Review: Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

Genre: Young Adult Historical Fantasy
Series: Serafina #1
Pages: 293
Copyright: 2015
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
“Never go into the deep parts of the forest, for there are many dangers there, and they will ensnare your soul.”

Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of the Biltmore estate. There’s plenty to explore in her grand home, although she must take care to never be seen. None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina exists; she and her pa, the estate’s maintenance man, have secretly lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can remember.

But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is: a terrifying man in a black cloak who stalks Biltmore’s corridors at night. Following her own harrowing escape, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt, the young nephew of the Biltmore’s owners. Braeden and Serafina must uncover the Man in the Black Cloak’s true identity . . . before all of the children vanish one by one.

Serafina’s hunt leads her into the very forest that she has been taught to fear. There she discovers a forgotten legacy of magic, one that is bound to her own identity. In order to save the children of Biltmore, Serafina must seek the answers that will unlock the puzzle of her past.

Feelings: 
Mythical creatures prowl the night, and Serafina just might be one of them. In Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty, Serafina witnesses the disappearance of a girl and barely escapes. This was an interesting combination of history and fantasy. 

The book started out a bit slow, but it picked up near the end. I like that it included both historical elements about the Biltmore Estate and mythical/magical elements. Part of me wonders if I would have enjoyed the book as much as I did if it wasn't set locally. 

I really enjoyed the character Serafina, which was good because this was limited third person from her point of view. There are plenty of characters in the book but there are only three to five that I would consider well developed characters. Braeden Vanderbilt and Serafina's pa are the most developed of the characters. This is probably because Serafina has been hidden from humans by her father, who is afraid that she is so different she won't fit it. I thought at first I might not like this book because it was from a 12 year-old's perspective but Serafina was not a whiny child but a curious one. That made a big difference in my opinion of her.

Braeden and his dog Gidean make for interesting side kicks for this adventure. Gidean is a typical very loyal dog but he needed to be that in this story.

The man in the black cloak is bad but I never really got a feeling for the character to dislike him. Serafina was scared of him, but she was also curious about him and what the cloak was. Two chapters into the book, I was invested in the story enough to want to learn more.

I will be reading the next book in the series because I'm curious to see what happens with Serafina once she stops hiding. 

Review: The House of the Four Winds by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

Genre: Adventure Fantasy 
Series: Book One of One Dozen Daughters  
Pages: 300 
Copyright: 2014  
Publisher: A Tor Book 
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
The tiny nation of Swansgaard is a lovely place with abundant natural resources, including the royal family, which has been blessed with twelve daughters and a son. As this boisterous baker's dozen approaches adulthood, the king and queen lovingly tell their daughters, "You must make your own fortune, for we cannot enrich you without impoverishing our people or leaving our lands defenseless, and that we will not do."

Happily, the princesses of Swansgaard are eager to meet this challenge, for they yearn for adventures both near and far from home.

Clarice, an expert swordswoman, is the first to depart. Disguising herself as Clarence, she signs on for a voyage to the New World. The captain is vile and blackhearted, and the crew soon mutinies. Clarice becomes first mate - and finds her heart captured by the new captain, Dominick, who is, to his own surprise, increasingly attracted to Clarence.

Now outlaws, Dominick and his crew turn to piracy - though their hearts are not entirely in it. They soon run afoul of the Pirate Council, who orders them to retrieve the Heart of Light. All who have searched for this great treasure have vanished, with neither ships nor crews ever seen again and no sign of their fates ever discovered.

But none before have carried with them the sorceress Shamal, who stakes a claim of her own on Dominick's heart.

Feelings:
This book says it is Book One of One Dozen Daughters, however, I see no indication that there will be more books to come.

I'm going to admit to doing something when I go to the library to pick books that adds some randomness to what I read. When I don't have a lot of time to look at books or I can't find the book I was looking for, I will pick up the first book I see with a fantasy sticker on the spine. This was such a book. Looking at the cover, I knew it was not going to be the best book I've ever read. Sometimes though reading a book with mediocre writing is alright if the story is interesting. That being said I enjoyed the story, but at times the dialogue felt fake.

Clarice is an interesting character and I enjoyed reading from her point of view. The story starts with her leaving home, and then we skip six months of her adventures to when she decides to book passage on a ship to the New World. She is told that three ships will be leaving soon, and the first two ships she tries to book passage on she finds do not have any room for a passenger. The third ship is not highly recommended but as the only option she books passage on it. While she doesn't like the captain of the ship, she find Dominick, the navigator, enjoyable company and decides if he is sailing on the ship it can't be too bad.

Once out to sea things do not look good though, and Clarice wonders at her choice. This is when the book dragged a bit for me. It wasn't until the second half when they get to the pirate haven that it started to pick up for me, and I started to enjoy it more.

Every once in a while a pirate book can be great fun, and this was that for me. The writing wasn't great, but I did enjoy reading it.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Title: Watership Down
Author: Richard Adams
Type: Young Adult Novel  
Genre: Adventure Fiction
Series: No
Pages: 476
Copyright: 2005 (introduction) 1972 (first)
Publisher: Scribner
Rating: 3 out of 5


Summary: from goodreads
Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of friends, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.

Feelings:
This is a book that is hard not to hear about. At the time it was published there wasn't really anything else like it. That being said, I did not like this as much as I thought I would. It was an interesting story and while I was reading it I enjoyed following Hazel and Fiver on their journey. However, if I took a break between chapters and put it down picking it back up was not something I felt I needed to do.

Watership Down was a good book but it was at times dry and after hearing about it since I was a teenager it did not hold up. I don't think even if I had read it as a teenager it would have been something I really enjoyed. 

While the book is about rabbits, the characters are very human in their actions and thoughts. It would be difficult to write from an animal perspective without humanizing them in some ways, however, when I was reading the story I didn't always picture the characters as rabbits which is what they were. 

I think the book was good it just didn't stand up to my expectations.