Her muscles buzzed, ready to pounce. In which Thea reviews the second book in Serafina’s ongoing adventures, Genre: Dark Fantasy/Horror, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Speculative Fiction, Publisher: Disney Hyperion Serafina and the Twisted Staff begins a few short months after the dramatic events of book 1, with Serafina struggling to find her footing now that everyone in the Biltmore knows that she exists, and now that she knows of her own true heritage as a catamount. You can read the full excerpt online HERE. (There’s one particular scene between Serafina, Braeden, and her Pa that is just lovely near the book’s conclusion.) There’s a feral boy, Waysa, who is more like Serafina than she knows; and there’s a well-dressed and rather snobbish young aristocrat named Lady Rowena, who… well, I’ll let you, dear reader, make your own discoveries so far as Lady Rowena is concerned. 3 : 2020 Hugo Award winner for Best Fanzine noun (These don’t come off so crassly in the book, but yet, it still grates.) Certainly, she’s not like her Pa and the folk at the Biltmore with their daylight habits, their slow clumsiness, and their loudness. She’d do something. Suddenly, she could detect everything in the forest around her—the sound of a tree frog moving on a branch thirty feet behind her, the reedy buzz of a lonely timberdoodle in the distance, and the glimpse of a bat swishing through the starlit sky above the broken canopy of the trees. Swiveling her shoulders back and forth to fine-tune the angle of her attack, she waited for just the right moment. For Serafina to defeat this new evil before it engulfs her beloved home, she must search deep inside herself and embrace the destiny that has always awaited her. Rating: 7 – Very Good, and I eagerly await book 3 in Serafina’s adventures. If you have not read Book 1 and would like to remain unspoiled, LOOK AWAY.**. There it is, she thought, feeling the thumpty-thumpty of his heartbeat in her bare hand. The other important aspect of this series is the sense of friendship and the relationships that Serafina forges with others. Now, however, her night adventures are even more exciting as she begins to explore the dark Appalachian woods that surround the estate, always knowing that her mother and half-siblings are out there waiting for her. Make sure to check back later today for a chance to win a Serafina and the Twisted Staff prize pack! There are new surprises and bigger, badder villains. One winter’s evening, she spies a carriage drawn by four stallions tear through her woods, and watches as a man with silver eyes and a twisted staff emerges from within. And now that it was well past too late, he started squirming, biting, and scratching, his furry little body becoming a wriggling snake, his tiny heart racing at a terrifi c pace. (Even if she runs away at first. Robert Beatty does a wonderful job of capturing Serafina’s frustration and fear–now that she has so much to lose, and her fear grows and grows–and he also tempers this fear with Serafina’s resolve not to conform or sacrifice her uniqueness, but to embrace her differences and hope her friends and family will do the same. The Vanderbilt family’s North Carolina home, the sprawling Biltmore Estate nestled into the dark woods, is a real place with its own unique history, and Robert Beatty has taken pains to ensure that the estate is described in all of its majesty and glory in this series. Thea James is half of the maniacal book review duo behind The Book Smugglers. This story isn’t quite as terrifying as The Ma in the Black Cloak, but it certainly comes close–the weathered old man, his twisted staff, and his powers of sight and magic are all very, very frightening. But Serafina finds herself caught between her two worlds: she’s too wild for Biltmore’s beautifully dressed ladies and formal customs, and too human to fully join her kin. Book Review: Serafina and the Twisted Staff by Robert Beatty | Writers Critique | Story & Craft. Never miss a post! The Biltmore’s history plays a key role in the underlying mystery of The Twisted Staff, as does the magic in its surrounding woods. These issues voiced, I’m still very much a fan of the series, and I hope to read more of Serafina’s adventures very soon. Every night she visits her mother in the forest, eager to learn the ways of the catamount. Serafina stalked through the underbrush of the moonlit forest, slinking low to the ground, her eyes fixed on her prey. But she’s not quite like her mother and her half-siblings, creatures of the woods and the night, either. Robert Beatty, author of the New York Times best-selling Serafina and the Black Cloak is back with this spectacular sequel, Serafina and the Twisted Staff.Inspired by the real Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, his mysterious tale about Serafina, the not-so-ordinary 12-year-old girl has gripped audiences world wide. Her heart beat strong and steady in her chest, marking her slow and quiet creep toward the rat. Serafina’s defeat of the Man in the Black Cloak has brought her out of the shadows and into the daylight realm of her home, Biltmore Estate. Why didn’t they flee? Heartbroken, she flees. And, of course, there is Serafina’s fierce mother–who I again wish had a larger role–and two new characters that bode mentioning. Title: Serafina and the Twisted Staff Written by Robert Beatty. Having grown up in the human world, raised by a surrogate father and having no knowledge of her origins, Serafina is heartbroken to learn from her mother that she may always be locked in her human form–and worries that she will never truly belong anywhere. Also for the first time, we learn that catamounts are very territorial in this second book, and that their magic is Native American in origin (Serafina actually meets another of her kind in this novel, who is Cherokee, from the south). It quickened her pulse and stirred her senses. In which Thea reviews the second book in Serafina’s ongoing adventures. (Especially with the events at the end of this second book!) By night, she watches an abundance of horror movies, stays up too late, and voraciously devours ALL THE SFF. Serafina knows one thing is certain: the man with the silver eyes and twisted staff has a dark and nefarious purpose, and all that Serafina cares about lies in his path of destruction. Soon, however, Serafina has bigger worries on her mind. The rat caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye just as she sprang. Even worse, she’s convinced that the stranger was not alone, that he has sent his accomplice into Biltmore in disguise. The woods, her mother tells her, are no place for a girl like Serafina, even though she is much more equipped to deal with its darkness and danger than any other human may be. Discover more about the awesome author! As much as Serafina learned about herself in the last book, she still has more to learn. It was beyond her ken why so many animals of the forest froze in terror when she pounced. As she dropped onto the rat, she snatched him up quicker than a whisker blink and clutched him in her hand. There’s the fight. I don’t feel like this is explored very thoroughly and what little is there feels somewhat arbitrary and potentially appropriative–especially when considering the twisted staff’s magic and its creation in comparison to Serafina’s kin. 1 : a book review blog specializing in speculative fiction, YA and popgeekery for all ages since 2008. Receive your daily dose of Book Smuggler goodness directly to your inbox: © 2018 The Book Smugglers. Serafina’s struggle in this second book is much more pronounced as she tries to find a place where she truly belongs. 2 : a publisher of speculative short fiction and nonfiction since 2014. She didn’t kill the wild things she hunted, didn’t need to, but they didn’t know that, darn it! In this second novel, Serafina’s friendship with Braeden Vanderbilt comes under strain when circumstances turn dire at the Biltmore–but the strength of their belief and faith in each other is unshakable as ever. It’s a powerful message of self-acceptance, and one of the things I love the most about Serafina as a character. Publication Date: July 2016 Notify me of follow-up comments by email. This is a much bloodier book than its predecessor, as magic makes creatures and characters act in ways strange and horrible ways–Serafina barely escapes with her life several times, and is battle-scarred and bloody as a result. A mysterious series of attacks test Serafina’s role as Biltmore’s protector, culminating in a tragedy that tears Serafina’s best friend and only ally, Braeden Vanderbilt, from her side. While the well to-do members of the household work all day and slumber through the night, Serafina takes to the Biltmore’s hallways and secret passages continuing her duties as the C.R.C.–that is, the Chief Rat Catcher. (It worked on me–I sure want to go visit.) She was death! 4 : a duo of awesomely badass book nerds. So why at the last moment of her attack did they freeze? Serafina and the Twisted Staff picks up just a few weeks after the end of the first book when Serafina and her allies defeated a dark evil preying on the children visiting the Biltmore Estate. But she did not rush. We’re all human, right?). Serafina and the Twisted Staff by Robert Beatty has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. Serafina and the Twisted Staff is an American historical fiction and fantasy novel written by Robert Beatty and published in 2016. Within moments, the eerie figure spots Serafina and sicks his bloodhounds on her, and she barely escapes with her life. After defeating the man in the black cloak just a few months earlier, Serafina has found life has taken a new familiar kind of rhythm at the Biltmore Estate. While there are many good things about Serafina and the Twisted Staff, ther are some things didn’t quite work for me as well in this book–the reveal of the old man and his twisted staff makes a lot of sense, however I bristle at the implication that, once again, a pretty girl who is obsessed with frilly dresses is predictably evil, or at the end how Braeden repays Serafina’s heroics with… a creamy satin gown for a dinner party. It is the second book in the “Serafina” series. All Rights Reserved. All the humans and creatures of the Blue Ridge Mountains are in terrible danger. For Serafina is no ordinary young girl or estate servant: she is a catamount, a mountain lion-human shape changer, though she has only known that truth for a short time.

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