"I remember being born." 
 Now, that's a powerful beginning to a book if I ever read one. When I started Seraphina, that sentence immediately got my attention. I couldn't determine if it was creepy or just fascinating. How can one remember being born? And really, is that something we would want to remember if we had the ability to? Giving birth is already a hassle. 
 Seraphina was a fascinating read. Then again, most books I've read that feature dragons as part of the plot are usually fascinating. I find it hard to believe that a writer can make dragons to appear dull but hey you never know. Even the word dragon already informs you of something glamorous in all its fire-breathing glory. 
 I believe the most important foundation of a fantasy novel is the world in which the story is built. A good fantasy is one that has the ability to pull you from reality and put you into an imaginary world, and that's what Seraphina accomplishes. Hartman's worldbuilding is unique and solid and rich, with its characters, saints/religions, languages, villages/countries, instruments and dragons. It's almost very cultural. 
 The idea of humans and dragons cohabiting the same place and striving to exist in peace was intriguing as a plot point and a theme. The dragons were the scholars, the mathematicians, the physicians, the scientists, and such. They were the inventors. Their passion for knowledge and all things concrete made them adverse to emotions and things that inspire emotions, like art and perhaps music. They could not understand abstract concepts, like love and heightened emotions, which was quite interesting and contradictory, considering that they loved knowledge. They tried to avoid emotions, probably due to their inability to understand it. 
 Conversely, humans weren't warm to their companions. They viewed them as monsters, probably because the dragons' true physical natures were very different from humans. They were big, grotesque and frightening to humans. A dragon's ability to change shape into human form didn't do anything to appease the humans, and perhaps this was also due to the lack of emotional characteristics that dragons possessed, their inability to feel. Perhaps their lack of humanity made them terrifying to humans. Both species were so different. And that begged the question how could two species that don't understand each other coexist? 
 While the book is centered on the dispute between humans and dragons, it is mostly focused on Seraphina, who is half-human and half-dragon, and right in the middle of both worlds. And so, she's able to understand both sides. However, she has to hide her identity because of the prejudice on both sides. She's portrayed to be very smart and intelligent, exchanging quotes from books with her friend, Lucian. And she's a very talented musician. So, on one hand, she has knowledge and can be analytical, and on the other, she has music and can love. I believe her vast amount of knowledge comes from the ability to understand both species. She can be portrayed as a bridge between the humans and the dragons with her hybrid status. 
 The plot had a bit of mystery to it, involving the death of a royal family member, and Seraphina was involved in the investigation. As she tried to figure out what was going on, she developed relationships. My favorite relationship was the bond she had with Orma, especially given the fact that it was dangerous for Orma to show any kind of emotion toward Seraphina. I liked how he cared for her in his own way, even with the little things, like greeting her when he saw her or correcting habits that he thought she didn't like. He began to see her for more than what she was. I wondered if the emotional attributes he and the other dragons in the book acquired was due to the fact that they changed into humans and lived in their human bodies for a while. Perhaps acting as humans gave them humanity and its emotions. 
 Additionally, Seraphina's friendship with Glisselda and Lucian was lovely, though tinged with a bit of angst because of her love interest. I liked the slow and subtle romance between Lucian and Seraphina. There weren't big declarations of love but subtle revelations. Though I'm not quite sure I like the path their romance took at the end, but I'm sure Hartman would develop on it more in the next book. 
 In conclusion, Seraphina was a creative and engaging novel.