(a) smart and affecting debut novel ... Hartman tackles difficult issues with subtlety and creativity, weaves in a surprisingly touching romance, and does it all in beautiful prose.

This is a proper fantasy, with a feisty heroine and some truly splendid dragons...itu2019s a beautifully told story, with some gorgeously surreal imaginative flights on a level with Alice in Wonderland u2013 it has that dreamlike quality of beauty and absurdity...Seraphina is a fast-paced and skilfully wrought fantasy, a beautiful and original take on the dragon myth.

Hartman proves dragons are still fascinating in this impressive high fantasy ... Equal parts political thriller, murder mystery, bittersweet romance, and coming-of-age story, this is an uncommonly good fantasy centered upon an odd but lovable heroine ... Fantasy readers young and old who appreciate immersion into a rich new culture will not mind the novelu2019s slow build, especially as it takes wing and hurtles toward the stratosphere. This is an exciting new series to watch.

Seraphina is a quick-paced read, and while the story does pause at times for introspection, it never stalls or grinds to a halt ... Itu2019s a tale well told, the authoru2019s writing hitting a real high whenever music is involved. Here, her prose verges on the poetic; beautiful, often haunting, descriptions abound ... In Seraphina, Rachel Hartman has created a likeable, gutsy heroine, one who isnu2019t flawless or afraid to make mistakes.

Beautifully-written high fantasy about dragons. Credible, interesting characters, intricate but subtle worldbuilding and elegant prose ... Recommended by us for its sheer class.

I loved Seraphina from cover to cover, and I dearly hope that fantasy lovers everywhere take heed and read this remarkable, wonderful debut. Seraphina is another lock for my favourite books of 2012, and I emphatically recommend it to all.

The writing was really beautiful ... Seraphina completely took me by surprise and blew me away. I wasn't expecting anything nearly thing good when I started reading, and I'm so glad that I decided to pick it up. It is one decision I will not regret.

I found it completely absorbing and captivating. There are so many different elements to the story from the extravagant world building, intriguing and multilayered characters, and underlying tension and prejudice between human and dragon kind. As the female protagonist, I canu2019t think of anyone better than Seraphina ... Seraphina is a beautifully unique and fascinating debut fantasy. I canu2019t wait to read more from Rachel Hartman.

Rachel Hartman has created a richly complicated fantasy world, medieval at its core, with a relatively feudal society. The females are portrayed as strong characters (thank you Rachel) and the heroine, even though emotionally deprived, suffering from chronically low self esteem and forever under the thundercloud of exposure, is not a wimp u2026 Character development and u2018revealsu2019 throughout the book are excellent and itu2019s easy to make a connection with them u2013 personal flaws and u2018shades of greyu2019 make them more human, even the dragons!

Itu2019s a challenging world with so much vivid life spilling out from the pages, so much to hold together to weave into a narrative, and yet Hartman tackles it with ease and skill. I was impressed and completely engrossed in the story ... The writing was fantastic. At times painfully beautiful, with a lyrical quality that has knocked Hartman up into one of my favourite writers. I found myself doing something I never do with books u2013 folding down corners of pages to mark passages that I particularly loved ... I loved every moment of the journey and will quite happily go back and revisit it again and again until I have more to read from Hartman! ... I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves a fantastically written book u2013 never mind the fantasy elements and the dragons. Read this for the writing, for the fantastic plot and the brilliantly written characters. Yes the dragons and fantasy provide an extra element to the book, and a fantastic one at that, but Hartman is a new force to be reckoned with if her debut writing is anything to go by, and I recommend getting in and reading this before this book sweeps the masses and youu2019re left behind.