Dragons walk as humans in the streets, their cousins the quitgutl hide in the shadows, and humans cling to their religion of saints as the delicate peace is threaten by the suspiciously draconian murder of Prince Rufus of Goredd. Seraphina, a music mistress, is caught in the middle of it all, as her secrets are all spread out like a dragon’s wing for all to see. Seraphina follows Seraphina as she lies to protect herself, while trying to figure out her muddled life as a half dragon along with all the unique problems that come with her pedigree. Silver scales around her arm and waist, her dragon mother’s memories, her dragon family, and the strange host of creatures who take residence in her mind garden, all Seraphina’s burden because of her …show more content…
The book’s overall plot starts simply enough, laying the groundwork quickly, and then it begins with a child delivering a coin to Seraphina’s dragon uncle Orma. It is a warning from Seraphina’s grandfather, Imlann, to not interfere and to remember family. ““You think he’s plotting against the Ardmagar?”” (Hartman 128) Seraphina quickly puzzles out that her grandfather, a general banished years ago, is not here to kill her or her human family for the dishonor her birth brought, but to perhaps kill the Ardmagar. Eventually, while trying to find Imlann, she begins to have sudden visions of from her mother’s maternal memories. Imlann has already tried to tip the humans and dragons back into war, and he was banished for it, but not before laying the groundwork. While the book progresses, Seraphina tries to find evidence to show Imlann is lurking somewhere in the court and is met with much disbelief. As the book crunches down, and Seraphina is caught between protecting her identity as a hybrid and protecting Goredd. As a reader, I felt this was a highly fascinating plot that shows Seraphina slowly being pulled in two directions, save Goredd or save her secret. The plot explores many elements, such as the social conflict between humans and dragons, and