Very surprising! Full review to come. 
 Originally posted on Small Review 
 This book was not at all what I was expecting, and for once that was a very good thing. Ok, so things I thought I'd get: 
 Engaging mystery 
 Exploring the awesome Biltmore Estate 
 Gothic spookiness 
 And I got all that. The mystery wasn't the biggest draw for me, but that's mostly because I liked so many other things more. It was kind of like, oh look! A secret passage! Oh, right, and kids are missing, too! 
 I was easily distracted away from the mystery, but chalk that up to my short attention span and lots of other cool plot points. Plus, the climax of the mystery, oh, and that scene in the carriage, and the graveyard, YIKES x10000! 
 Though, the Gothic spookiness was more paranormal/fantasy spookiness. But, hey, I like paranormal spookiness, especially when it's historical paranormal fantasy, so I quickly got over the less Gothicky feel. 
 What I wasn't expecting, but thankfully got anyway: 
 An intrepid, wholly likable heroine who totally gets a sleepover party invite 
 A thoroughly heart-swelling, charming, loving relationship between Serafina and her dad 
 A beyond endearing bosom friendship between Serafina and Braeden 
 A secondary paranormal mystery and cool paranormal creatures 
 A loyal dog 
 Mountain lions! (couldn't not think of Benji) 
 I won't go into details about any of those things, but this would have been a solid 3.5 star enjoyable read and those features bumped it up to 4 stars. The relationships made this such a feel-good book, despite all the dark, creepy, spooky things going on. 
 The secondary paranormal mystery hooked me even before the missing kids mystery and the conclusions to both were very satisfying. The whole book also had an old-timey feel that really went well with both the relationships and the mysteries. 
 Bottom line 
 Highly recommended. Serafina and the Black Cloak stands apart for its unique, engaging story, but it is the characters and their relationships that will make this one stay with me long after I've finished reading it. I loved this as an adult, and middle-grade-Small would have loved this, too. 
 (And middle-grade-Small would have been swooning all over Braedon and his not-quite-romantic-but-I-totally-would-have-imagined-romantic relationship with Serafina). 
 Side note: the finished copy is gorgeous! Deckle edges and an old-timey paper coloration with swirling black branch designs. 
 Received: Finished copy from the publisher 
 Originally posted on Small Review