The Sleeping Night and Seraphina

msaggie · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 629

I get the most reading for pleasure done during holidays, and this Christmas, I read two very excellent books which have not been raised in this forum as far as I can see.

Barbara Samuel's The Sleeping Night is a beautiful romance which is a DIK here. It is set in Gideon, Texas, which is a bonus for those who love continuity in their romances, as one of my favourite Samuel books, In the Midnight Rain is also set there (the main stories are roughly a generation apart). Both are very romantic stories about conflicted relationships, and The Sleeping Night is currently free on kindle, so what have you got to lose? (OK maybe a few hours while waiting for the turkey to cook, etc)

The other book I read which is stupendous, is the debut fantasy by Rachel Hartman, Seraphina. There is a romance subplot, but this is mainly a YA fantasy novel with a wonderful heroine, and a very different dragon mythology. It has lots of good reviews all over the place (which made me wary) but the accolades are well deserved. Highly recommended, and a straight re-read for me.

Natalie · Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 1566

I've had Seraphina in pile for a while, I guess I'll push it to the top Smile

Barbara Samuel is always a treat.

Pop Tart · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 122

I read SERAPHINA a while ago and loved it as well. It really is a very original take on dragons and the heroine was wonderful.

Marie Brennan has a book coming out in February that has another fresh take on dragons. A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS features a young lady in an alternate version of England/Europe. She longs to be a naturalist, a scientist who studies dragons. These dragons are not magical, they are just another animal in this world. But Isabella, a young victorian (or this world's variation) miss doesn't want balls and any of the other things most young ladies want. She wants to study dragons and when she gets her chance to go on an expedition she jumps at it.

This is the first in a trilogy (series?) and it's clear that things will change romantically for Isabella as she tells us about how she became a famous dragon naturalist.

Loved this one.