The expansion of the world-building and the drawing together of all disparate details from the first book were so interesting and satisfying to me. I‘m relieved there are two more books that take place in Goredd so I can go back right away, even if not with Phina!

I love the world Hartman built for this series - but there was A LOT of politics going on that amounted to plot clutter. Unlike with Seraphina, I could guess big plot points and was frustrated that the main character couldn't see what I saw (for like 400 pages!). A little disappointed in the ending. Still a fun read. 3.5 stars.

Reading between playtime with the new puppy. ❤

Still a well done tale but definitely not as good as the first one. I feel like Seraphina got the short end of the stick at the end of it all.

I was slightly apprehensive going into this sequel of Seraphina because of the reviews I read, but overall I really liked it. I love the author's take on dragons and half-dragons and the world she built.

Day 9 #blue
I have a lot of blue colored books, but I thought one book would be nice. I really love this cover, the detail in the city and the font used for the title are just so catching. And the shade of blue is really pretty. I still have yet to read it but I will soon enough haha.
#colormepretty

DNF At 60%
I just couldn‘t keep going, this book is way too boring and I have know idea what‘s going on

Having read the other reviews of this book on LITSY before completing it, I was expecting to be disappointed. Thankfully, although I agree that it was slightly bunched together in terms of the plot line, it was still a satisfying conclusion to the tale. There was character development, there was drama, there was a lot of imagination, and there was a twist to the love triangle. #recentlyread #nospoilers #youngadult #fantasyfiction #dragons ❤️🖤🐉

Sometimes you've just got to look your book in the eye and say, "It's not you. It's me. I know you are going to find someone else who gives you the love you deserve, but I think we're going to have to break up." ?‍♀️

Seraphina grew a lot and faced what seemed to be an undefeatable foe. The love triangle had an interesting conclusion, though it wasn‘t the usual traditional happily ever after. Overall a good sequel.

A few books I picked up this weekend for bargain price. #sisforseptember #stack
@CaliforniaCay

"A single action could derive from many motivations. I should never assume."

An overdue bit of advice that Seraphina is finally starting to learn, (but which is good for all of us to remember.)

SO GOOD. I really like this series. It can be a little long in the tooth, but the characters are lovable enough to get through it. I am still surprised it is JUV. I had to look up some of the words and I‘m 31.

After such a long time of trying and trying again to read and finish Shadow Scale. I've decided to DNF it... As much as I loved Seraphina this one just wasn't for me. It was so full of details and information and there things happening from all sides. I couldn't concentrate and I just couldn't immerse into the story.
Do you DNF books? If you do, do you ever feel guilty? Because i do.

#bookish #bibliophile #bookreview #books #review #dnf

So glad we got to find out more about Jannoula in this super satisfying sequel. What a terrifying villain!

Sequel to Seraphina in which she tries to gather the other human/dragon hybrids to defend Goredd against treasonous dragons. Gorgeous writing and stellar worldbuilding.

I said I wasn't going to check anything out today because I still have a pile of books from last time, buuuut... then I saw this. #mustreadsequels

So difficult to find it in English in Spain!!? 😢 If I dont get it by September Ill read it in Spanish.

It seems pretty slow so far. Hoping it picks up before it expires on my OverDrive account.

Absolutely beautiful covers! Love the look of these

I love the world building & the characters in this series! Definitely the freshest European-rooted fantasy I've read in a long time. Hartman's use of philosophy & music is really great. That said, I did feel like the pacing of this one needed some work. It was definitely too long (I don't think I felt this way just because I was reading it for #Readathon). The climax was too drawn out, with far too little happening for far too long. #LitsyAtoZ #S

"Some days I told my heart to wait, just wait, because the sunset would teach me again that my pain was nothing compared with the eternal, circling sky." #Readathon Hour 8!

I'm wondering if I should have picked a shorter book for my second read of the #Readathon, as it's a bit discouraging to have read 200 pages and not even be half way through! That said, I am really enjoying the story. I think Seraphina is such an interesting character, with the strengths and flaws of both dragons and humans. #Deweys24HourReadathon

Classic fantasy journey through strange lands, searching for Seraphina's long-lost half-human, half-dragon kin. I've been a bit distracted this last while but am doubling down to concentrate now! #Readathon #YA #Fantasy

I feel you, Orma. We all do.

#currentlyreading #shadowscale

I listened to both Seraphina and Shadow Scale this year and then immediately implored @courtneybee to follow suit so we could discuss, because there were so many awesome elements.

I thought Hartman handled the #lovetriangle situation quite well. It's not the main focus of either book, but it's sweet and a little heartbreaking and unique, especially the conclusion. I'm not a big fan of love triangles, but I approve of this one.

#feistyfeb

An amazing sequel - full of intrigue, captivating characters and a world with dragons, danger and best of all friendship. Love these books!

Making progress on Shadow Scale and loving it! Hoping to finish before #24in48 this weekend!

It's rainy here and I just made hot cocoa and am now settling into this awesome book.

Finally starting Shadow Scale and enjoying some tea this morning. Nice to wake up and know you have some time to yourself!

This should have been two books. Other than that, it was a pretty epic adventure with a diverse cast of heroes and the kind of love story we don't often see represented in literature, period. I love this world, and I hope Hartman revisits it. (With fewer chapters and more books next time.) We need more Orma!

Finished Seraphina on Thursday, so this morning I'm curling up with tea and Shadow Scale. Don't have anywhere to go today so I might not move for a while...

📷cred: Paul Hogie- Manarola, Italy

I picked this 📷because it's very similar to how I pictured part of Seraphina's world. There is beautiful world-building in this book, and the characters are richly developed. It also fits nicely with #weneeddiversebooks . However, there was an idea that would be incredibly damaging to young abuse survivors, and I can't get past it. I don't want to say more because #spoilers, but I'll put it in a comment.

Currently reading while my guys play Star Wars Disney Infinity. Confession: sometimes I'm torn between reading my book and wanting a turn to play or watching them play! 🙊 Do any other reader-gamers have this struggle, or am I just a terrible book lover? 😂 [I played 2 hours of Zelda with the big kid today because he was brave at the dentist, so I've already had plenty of screen time. I also really love watching them play. 😍]

Thinking about my reading challenge that I'm planning for next year, reading only books I already own (and haven't read yet). I own a lot of really awesome books. I can't believe I haven't read read the sequel to Seraphina by Rachel Hartman yet!! #Shelfie

When your library hold list explodes all at once 😳📚 #gonnaneedmorethanthreeweekshere

I incorporated #herebedragons into my #bulletjournal , and I'm starting Shadow Scale this week! How serendipitous! Also, appendages are probably my least favorite thing to draw. 🖐🏼😬#photoadayNov16 #day12

P. S. - I hope everyone is doing well! ❤️