Seraphina Dombegh is the daughter of Claude Dombegh, who is the main adviser and lawyer that made Comonot's Treaty. A treaty, that was signed 40 years ago by Ardmagar Comonot(leader of dragonkind) and Queen Lavonda, which have kept peace between dragons and humans alike. Seraphina Dombegh, is looked upon in high regard, but has a secret of her own. Her secret, being that her mother, was a dragon, who died in child birth. Seraphina is half-dragon and half-human, though there is peace between these two races, this act is illegal and frowned upon. For many years of her life, this fact was hidden from Seraphina, until she started to grow scales on her arms and back. Now, Seraphina has to hide her true identity and is watched over by her uncle(on her mother's side), Orma. Seraphina is assistant music mistress at the palace and has a talent for music, which is very uncommon for dragons. Having a life at the palace, is difficult, with hiding her secret. However, a few days before the arrival of Ardmagar Comonot to the palace(to celebrate the annual signing of the treaty), Prince Rufus, first heir to the throne, is murdered. As the mystery of the murder unravels and as Seraphina prepares for Comonot's arrival, as well as keeping her secret, Seraphia will have to call upon a few friends to help her, along with a dangerous love interest, to save Comonot's treaty and perhaps Ardmagar Comonot himself.
Seraphina Dombegh- The protagonist, the book is told in first person from her view. Seraphina is an ityasaari(half-dragon) born to Linn and Claude Dombegh. Discrimination between dragons and humans creates the daily challenge of hiding her identity. As newly appointed music mistress to the court composer, Seraphina's gift for song brings her into the spotlight and tears to the eyes of her audience. Although wary of letting her identity slip, her curiosity leads her and her new(and only) friends into risky but crucial situations. The discrimination that forces her to live a lie and hide her scales lets her inner demons run rampant as her deception must grow more and more elaborate to escape discovery.
ReplyDelete(Prince Lucian) Kiggs- Kiggs is the Captain of the Queen's Guard and illegitimate prince of Goredd. He is engaged to his cousin Glisselda. Highly observant and a seeker of truth, he is fascinated by Seraphina who is enigmatic and elusive to him. Able to empathize with her over being an outcast due to his mother's elopement, he came to live with the royal family after the death of his parents. A fan of Porphyrian philosophy, he often quotes philosophers and their topics are a frequent default to his conversations.
Princess Glisselda- As royalty and second heir to the throne(after her mother) Glisselda's life was a privileged one. Although at times she may come off as fickle or naive, she has proves herself plenty witty and very capable. She quickly grows close to Seraphina and is the only one to call her cousin and fiancé by his first name.
Orma- Predominately cold and calculating like all saars(dragons) Orma is Seraphina's uncle, brother and student of Linn. Seraphina's teacher growing up he is typically stony and callous to a foreign eye but may be caught showing slight concern towards his niece uncharacteristic of dragons.
Garden of Grotesques- place in Seraphina's mind where she locks her maternal memories and encounters strange "grotesques" 13 of the 18 are mentioned at least by nickname: Fruit Bat, Loud Lad, Miss Fusspots, Jannoula, Pelican Man, Miserere, Newt, Pandowdy, Nag, Nagini, Gargoyella, and Finch.
Excellent summary and character explanations! This book is flying off the shelf, so you did an awesome job of getting everyone excited about this story. ~Ms. K
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