Such great world building. Such excellent character development. Such a detailed, compelling story. Such a refreshing pleasure every moment I spent with it.
While the first Seraphina book largely focused on Seraphina's efforts to keep her half-dragon identity hidden, Shadow Scale is all about finding and revealing her world's half-dragons. Seraphina and those close to her believe the half-dragons share a mental/psychic bond that may be a useful military defense in the war that is headed their way--and she longs for the kinship she hopes to feel upon meeting them after a lifetime of isolation believing she was a unique abomination. It's a quest that takes her across all manner of international, geographic, cultural, and interpersonal landscapes, each fraught with peril; it's a quest that gradually reveals secrets about the half-dragons much more momentous and significant than their existence and identities--much more pivotal, in ways both good and bad, than anyone ever imagined.
An immensely satisfying reading experience.
(If you're interested in a bit more detail, this review from NPR articulates my full thoughts almost perfectly.)
