What do you think?
Rate this book
Jennifer Scales #4
Seraph of Sorrow
Slowly coming into her own, Jennifer Scales, half-weredragon and half-beaststalker, just may be the bridge to bring the two warring sides of her family together--provided she can survive learning the most ancient skills of dragonkind.
448 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 22, 2009
10 people are currently reading
716 people want to read
About the author
MaryJanice Davidson
142 books5,398 followersMaryJanice Davidson is an American author and motivational speaker who writes mostly paranormal romance, but also young adult and non-fiction. She is the creator of the popular UNDEAD series and the time-traveling historical fiction A CONTEMPORARY ASSHAT AT THE COURT OF HENRY VIII. MaryJanice is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author who writes a bi-weekly column for USA Today and lives in St. Paul with her family. You can reach her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.
www.maryjanicedavidson.org
@MaryJaniceD
MaryJanice's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/maryjanicedav...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/maryja...
www.maryjanicedavidson.org
@MaryJaniceD
MaryJanice's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/maryjanicedav...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/maryja...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 4, 2009
This book is quite different from the first 3 books in the series in style. The first 3 are more straightforward adventure - girl discovers her hidden powers and destiny and has to reconcile with that while facing wild adventures with friends and trying to grow up a bit in the meantime, starting pretty light and gradually becoming more serious. Seraph is much more complex. It reminded me of the time I was listening to a new audio book in a favorite series, but had left the CD player on shuffle by accident; I thought for some time that the author was making an odd artistic choice (as the main character seemed to have just been poisoned) to skip around back and forth in time. Only in Seraph it wasn't by mistake, the authors really are skipping back and forth in time, and I thought it really worked. It was strange because there was very little forward progression in the story, and what there was was in stops and starts. But the exploration of how the characters all got to where they were by going back and introducing all of the major, and many of the minor, characters when they were 14 or 15, just as we'd met Jennifer (the main character in the entire series), was fascinating. It was like watching a complex piece of weaving unfold, seeing how so many choices, good and bad, led inexorably to such a complex confrontation as the one that ends the book.
I really wonder how the intended teenage audience will view this book and story. Will they see their parents in the characters and understand at least little bit that they were once kids, too? Will adults reading this remember that whatever their kids are dealing with is just as important to them as "serious" adults stuff is to us? In many ways the book is an allegory for wars based on hatred and intolerance. I hope that seeing how easy it is to fall into those patterns in this story, and how even one child with hope and passion can change things, will give readers hope and motivation to make changes in our world, too. (Preachy, sorry, can't think of a better way to express it.)
This is definitely a very different MaryJanice Davidson book. Although her trademark humor peeks through, it is much less evident than in her more lighthearted adult books. I'm sure that the different style is in part due to the collaboration with her husband, but it is also reminiscent of the more serious themes peeping through in the most recent Betsy the Vampire Queen book. I, for one, love the mix of humor with thoughtfulness; I refuse to do any serious thinking unless it's entertaining.
I really wonder how the intended teenage audience will view this book and story. Will they see their parents in the characters and understand at least little bit that they were once kids, too? Will adults reading this remember that whatever their kids are dealing with is just as important to them as "serious" adults stuff is to us? In many ways the book is an allegory for wars based on hatred and intolerance. I hope that seeing how easy it is to fall into those patterns in this story, and how even one child with hope and passion can change things, will give readers hope and motivation to make changes in our world, too. (Preachy, sorry, can't think of a better way to express it.)
This is definitely a very different MaryJanice Davidson book. Although her trademark humor peeks through, it is much less evident than in her more lighthearted adult books. I'm sure that the different style is in part due to the collaboration with her husband, but it is also reminiscent of the more serious themes peeping through in the most recent Betsy the Vampire Queen book. I, for one, love the mix of humor with thoughtfulness; I refuse to do any serious thinking unless it's entertaining.
March 18, 2013
It felt like I was slogging through this. the book was broken into sections focusing on different characters and yay for providing backstory but it was just too much.
I had hoped for some of the wit and fun from the Undead series and was disappointed.
I had hoped for some of the wit and fun from the Undead series and was disappointed.
January 4, 2020
I just couldn't get into this one. It could be because it has been so long since I read the previous three. I still love their writing style though.
May 24, 2020
Blurs. People die, flee, are wounded, trapped. Odd rules.
December 30, 2019
Der letzte Teil der Reihe war für mich persönlich der Beste, da das Finale der Geschichte auf eine spannende und für mich bisher unbekannte Art und Weise erzählt wurde. Man erfährt viel über die Hintergründe der Protagonisten aus den vorherigen drei Büchern und kann so einige Entscheidungen meiner Meinung nach besser verstehen und nachvollziehen.
January 16, 2012
When Jennifer cries over the death of an enemy, the legend of the seraph is activated. With help from the legendary Smoky Coils, Jennifer valiantly tries to bring peace between the two warring sides. A little help from her friends and family doesn't hurt either. But how can you bring peace when there is so much hate?
Gloria Seabright led an unusual childhood. When she was a teenager, her life changed irrevocably. She watched her father die in a burning inferno when dragons attacked their town. When the same dragon turned to breathe its deathly fire upon Gloria, she remained unscathed. The townspeople were in awe and quickly let the young woman lead them and train their young in the ways of a beaststalker. Gloria despised all dragons and made it her mission in life to destroy all the monsters she could.
When she was a young woman in college she fell in love with a wonderful man. He taught her many things, including chess. However, he also shared his gift of sight with her. At the time she learned his gift, she was several months pregnant with their child. When she turned her newly gifted eyes upon him, she saw the creature lurking within and was horrified. She killed him, but not before he ripped their unborn child from her womb and cursed her. She was not to kill anything ever again or it would somehow be taken back upon herself.
Jennifer Scales in the Ambassador between the Blaze and the Beaststalkers. When her father renounces all his ties to the Blaze, she is stunned. Now the youngest elder of her clan, she is sent to learn a lost elder skill from one of the oldest dragons in the world. When she returns from her lessons, she learns of an attack being planned for Gloria and the town of Winoka. She quickly gathers her friends and family and rushes to warn Gloria, the town's mayor, of the upcoming attack. She arrives safely, but the arachnid clan has beaten her to Gloria with a jam-packed action ending that will leave you stunned.
This fourth installment of the Jennifer Scales adventures was loaded with information of several key characters. Highlighting certain points of their past brings new light to new and present events. The emotional growth and confidence of Jennifer and her friends brings surprising strength to the storyline. With a twisting plot and backdrops full of detail, SERAPH OF SORROW is action-packed and full of heart. I couldn't put it down as I absolutely loved it!
*Courtesy of Romance Junkies
Gloria Seabright led an unusual childhood. When she was a teenager, her life changed irrevocably. She watched her father die in a burning inferno when dragons attacked their town. When the same dragon turned to breathe its deathly fire upon Gloria, she remained unscathed. The townspeople were in awe and quickly let the young woman lead them and train their young in the ways of a beaststalker. Gloria despised all dragons and made it her mission in life to destroy all the monsters she could.
When she was a young woman in college she fell in love with a wonderful man. He taught her many things, including chess. However, he also shared his gift of sight with her. At the time she learned his gift, she was several months pregnant with their child. When she turned her newly gifted eyes upon him, she saw the creature lurking within and was horrified. She killed him, but not before he ripped their unborn child from her womb and cursed her. She was not to kill anything ever again or it would somehow be taken back upon herself.
Jennifer Scales in the Ambassador between the Blaze and the Beaststalkers. When her father renounces all his ties to the Blaze, she is stunned. Now the youngest elder of her clan, she is sent to learn a lost elder skill from one of the oldest dragons in the world. When she returns from her lessons, she learns of an attack being planned for Gloria and the town of Winoka. She quickly gathers her friends and family and rushes to warn Gloria, the town's mayor, of the upcoming attack. She arrives safely, but the arachnid clan has beaten her to Gloria with a jam-packed action ending that will leave you stunned.
This fourth installment of the Jennifer Scales adventures was loaded with information of several key characters. Highlighting certain points of their past brings new light to new and present events. The emotional growth and confidence of Jennifer and her friends brings surprising strength to the storyline. With a twisting plot and backdrops full of detail, SERAPH OF SORROW is action-packed and full of heart. I couldn't put it down as I absolutely loved it!
*Courtesy of Romance Junkies
February 20, 2011
4th book in the Jennifer Scales series co-written by husband/wife team Anthony Alongi and Maryjanice Davidson, initially targeted to a YA audience.
Unlike the prior 3 books, this 4th book is somewhat darker and doesn't stick to just following Jennifer Scales, the 15 year-old half-breed dragon/beaststalker who is an ambassador, trying to create peace between the dragons, arachnids and beaststalkers; all who are enemies.
Picking up where the last book ended, the story moves forward, but in small pieces.
It's split up into sections, telling the story from the point of view of a number of different people (dragons, arachnids and beaststalkers) starting with each at the age of 15. It takes us through their perspective of the events taking place in the prior books as well as events that took place before the first book. We learn what events shaped their lives, what and why they've become the people they have. Each person showcased brings us to the present and carries the story forward just slightly beyond where the prior person brought us.
I found it very aggravating to get to the present, experiencing something new, and then beginning all over again with the growth of yet another character. By the time you finish the book, you have a much better perspective of the entire picture, from many different angles - and I can honestly say at that point, I liked the book. If asked while I was in the middle of it, I couldn't have said that.
There is an actual story to this book beyond going back and learning everyone's histories, and the authors do a good job of interweaving people and events together. But because most of the book is missing Jennifer's voice, we also seem to be missing MJD's witty observations and sarcasm that were prevalent in the prior books.
Unlike the prior 3 books, this 4th book is somewhat darker and doesn't stick to just following Jennifer Scales, the 15 year-old half-breed dragon/beaststalker who is an ambassador, trying to create peace between the dragons, arachnids and beaststalkers; all who are enemies.
Picking up where the last book ended, the story moves forward, but in small pieces.
It's split up into sections, telling the story from the point of view of a number of different people (dragons, arachnids and beaststalkers) starting with each at the age of 15. It takes us through their perspective of the events taking place in the prior books as well as events that took place before the first book. We learn what events shaped their lives, what and why they've become the people they have. Each person showcased brings us to the present and carries the story forward just slightly beyond where the prior person brought us.
I found it very aggravating to get to the present, experiencing something new, and then beginning all over again with the growth of yet another character. By the time you finish the book, you have a much better perspective of the entire picture, from many different angles - and I can honestly say at that point, I liked the book. If asked while I was in the middle of it, I couldn't have said that.
There is an actual story to this book beyond going back and learning everyone's histories, and the authors do a good job of interweaving people and events together. But because most of the book is missing Jennifer's voice, we also seem to be missing MJD's witty observations and sarcasm that were prevalent in the prior books.
April 30, 2016
This was 5 novellas in 1.
Five parts tell five different stories, plus another five little stories; almost a resume of them until it comes to the present. Ten different POV, ten minds that work their own ways. All this lives ending interlaced in the same destination.
An epilogue that opens so many doors and also close another. Will they ever be free? Will there be peace? I don't know. I can't even guess how it could be possible.
I guess in the end all that you can do is hope and do your best.
Five parts tell five different stories, plus another five little stories; almost a resume of them until it comes to the present. Ten different POV, ten minds that work their own ways. All this lives ending interlaced in the same destination.
An epilogue that opens so many doors and also close another. Will they ever be free? Will there be peace? I don't know. I can't even guess how it could be possible.
I guess in the end all that you can do is hope and do your best.
November 3, 2014
4,5
¿Sabes cuando en un libro te preguntas: pero en qué estaba pensando fulanito/a? Bueno, este te da ese POV, de varios personajes claves en la serie. La Alcadesa, los padres de Jennifer, los amigos de Jennifer... Beaststalkers, Weredragons, Werearañas... todos los encuentros que cambiaron su vida a los quince años, la edad del cambio entre estos seres que parecen condenados a una lucha a muerte entre unos y otros. Traiciones, tragedias, incomprensiones, todo aparece aqui para explicarnos el cómo del trasfondo de esta lucha que parece venir desde muchos milenios atrás y donde no parece haber esperanzas de paz. A muchos los entiendes, los odias (Skip), otros son el típico villlano (Hank), o el típico ingenuo (Elizabeth). Mis favoritos son la Alcaldesa, Skip y Winona.
Jennifer sigue siendo ella, aunque aparece brevemente, creyendo que la respuesta es no escuchar a nadie y arrasar con todas las tradiciones, no es el mejor personaje y se agradece que aqui no sea la razón principal.
No sé si leeré el que sigue.
¿Sabes cuando en un libro te preguntas: pero en qué estaba pensando fulanito/a? Bueno, este te da ese POV, de varios personajes claves en la serie. La Alcadesa, los padres de Jennifer, los amigos de Jennifer... Beaststalkers, Weredragons, Werearañas... todos los encuentros que cambiaron su vida a los quince años, la edad del cambio entre estos seres que parecen condenados a una lucha a muerte entre unos y otros. Traiciones, tragedias, incomprensiones, todo aparece aqui para explicarnos el cómo del trasfondo de esta lucha que parece venir desde muchos milenios atrás y donde no parece haber esperanzas de paz. A muchos los entiendes, los odias (Skip), otros son el típico villlano (Hank), o el típico ingenuo (Elizabeth). Mis favoritos son la Alcaldesa, Skip y Winona.
Jennifer sigue siendo ella, aunque aparece brevemente, creyendo que la respuesta es no escuchar a nadie y arrasar con todas las tradiciones, no es el mejor personaje y se agradece que aqui no sea la razón principal.
No sé si leeré el que sigue.
July 18, 2009
Jennifer Scales forges ahead in her quest for peace between dragons, beaststalkers, and were-arachnid, even as a momentous showdown that may unravel everything she's worked for looms.
Any sort of forward motion is really only about a fourth of the book. Instead, we get extensive flashbacks to many of the major characters: Jonathan Scales, Mayor Glorianna Seabright, Winona Brandfire, Skip Wilson, and Hank Blacktooth. Each starts as they are 15, and brings them to the part they are playing in this showdown. It was a really weird setup that took a while for me to get used to. It doesn't help that it's been a while since I've read the last one and I've already grown fuzzy with what happened. It does show some interesting things in these characters, making them easier to understand.
Any sort of forward motion is really only about a fourth of the book. Instead, we get extensive flashbacks to many of the major characters: Jonathan Scales, Mayor Glorianna Seabright, Winona Brandfire, Skip Wilson, and Hank Blacktooth. Each starts as they are 15, and brings them to the part they are playing in this showdown. It was a really weird setup that took a while for me to get used to. It doesn't help that it's been a while since I've read the last one and I've already grown fuzzy with what happened. It does show some interesting things in these characters, making them easier to understand.
March 28, 2011
most of this book is history from different points of view from the characters, so it kind of catches you up on whats happened but also gives you a background for the motivations of the people you may have come to like or dislike through the series, letting you like people you might not have liked before, because you can see why they have been acting the way the have thus far. its not until you get near the end that the main story actually progresses, though you get snippets of the progress at the end of each persons point of view. I really enjoyed this, though if you don't have a good reading comprehension-retention then you might not get out as much, because it really does underline some of the more complex relationships in the series.
May 15, 2010
On the one hand, the way they jumped between storylines and back and forth in time was disorienting and probably unnecessary. Also, they gave lots of detail on informtaion you already had from another source, so that at the end of this 435 page book, you felt like only a chapter was actually new story. On the other hand, you do feel like a lot of things that were only partially explained before have been greatly clarified, characters that were pretty minor before have been brought more into the light, and the plot is set up much better for resolutions in the next book. Being honest, however, if the next book is not the last, I may feel like they're dragging it out a bit unnecessarily.
January 10, 2013
This was a very interesting book to read. Not as fast a read as her Queen Betsy series or her other romance books. The story is told from the point of view of one character, then from another character, then from another character. All told, probably from 6 or 8 different characters' viewpoints. It backtracks to cover the same situation from a different viewpoint, then slowly advances to the next situation. It's interesting to get the different viewpoints, but not as cohesive as a standard story flow.
October 19, 2009
This book will be a great relief for those confused by The Silver Moon Elm. The fourth book in the Jennifer Scales series answers all of the questions raised by that book and in great detail. I loved how the authors gave a voice to each character involved with the series. I am not sure as this will be the end of the series, as the ending left an opening for Jennifer to continue on. I think you could probably read this book without the whole series, but the first two books are magic.
November 21, 2009
This book was awesome. Only about 20 pages or so were devoted to advancing the story beyond where it ended in the last book. This story was mostly background. It went through the history of most of the important characters, starting as far back as sixty or seventy years ago up to the new story, from that character's perspective. It was pretty nifty to get all that background and to see the new story from so many different angles. I really enjoyed it.
April 9, 2010
A poor installment in the series. Divided into parts that were told from the perspective of other characters - their back stories and their contributions to the current storyline - but these divisions made for a slow and dull read. I can understand why the authors chose to do this but, at the same time, it wasn't necessary. I love first three books and they are a worthy contribution to the YA genre but this book is a huge disappointment.
July 29, 2011
In my personal opinion it was the best of the series so far, as she allowed you to learn so much about all the main characters. However, how they're going to settle the situation of the dome and the Seraph hnaging around should be intriguing. I didn't like how the Andi thing went down!! I mean... don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but she could've explained a bit before she did the deed! Overall great book!
January 24, 2013
This was the 4th book in the series. It was really good. I enjoyed all the back stories and how they all intertwined. It really became clear how none of them should be fighting each other in the 1st place. It was also weird that it wasn't from Jennifer's point of view. I'll be curious to see what is next.
December 25, 2009
Definitely not my favorite of the series. A bunch of independent stories that are suppose to make you understand the final outcome. It didn't work and sad because I like the author and had loved the first three books in this series.
September 1, 2009
This novel contains the back stories to the first three Jennifer Scales novels. I wonder what Davidson will have for us next, should she choose to continue this series. Davidson is doing a wonderful job with this YA series.
September 4, 2009
Well. . .it was a different approach to catching a reader up and explaining the inter-weavings of the characters, but I have to tell ya. . .I struggled. I enjoy this series and want to encourage my son to read it; however, I am not sure he would survive this particular one of the group.
February 4, 2016
it's been a long time since i read the first books in this series. I didn't even know about this one until a few weeks ago. It was good to catch up on Jennifer and her lot. Cant wait to see if there's another.
May 10, 2011
Very good book, but I really wish she would stop using the "F" word in a YA book. Other than that, I really enjoyed the insight into the other characters.
May 3, 2012
Awesome!
July 30, 2013
This book was not what I was expecting and it did not win me over. I have no plans on reading any of the other books in the series. Very disappointing.
October 6, 2014
I read the first 138 pages, and it's all back story. Poorly written back story. It's impossible to even get interested in the characters.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews