This is the “companion” (i.e., sequel) to Seraphina. It’s brilliant! The author stealthily weaves in many of today’s current issues. I love Seraphina’s character—gracious, forgiving, and compassionate—qualities often attributed to Saints. 😉 P.S. I’m now following the author and the narrator. Well done again, Mandy Williams! ( )

This was better than I expected---the power of low expectations strikes again. Consistently interesting, and more thoughtful than the previous book about relationships between the ityasaari. Way too long, though. Maybe should have been two books.

I'm so into the faux-catholic religion and its weird faux-catholic quirks. ( )

I did like it, but wow maybe it should've just been Seraphina and that's it. ( )

This book was long, but I was into it. Where Seraphina is a coming-of-age novel, Shadow Scale is a satisfying adventure story told on a grand scale. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding, particularly our visit to Porphyry, a city-state that vaguely evokes Roman North Africa and is home to a diaspora community of dragons. Seraphina, too, has a nuanced emotional journey that is more outward-looking than in the first novel.

The one element I found disappointing was the character of Jannoula, who is so very effective in the early chapters of the novel but less compelling later on. Nevertheless, the events she sets in motion make for some fun intrigue and a denouement that's pleasingly mythological in scope.

I love the energy of the romance—slow-burn, courtly, and restrained, it pushes the same buttons as my adolescent love for Edith Wharton and George Eliot. Hartman mentions Eliot in the acknowledgements of Seraphina, and I'm convinced Seraphina's happily-ever-after is a stealth retelling of the love triangle in The Mill on the Floss. I was exposed to mild spoilers, yet I still didn't see this particular resolution coming. I may need to go read some fan fiction.

I can see why some readers were disappointed by this book. Its priorities are very different from the coming-of-age story of Seraphina, and it's such a big novel that the storytelling is at times a bit creaky. Also, there is not nearly enough Orma. Nevertheless I found it an enchanting read and thought it greatly exceeded the expectations set by negative reviews. (Someone please write a browser extension that hides Goodreads ratings until I finish reading a book; my dumb brain can't resist a meaningless statistic.)

Rachel Hartman has once again written a fantastic book.In Shadow Scale Seraphina continues to search out the half-dragons from her garden. As she does she is pursued by humans who want to stop her and another half-dragon named Jannoula with frightening powers. She and her task are under a great threat. As she meets and gathers these other half-dragons we fall in love with each one. They are all such great characters- with maybe with one exception. Although Seraphina is threatened by Jannoula and her human pursuers we are unclear as to who her enemies are. Can she successfully gather her new friends and save her kingdom from imminent threat by the dragons and/or the anti-dragon neighbors?
This is an incredible story with wonderfully written personalities and relationships, great world-building and plot. All of which go beyond the "diversity of race, sex and gender". Shadow Scale is as beautifully written as Seraphina with an "impeccable ending to the unexpected duet"- worth the wait! ( )