Shadow Scale is the next book after Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, it was a book I was really excited to read. The first book, Seraphina, had a special story about a world where dragons and humans live together, and it really caught my interest. So, I started reading Shadow Scale hoping it would be just as good. This book was very exciting in many parts, but there were also some parts that didn’t impress me as much as I had hoped.
First of all, one of the best things about Rachel Hartman’s writing is how she creates the world in her stories. In Shadow Scale, we get to see more than just Goredd, the place we knew from the first book. We travel to new areas and learn about different ways of life there. This makes the book really interesting because we get to explore a lot more of this world. However, this is both good and not so good. The way she describes these new places is really beautiful and makes you feel like you’re there. But sometimes, there’s so much detail about these new places that it makes the story slow down and become a bit too much.
Seraphina’s development as a character is one of the best parts of the book. In the first book, she’s a half-dragon who loves music. In Shadow Scale, she becomes a deeper character who is trying to understand who she is and what her responsibilities are. This change in her character is very interesting. But, there might be too many new characters in Shadow Scale for some readers. Each of these characters adds something special to the story, making it richer. However, remembering all of them and their roles in the story can be hard
In Shadow Scale, there’s an important new part of the story that includes Seraphina and other characters who are half-dragon, like her. They have special powers that are really interesting. The book talks more about something called the mind garden, which is a big part of the story. It’s kind of like a special place in their minds.
There’s also a character named Jannoula who causes a lot of trouble. She’s very interesting because she’s good at controlling others and is very complicated. She makes the story more exciting because she’s not just a simple bad guy. However, the way her story ends and what she really wants might not make every reader happy. Some people might feel like they wanted more from her part of the story or a different ending for her.
People who were looking forward to more about the romance between Seraphina and Prince Lucian might feel let down. In Shadow Scale, their relationship is still there, but it’s not the main focus. The story spends more time on other things. This change might upset some readers who really liked the romance in the first book. However, because the romance isn’t the main part of the story this time, it gives more space to explore Seraphina’s own story and growth in a bigger way.
Shadow Scale is a brave and big follow-up to the first book. It doesn’t always reach the same great moments as Seraphina did, but it definitely makes the world of the story bigger and more interesting. Rachel Hartman’s way of writing is still really nice to read, and she’s good at putting together a story that has many parts. Whether you’ve read the first book or are new to the series, Shadow Scale is a good book to read. But, there are a few parts that aren’t as good, which makes the book not shine as brightly as it could.
