SPOILERS AHEAD
This was a very quick read and it was hard to put it down! The premise of the book was very interesting: a kidnapped girl replacing a princess amidst a plague and a boy working for a man he doesn't know is actually a monster.
To me, there were a few things that kind of felt off though in this world. It's a fantasy novel set in a made up kingdom, but Seraphina was Jewish and that was a big part of her identity. I definitely understand the authors desire for that representation, but as no other religions were mentioned (at least not that I can remember) it didn't really feel like it fit. It was said often that she and her community were persecuted for their beliefs, but the opposing religion was never mentioned and it didn't really delve into anything else, so this piece didn't really feel like it fit into the world.
The "vampire" thing also felt a little bit weird. You either died from the sickness, were immune, or you turned into a vampire? When they were first mentioned, I didn't think they were going have anything to do with the sickness, I thought they were just going to be a different sort of plague to the kingdom, but nope. They were people who had died from it and suddenly came back to life. If anything vampires could have been the source of the plague, but it just feels a little weird that they were just victims who miraculously came back from it.
All in all it was a really fun read!
This was a very quick read and it was hard to put it down! The premise of the book was very interesting: a kidnapped girl replacing a princess amidst a plague and a boy working for a man he doesn't know is actually a monster.
To me, there were a few things that kind of felt off though in this world. It's a fantasy novel set in a made up kingdom, but Seraphina was Jewish and that was a big part of her identity. I definitely understand the authors desire for that representation, but as no other religions were mentioned (at least not that I can remember) it didn't really feel like it fit. It was said often that she and her community were persecuted for their beliefs, but the opposing religion was never mentioned and it didn't really delve into anything else, so this piece didn't really feel like it fit into the world.
The "vampire" thing also felt a little bit weird. You either died from the sickness, were immune, or you turned into a vampire? When they were first mentioned, I didn't think they were going have anything to do with the sickness, I thought they were just going to be a different sort of plague to the kingdom, but nope. They were people who had died from it and suddenly came back to life. If anything vampires could have been the source of the plague, but it just feels a little weird that they were just victims who miraculously came back from it.
All in all it was a really fun read!