#seraphina dombegh

[critterofthenight]

y'all i'm getting so good at this

bonus: the ones i thought may work but didn't

tho it took lots of questions and please notice that they don't even have a pic of Dustin :D

[10vesickgir1]

okay so i’m sure i am SUPER late to this party, but i just need to air out some things as i have just started reading “in the serpent’s wake” by rachel hartman. also pls don’t spoil. first and fucking foremost, i have had spira for roughly 33 pages and i would fucking DIE for them. i genuinely do not know what it is about them that just caught my eye and my heart, but they did it and i am dying because there is quite literally no content ANYWHERE for them, and i need there to be so badly. god i’m just gonna have to make the fanart myself. i think a big part of why i just love their character so much is because they do not fit in anywhere in a world where both sides hate the other. dragons hate humans and quigs, humans hate quigs and dragons, and quigs hate dragons and humans. spira doesn’t fit in with the dragons because they have tathlann’s syndrome so they’re “too human”, they don’t fit in with the humans because they’re a little emotionally stunted so they’re “too dragon”, and of course they’re not gonna fit in with the quigs. i just think there’s something so poetically tragic in just not being able to fit in anywhere and i want to give spira the biggest fucking hug and tell them i love them so much god. and like i think rachel was trying to describe them as unsavory in appearance, but it has done the opposite. doughy body? oooo i love chub. curly, weird hair? FUCK yes. big autism eyes that just stare? GIVE ME. god now i’m gonna have to make fanart of them bc there is literally NOTHING on the internet and i’m so upset about it. okay goodnight guys.

[mixedkid-matchup]

Updated Book Bracket

the cat won...........

anyway?? i'll upload this first full round TMR from like 8-10 AM MST

Luo Binghe (The Scum Villain’s Self Saving System) VS. Mistyfoot (Warrior Cats)

Carter & Sadie Kane (Kane Chronicles) VS. Minotaur (Greek Mythology)

Seraphina Dombegh (Seraphina) VS. Kiko Himura (Starfish)

Gratuity Tucci (The True Meaning of Smekday) VS. Todd/Squee (Johnny the Homocidal Maniac)

Butler (Artemis Fowl) VS. Jesper Fahey (Grishaverse)

Sunny (Wings of Fire) VS. Hollyleaf (Warrior Cats)

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles) VS. Gideon Nav (The Locked Tomb)

Winter (Lunar Chronicles) VS. Naomi & Owen León (Becoming Naomi León)

[starbuckscommitmentissues]

Made a discord for fans of Seraphina/Tess of the Road duologies!

[fullmetal-angelgrace]

well...... that was fucking horrifying

the description of seraphina slowly losing time and control of her thoughts and movements to jannoula was bone chilling, even worse that she was just a lonely kid happy to have a friend and help someone in need 😭😭

i feel like that could be its entire own plotline or short story or something jesus

[brianvalez]

Tess really thought it be safe getting close lol.

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fantasy Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries below:

The Seraphina Duology (Seraphina, Shadow Scale) by Rachel Hartman

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. Fantasy, young adult, secondary world, epic fantasy

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

You may think you know how the fairytale goes: a mermaid comes to shore and weds the prince. But what the fables forget is that mermaids have teeth. And now, her daughters have devoured the kingdom and burned it to ashes. On the run, the mermaid is joined by a mysterious plague doctor with a darkness of their own. Deep in the eerie, snow-crusted forest, the pair stumble upon a village of ageless children who thirst for blood, and the three 'saints' who control them. The mermaid and her doctor must embrace the cruellest parts of their true nature if they hope to survive. Horror, fantasy, retelling, adult, novella

[abookandacuppa]

Seraphina

This book was decent enough, but different from what I thought it would be. I think I expected more of a murder-mystery vibe based off of the summary, but it was mostly courtly politics. Which is interesting enough, I suppose, but not always my cup of tea. The story meandered slowly for the first half or so, but really gained momentum during the last third of it.

The themes were pretty good, with many of the characters trying to come to terms with the sins of their parents and how that means they need to go above and beyond to receive respect. The dragon lore was also pretty good, but I wish it was fleshed out s bit more. Same with the saints/deities of the world. It just seemed like saints were name-dropped at random, and honestly I sort of tuned out after awhile.

But overall the book is good. It isn't one I would reread, and I have no intense desire to continue the series, but it was a good experience. The main character is dry and witty, which made for some humorous moments. Her relationships with the people around her was probably my favorite parts of the story and was the saving grace for this book. I would recommend this book to the right sort of audience, but I don't think I am the right sort of audience.

All in all, I gave it 3/5

Summary under the cut:

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.

[coolest-dragon-bracket]

COOLEST DRAGON QUALIFIERS

the winner of this poll will be on the final bracket!

[powerpolyculeshowdown]

Soooo these are just the ones I need to run the preliminary round :) I'm actually missing quite a few if I want to have something for every contestant + the honorable mentions...

i've decided any submissions without a description won't be included, or mentioned. I can't really introduce people to a polyship if I can't describe them. If your submission is in this list, please help me! It doesn't need to be a long description! Just something that explains their dynamic a bit! Examples:

about a canon submission:

Not only do they live through an incredibly complex and co-dependent youth together, they come out of it on the other side and heal and raise a kid together.

about an implied canon submission:

The interactions between the three of them throughout the story mode and other dialogue sources throughout the game at least imply it. The dynamic between the three's personalities makes it clear they've at least known each other for a super long time, and that them being in a polycule wouldn't be too far-fetched.

(these examples aren't necessarily from contestants, again, i want to describe the mentions as well.)

As for the prelim round ones, I'll wait until tomorrow night, and whichever is still missing a description will be auto eliminated.

I know some of these have been described to me in asks before the nominations even went live, but there's too many asks in the tag and I simply can't look through all of them to find them, that's why I need your help, please!

So here are the full lists of stuff i'm missing, under the cut

Needs description:

-Miw/Neo/Shin (3 will be free)

-Camina Drummer/Michio Pa/Josep/Serge/Berthold/Oksana (The Expanse)

-Cinrak the Dapper/Queen Orvilia/Loquolchi (The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper)

-Zahava/Akila/Terrence (This Planet Needs a Name)

-Mairwen/Rhun/Arthur (Strange Grace)

-Zoe Benson/Madison Montgomery/Kyle Spencer (American Horror Story)

-Nacho/Ana/Sebastian (Somos Tr3s/We Are Thr3e)

Needs Image:

-Camille/Nyra/Dendro (Muted)

-Syenite/Innon/Alabaster (Broken Earth)

-Dianda/Simon/Patrick (October Daye)

-Jack Rossi/August Bateman/Rina Medina (The Wicker King)

-Turtle Heart/Melena/Frex (Wicked book)

-Breq/Mercy of Kalr/Seivarden/Ekalu (Imperial Radch)

-Cinrak the Dapper/Queen Orvilia/Loquolchi (The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper)

-Cinnamon/Marie/Klaus (Will Do Magic for Small Change)

-Pyrrha/Commander Wake/Gideon The First (The Locked Tomb)

-Travis/Gable/Margaret (Campaign: Skyjacks)

-Storm/Helen/Mira (Love and Luck podcast)

-Zahava/Akila/Terrence (This Planet Needs a Name)

-Mairwen/Rhun/Arthur (Strange Grace)

-Enrique/Hypnos/Zofia (The Guilded Wolves)

-Taylor/Theo/Josey (3 - Hanna Moskowitz)

-Tess Dombegh/Jacomo/Margarethe (Seraphina)

-Nacho/Ana/Sebastian (Somos Tr3s/We Are Thr3e)

[seekerreads]

july wrap up!

this was kind of a mid month ngl 😓 but on we go!

𓆩♡𓆪 title: Yona of the Dawn, Volume 2

𓆩♡𓆪 author: Mizuko Kusanagi

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕

𓆩♡𓆪 description: While on the run, Yona and Hak head to Hak’s hometown, where she attempts to heal her broken heart. However, she can’t rest there for long once she discovers that Su-won may soon become king! What will Yona choose to do in the wake of this news?

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: the pace is picking up! i've been told it only gets better so i'm ready for the journey!

𓆩♡𓆪 title: Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom

𓆩♡𓆪 author: Sylvia Plath

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗

𓆩♡𓆪 description: Lips the colour of blood, the sun an unprecedented orange, train wheels that sound like 'guilt, and guilt, and guilt': these are just some of the things Mary Ventura begins to notice on her journey to the ninth kingdom.

'But what is the ninth kingdom?' she asks a kind-seeming lady in her carriage. 'It is the kingdom of the frozen will,' comes the reply. 'There is no going back.'

Sylvia Plath's strange, dark tale of independence over infanticide, written not long after she herself left home, grapples with mortality in motion.

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: quite spooky and atmospheric, but not long enough to leave much of a lasting impression.

𓆩♡𓆪 title: The Fake Mate

𓆩♡𓆪 author: Lana Furguson

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕

𓆩♡𓆪 description: Mackenzie Carter has had some very bad dates lately. Model train experts, mansplainers, guys weirdly obsessed with her tail—she hasn’t had a successful date in months. Only a year out of residency, her grandmother’s obsession with Mackenzie finding the perfect mate to settle down with threatens to drive Mackenzie barking mad. Out of options, it feels like a small thing to tell her grandmother that she’s met someone. That is, until she blurts out the name of the first man she sees and the last man she would ever date: Noah Taylor, the big bad wolf of Denver General.

Noah Taylor, interventional cardiologist and all around grump, has spent his entire life hiding what he is. With outdated stigmas surrounding unmated alphas that have people wondering if they still howl at the moon, Noah has been careful to keep his designation under wraps. It’s worked for years, until an anonymous tip has everything coming to light. Noah is left with two options: come clean to the board and risk his career—or find himself a mate. The chatty, overly friendly ER doctor asking him to be her fake boyfriend on the same day he’s called to meet the board has to be kismet, right? Mackenzie will keep her grandmother off her back, and Nate will get a chance to prove he can continue to work without a real mate—a mutually beneficial business transaction, they both rationalize. But when the fake-mate act turns into a very real friends-with-benefits arrangement, lines start to blur, and they quickly realize love is a whole different kind of animal.

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: entertaining, but nothing ground breaking. hetero omegaverse just might not be for me. (full review here)

𓆩♡𓆪 title: Yona of the Dawn, Volume 3

𓆩♡𓆪 author: Mizuho Kusanagi

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕

𓆩♡𓆪 description: Yona and Hak set out on a journey to find a priest who can see the future. After they get severely injured falling from a cliff, a boy named Yun and his guardian Ik-su nurse them back to health—and Ik-su happens to be a priest! When Yona tells him that she wishes to protect the lives of those who are precious to her, what path will Ik-su show her?

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: n/a

𓆩♡𓆪 title: Seraphina

𓆩♡𓆪 author: Rachel Hartman

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗

𓆩♡𓆪 description: 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.

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: concept was neat, but overall i just wish this book did more. one big decision by the protag i thought was dumb and it soured the book for me. will not pick up the sequel. (full review here)

𓆩♡𓆪 title: The Broken Forest

𓆩♡𓆪 author: Megan Derr

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕

𓆩♡𓆪 description: When women and children begin to vanish, the people of Edge village summon a Huntress. Though she is long due for a break and exhausted from her previous assignment, Adamina accepts the assignment and heads for Edge. But when she arrives, the simple assignment she anticipated proves instead to be complicated—complicated enough she must consult with a witch. A beautiful, compelling witch that makes Adamina sharply aware of her own lonely life, and temps her to make it less lonely.

Assuming the forest doesn't kill them first.

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: very short, very atmospheric, very queer! trans woman mc! would've loved for this to be longer! (full review here)

𓆩♡𓆪 title: Patricia Wants to Cuddle

𓆩♡𓆪 author: Samantha Allen

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕

𓆩♡𓆪 description: When the final four women in competition for an aloof, somewhat sleazy bachelor’s heart arrive on a mysterious island in the Pacific Northwest, they prepare themselves for another week of extreme sleep deprivation, invasive interviews, and, of course, the salacious drama eager viewers nationwide tune in to devour. Each woman came on The Catch for her own reasons—brand sponsorships, followers, and, yes, even love—and they’ve all got their eyes steadfastly trained on their respective prizes. Enter Patricia, a temperamental and woe¬fully misunderstood local living alone in the dark, verdant woods, and desperate for connection. Through twists as unexpected as they are wildly entertaining, the self-absorbed cast and jaded crew each make her acquaintance atop the island’s tallest and most desolate peak, finding themselves at the center of an action-packed thriller that is far from scripted—and only a few will make the final cut.

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: interesting concept, but ultimately didn't do what I wanted it to do ://. (full review here)

𓆩♡𓆪 title: How To Bite Your Neighbor & Win A Wager

𓆩♡𓆪 author: D.N. Brynn

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌖

𓆩♡𓆪 description: Vincent Barnes has suffered four years as a vampire, and they’ve been the most miserable years of his pathetic life. Too poor for black market blood, he feeds from sleeping humans to survive. He tries to never intrude on the same prey twice, but after a single delicious taste of a long-lost childhood neighbor, he can’t help returning for seconds.

Wesley Garcia has been waking up with fang marks. Lucky for him, he needs a vampire—to use as bait. He’s certain Vitalis-Barron Pharmaceutical killed his mother, but to gain access to their covert research labs, he has to bring them a bloodsucker for their experiments. 

Step one, a dramatic offer: Stay, and you can bite me. 

Vincent leaps at the chance to gobble Wesley up.

Wes’s plan is perfect. He’ll befriend the vampire, then trick him into coming to the lab. No fighting, no fuss. But Vincent is more than Wesley has bargained for: sweet and shy, with intoxicating fangs that awaken new desires in Wes. As the two bond, Vincent believes he might have finally found someone worth putting his trust in... and Wes fears neither of them will survive the betrayal he has planned.

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: very cute! love supernatural romances and love queer stories, and this overall did what it was meant to do! nothing too groundbreaking but i still had a good time!

𓆩♡𓆪 title: Yona of the Dawn, Volume 4

𓆩♡𓆪 author: Mizuho Kusanagi

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕

𓆩♡𓆪 description: While on a quest to find the Four Legendary Dragon Warriors, Yona and her friends meet Gija, the White Dragon. Gija uses his power to detect the other Dragons, but locating the Blue Dragon proves to be more difficult than expected, and the group runs into a string of disasters!

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: more new characters being introduced! i'm quite intrigued with the backstories so far. it'll be interesting to see what the author does with them!

𓆩♡𓆪 title: December Park

𓆩♡𓆪 author: Ronald Malfi

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌖

𓆩♡𓆪 description: In the quiet suburb of Harting Farms, the weekly crime blotter usually consists of graffiti or the occasional bout of mailbox baseball. But in the fall of 1993, children begin vanishing and one is found dead. Newspapers call him the Piper because he has come to take the children away. But there are darker names for him, too . . .

Vowing to stop the Piper's reign of terror, five boys take up the search. Their teenage pledge turns into a journey of self-discovery . . . and a journey into the darkness of their own hometown. On the twilit streets of Harting Farms, everyone is a suspect. And any of the boys might be the Piper's next victim.

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: another very atmospheric read! overall enjoyed it but it was a bit too long imo and i didn't like some of the twists. (full review here)

𓆩♡𓆪 title: Schoolbooks & Sorcery: An Anthology of Inclusive YA Fantasy

𓆩♡𓆪 author: multi

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕

𓆩♡𓆪 description: In this enchanting collection of young adult tales, 20 authors explore the overlap of the mundane and the fantastical, with LGBTQ protagonists juggling the pressures of school and the wonder of magic in its many forms. From entrance tests to final exams, casting spells to breaking curses, these teens seek to claim their place in the world. In these pages, you'll find gay and lesbian, bisexual and asexual, trans and nonbinary characters, all experiencing sexy, strange, wicked, wonderful, romantic adventures. They deal with bad roommates and bullies, first loves and new friends, all while crafting and inhabiting their ideal identities. Featuring authors such as Seanan McGuire, Cheryl Rainfield, Cecilia Tan, E.C. Myers, Rajan Khanna, and many more. Step inside and experience Schoolbooks & Sorcery?

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: very well-rounded anthology! each of the worlds were unique and dealt with different issues with enough diversity to impress for such a specific sub-genre to be writing from! (full review here)

𓆩♡𓆪 title: Romeo And/Or Juliet, A Chooseable-Path Adventure

𓆩♡𓆪 author: Ryan North

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕

𓆩♡𓆪 description: In this choose-your-own-path version of Romeo and Juliet, you choose where the story goes every time you read What if Romeo never met Juliet? What if Juliet got really buff instead of moping around the castle all day? What if they teamed up to take over Verona with robot suits? Whatever your adventure, you're guaranteed to find lots of romance, lots of epic fight scenes, and plenty of questionable decision-making by very emotional teens.

All of the endings--there are over a hundred--feature beautiful illustrations by some of the greatest artists working today, including New York Times bestsellers Kate Beaton, Noelle Stevenson, Randall Munroe, and Jon Klassen.

Packed with exciting choices, fun puzzles, secret surprises, terrible puns, and more than a billion possible storylines, Romeo and/or Juliet offers a new experience every time you read it. You can choose to play as Romeo or Juliet (obviously) but you can also play as both of them, or as Juliet's nurse, or, if you're good, you can even unlock a fourth playable character That's right. We figured out how to have unlockable characters in books. Choose well, and you may even get to write the world's most awkward choose-your-own sex scene.

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: i mostly just picked this up for fun lol. it was very cute.

𓆩♡𓆪 title: Vampires of Eden: Oliver

𓆩♡𓆪 author: Karla Nikole

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌖

𓆩♡𓆪 description: Welcome to Eden. A vampire aristocracy weighted down by the iron shackles of rigid and sometimes cruel customs. Eden exists as all vampires once were—motivated by power, wealth, influence and sexual desire. 

Oliver James Blakeley is a young purebred vampire raised in Eden. Although, he sincerely wishes that were not the case. He is isolated. Lonely. And his every move is controlled by his manipulative father, who has also saddled him with an arranged marriage. 

Oliver yearns to be free. To live as a liberated vampire in the twenty-first century. He knows that his dream is outlandish given his circumstance. But when he encounters a suave, progressive and much older vampire during the preparation for his wedding, the trajectory of Oliver’s life shifts, and nothing will ever be the same.  

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: i didn't like this one as much as nikole's other works, but still a good time! gay vampires are always fun. (full review here)

𓆩♡𓆪 title: Giant Days, Volume 1

𓆩♡𓆪 author: John Allison, Whitney Cogar with Lissa Treiman

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗

𓆩♡𓆪 description: Susan, Esther, and Daisy started at university three weeks ago and became fast friends. Now, away from home for the first time, all three want to reinvent themselves. But in the face of hand-wringing boys, "personal experimentation," influenza, mystery-mold, nu-chauvinism, and the willful, unwanted intrusion of "academia," they may be lucky just to make it to spring alive. Going off to university is always a time of change and growth, but for Esther, Susan, and Daisy, things are about to get a little weird. 

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: INCREDIBLY british.

𓆩♡𓆪 title: Green Rider

𓆩♡𓆪 author: Kristen Britain

𓆩♡𓆪 rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌘

𓆩♡𓆪 description: On her long journey home from school after a fight that will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G'ladheon ponders her uncertain future. As she trudges through the immense Green Cloak forest, her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves, as a galloping horse bursts from the woods. 

The rider is slumped over his mount's neck, impaled by two black-shafted arrows. As the young man lies dying on the road, he tells Karigan he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king of Sacoridia. 

Before he dies, he begs Karigan to deliver the "life and death" message he bears to King Zachary. When she reluctantly he agrees, he makes her swear on his sword to complete his mission, whispering with his dying breath, Beware the shadow man.... 

Taking on the golden-winged horse brooch that is the symbol of the Green Riders, Karigan is swept into a world of deadly danger and complex magic, her life forever changed. Compelled by forces she cannot understand, Karigan is accompanied by the silent specter of the fallen messenger and hounded by dark beings bent on seeing that the message, and its reluctant carrier, never reach their destination.

𓆩♡𓆪 thoughts: good start to the series! some things went unexplained or waved away but i suppose that's to be expected from the first book in a series. i will be continuing to book 2! (full review here)

ending stats:

books read: 15

pages read: 4,742

average rating: 3.67

yearly goal: 116/150

(divider credit: @drinkthesky)

[riding-with-the-wild-hunt]

Book Rec

Happy Friday, friends! *vine voice* Back at it again with another book recommendation, this time for a few of my all-time favorite books. Okay, shall we? Great, let's go. :)

Titles: Seraphina, Shadow Scale, Tess of the Road

Author: Rachel Hartman

Genre(s): Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, High Fantasy

Order: I recommend reading both Seraphina and its sequel, Shadow Scale, before Tess of the Road, but you don't necessarily need to. However, Seraphina DOES come before Shadow Scale, so I'd say you shouldn't start with Shadow Scale.

Length: Seraphina: 528 pages, Shadow Scale: 624 pages, Tess of the Road: 544 pages

Summaries:

Seraphina: Seraphina Dombegh, a music prodigy with a deadly secret, must navigate political intrigues and rampant prejudice as she works to uncover a sinister plot that jeopardizes her country's fragile peace.

Shadow Scale: Now, finding herself at the center of a tangled web of alliances and complexities where one misstep could mean all-out war, Seraphina travels across multiple countries and realizes that danger is around every corner--and even in her own mind.

Tess of the Road: Tess Dombegh, "fallen woman" and disgraced pariah, flees her home and, disguised as a man, sets out on a journey to rediscover who she truly is.

Awesome Things in These Books

A large, diverse cast of characters

Innovative worldbuilding, interesting languages, and a fleshed-out religious structure

Dragons! Dragons who are neurodivergent!

Deals with some really pertinent and heavy themes

There's a culture where the absolute peak of boorishness is to not ask someone's pronouns when you meet them (and the language has six or seven sets of different gendered and non-gendered pronouns)

Lots of LGBTQ+ representation

Disabled representation as well (a main love interest in one book as well as multiple other characters)

Lyrical and poignant writing

Feminism!!

They have real wit and humor

Genderfluid dragon-esque beings who build intricate mechanical devices and also steal

A healthy and adorable polyamorous triad

Content Warnings: while there's not much that I can think of to be concerned about (trigger-wise) in Seraphina or Shadow Scale, Tess of the Road handles a lot of potentially upsetting stuff including suicidal ideation, sexual assault, miscarriage, religious trauma, child abuse, PTSD, and depression. Just be aware of that before you read, okay? ❤

Anyways, I think all of these are wonderful books and I hope that, if you read them, you enjoy them too! Feel free to message me or drop something in my ask box if you have any questions, comments, or just want to chat. :)

[darlingtons-voyster]

Imagining Glowing by the Oh Hellos as a Seraphina song is causing my soul to astral project someone wanna feel that with me

[mixedkid-matchup]

[starbuckscommitmentissues]

No one:

Claude from Seraphina:

[wickedsick]

Steven universe seraphina au