Thanks to the publisher for access to this title.

3.5 stars

Throughout her younger years Tess is known as a spank-magnet, constantly getting in trouble. When she creates a scene at her sister's wedding, it's the last straw and she is to be sent to a nunnery. Ever the rebel, she decides to take fate into her own hands and takes off on her own. Along the way she meets a multitude of characters, both friend and foe, old and new. All her trials and thoughts come together as she struggles to find herself.

I didn't love this as much as I did Seraphina. I couldn't get as invested in the story or characters, and many times felt preached at from a soapbox. That being said, it is still a strong story, and will appeal to older readers of Hartman's other books and fans of Sarah Maas.

Tess Dombegh lives in Goredd, a Medieval-esque nation where women are meant to be perfect ladies, men are protectors, and falls from grace are expected to either be governesses or nuns. She decides to do neither and instead cuts off her hair to pose as a boy and take to the road. She is a prickly, angry young woman, and eventually joins the quigutl she had befriended as a child in search of the World Serpent. This search takes her across Goredd and Ninys, with various detours along the way.

This is written in the same world as the 2012 novel Seraphina, which I hadn't read. Even without reading that, Tess of the Road is able to be read on its own merit.

In the beginning, Tess is angry, frequently drunk and bitter about being unable to please her critical mother, measure up to her perfect twin, or Saint Seraphina, who is able to break society's rules because of her heritage.

While there is reason for it, we don't discover what her reasons are until much later on in the book. The discovery of her secrets occurs naturally and in spurts, so that we learn who Tess is as she does. That makes Tess difficult to get to know at times, so that could prevent some people from really getting into the beginning of the book.

However, the travels are vividly described, and I was fascinated as much with the lands and creatures as with Tess's reasons to take to The Road.

Because of the nature of Tess's trauma and how she goes about healing from it to become someone she can live with, this would not be a book for younger teens. I'm not sure what age group Seraphina was geared toward, but Tess being 17 at the start of this novel should be a good rule of thumb about its target audience.

The real world is mirrored in this fantasy one, as many good fantasy worlds are: there are rigid gender roles and expectations in society, as well as biting commentary and consequences for the girls that don't follow them. Younger readers wouldn't understand those roles and the impact that it has on Tess and her family, or how the consequences played out. Sorry if this sounds very foreboding, as this is a very well written book and was a gripping read. I don't want to spoil the story or Tess's journey, because it's an important one for her to go on, and one that teens may appreciate.

This review has been posted on Goodreads and my blog but will not be disseminated via social media or posted on Amazon.

I tried to like this book. I really did. It's the first that I've read by bestselling author Hartman and sad to say, it might have poisoned the well for me. First, I was surprised to find that the Seraphina of the bestselling duology was actually not a dragon dragon but a cryptid half-dragon called an ityasaari, child of a full dragon that can take human form (Linn, a saarantras). No problem, since I read (and enjoy) an entire series based on the idea of cryptid animals and there are shape changing cryptids in that, too. But since Seraphina is only on the fringes of this story, here's no great dragon in this book, despite its beautiful cover. We do have Pathka, a sex-changing quigutl which is like a small, human-sized dragon that seems sort of like a large bipedal worm, and their child, Kikiu. But beyond these interesting creatures, the setting of the story- a medieval fantasy world in which religiosity seems to plague Tessie's family and penance involves the frequent beatings of children- didn't appeal to me. Added to this, Tess felt was almost contrived in her bullishness and bad behavior, driving corporal punishment from her mother. Tess has an interest in dragons and a curious mindset but I just didn't like her much. Tess runs away to find herself and a new life, like Viola in Twelfth Night, finding her safety in pretending to be a male. She sees many things on her journey, and some of them are awful or surprisingly. I just couldn't relate to her much. In fact, I didn't feel an attachment to any of the characters, which posed a problem for me, especially since the book is 360 pages long.

I think one could have lively debates about some aspects of this book for a YA novel. Drinking, unwed motherhood, sexual assault, prostitution, and running away are all things that are real issues in young adult life. On the hand, the way we discuss these things in a book are part of what differentiates the book from an adult fiction to a young adult fiction novel. I'd have to say that one of the reasons I enjoy YA fiction is that the impact of things like sexual assault or unwed parenting is not just glossed over as mere events but are rendered three-dimensional with emotions and... impact. The way some of these things (little exploration of say, sexual exploitation of servants) are handled in this book makes it feel more adult in tone. "Yes, these things happen. Oh, well..." I still might have stuck with it if I felt that Tessie's journey of finding herself didn't feel like it dragged on, if it gave us a more likable, relatable central character and secondary characters along the way. Alas, that didn't happen for me.

So the beginning of this book is boring and long. It really should not have taken so long for us to start with Tess on the Road. Even when you start on the road with Tess it is hard to like her. By then of the book I have come to like Tess, understand her and admire what she did through the book. It really is amazing what Tess does for being only 16 years old and of course being back in the day and not modern time is even more interesting. You have to get past the first part of this book to get to the better parts.


*Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this for my honest opinion*

Once upon a time, I came across a book with a pretty cover. That book was Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. I knew nothing about it other than that it had to do with dragons and that it was 500+ pages.  With a little hesitation and all the optimism I could muster, I read it. And you know what? I loved it.

So, as you could imagine, I was extremely excited to know that this book was being written taking place in the same world as Seraphina. I was even more excited when I found out I had gotten approved for an ARC. Sadly, this book in no way lived up to the expectations I had been building in my mind.



Taking place in the same world as Seraphina, I would recommend reading Seraphina first, but that isn't strictly necessary. Don't worry too much about not understanding, Hartman does a good job of establishing the world in this one.

Like in Seraphina, Hartman writes beautiful prose. She is a skilled writer and there is no doubting that. Unlike Seraphina, this book seemed to go nowhere. This book is over 500 pages for absolutely no reason. Like, what is the plot? Where was the action? What was even the point?





Then there was Tess. I almost liked Tess. Almost.

She was hardheaded, and strong, and not afraid to speak her mind. That's all fine and dandy, right? No. Not it's not. Not when on her way to fight the man! And stand up to the patriarchy! And whatnot, she ends up ruining things for other people. You don't need to be a rebel at every hour of every day. Because of this, I simply could not find a real connection with Tess, a thing that greatly diminished my already shaky enjoyment of the novel.

Overall, I wasn't a fan of this, which is a real shame because I truly wanted to be. I almost called it quits on the book at certain points and only pushed forward because I don't like leaving ARCs unfinished. While there were some really good parts, I felt they were outweighed by the bad ones. If you really want to read a book by Rachel Hartman, I recommend you go read Seraphina instead.

The genre of fantasy can do many things: discuss social justice, reveal a magical world, etc. Tess of The Road, does all that and more. It is fantasy seeped in humanity. Beautiful and moving. I loved it.

A beautiful, wonderful tale about redemption and finding yourself again after a crises. I loved the main character, Tess. I identified with her in so many ways. Hartman's writing is clever and strong, with beautiful prose, funny quips and observations, and heartfelt moments. I had never read "Seraphina", but I found it no trouble at all to be completely immersed in the rich and imaginative world!

Almost DNF’d, but read on to discover what can happen when a damaged girl takes the Road!!

This is a hard book to review, and I almost DNF’d more than once as the beginning is slow and painful. This is a darker view of the world than that in Seraphina and Shadow Scale. The journey through this dark fantasy is worth the discomfort, though.

The beginning feels like a selfish rant skewering religion as the cause of every evil, writhing with pontificating self-righteous saints who blame all sexual sin on the depravity and sensuality of women. It feels overwrought and heavy-handed until you start to feel the pain. The pain of listening and believing anyone who tells you that you’re the one to blame, that you deserve to be the victim. The pain of believing the messages condemning you even as you condemn yourself. The pain of accepting that blame and holding it tightly until it petrifies your soul and ravages your heart.

If you’ve read Robin McKinley’s dark fantasy, Deerskin, you’ve felt a similar pain. But here it is verbalized and blamed on the recipient until we feel the same hopelessness that Tess does as she contemplates a future that she destroyed when she was 13. She takes the blame and hammers it into herself, hoping to make amends by keeping herself pure, working to find her sister a husband, and defending her sister’s purity, so her sister will have the future that Tess threw away.

Tess strikes out upon the road with a closed mind. But as her feet eat down the miles, can she find herself and new tomorrows along the Road? There are dangers on the road: brigands, earthquakes, quigutls, giant serpents, pirates, and hunger. Along the way, Tess will learn about burdens: those we accept, those we hang onto, and those that we grow beyond.

Heads up for adult themes, some sexual violence, and general fooling around, all in the context of a dark fantasy about the human condition and growing beyond the boundaries that define and constrict us.

“We are adrift, and the thinnest breeze may blow us where it will.” +

As Tess was growing up it became exceedingly evident that she was the bad child in her family. After a series of situations that find her on the bad side her family decides to send her to a nunnery. Tess decides to take her future to the road instead.

The Story
I only made it to 32% before I decided I just didn’t have it in me to push any farther, which is actually farther than I usually give since I tend to quit at about 20%. I didn’t want to be put into the position where I was forcing myself to read. Because honestly, that just takes the fun out of the whole experience.

This book didn’t really feel very YA to me. I think a big part of that was the extensive vocabulary that was used in the writing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think YA readers are a bunch of morons with vernacular that would fit a child’s. However, I did find myself highlighting a lot of words such as: salubrious, nomenclature, grandiloquently, bloviations. I personally love learning new words, unfortunately I felt the use of these large words actually bogged down the text quite a bit. So much time was spent describing how Tess was basically screwed that there really wasn’t much forward movement in the story. With that in mind I think it just added to the fact that I thought the story was just plain boring.

The storytelling itself was rather disjointed. Because of the nature of how Tess’s biggest mistakes (I’m assuming) are revealed we are given partial history as she continues to carry on in a selfish, yet somehow still self sacrificing way.

I originally thought that I would pick up the Seraphina books after I finished the ARC. I am now disinclined to read them at all. The style of writing just isn’t for me.

The World Building
I saw that it wasn’t exactly necessary to read the Seraphina books prior to this, but I feel like a lot of the world wasn’t exactly explained in a way that I could understand it. I had a hard time visualizing creatures and surroundings because of their obscurities. While I was reading I felt like it was assumed that you would have had already read those books. Because of this I had a hard time mentally jumping into the story and seeing it through Tess’ eyes.

The Characters
I had a very hard time getting behind and supporting Tess. The prologue lead me to believe she would be a curious and fierce character. What I was later introduced to was an adult Tess who did things to help her sister, but only because she had put herself in a situation that left her with little options. Please do not take this in the way that I support the type of society that she lived in, however, if you are within a society like that it should is understood that she should have known the consequences of her actions. I am a firm believer in positive vocal reinforcement, so I can say that I do not support how her mother did educated, disciplined, or chastised her. Still, I could not get behind the fact that she continued to badger the problem by her excessive drinking and her use of it as an escape from her mother. It all made me rather sad for her lack of self preservation and pride for what she could be.

+Quote was taken from an advanced reader copy. The final version may changed or removed it.
Review was posted on Goodreads & my blog vicariouslyvoraciously.wordpress.com on 2/26/18

First and foremost, I enjoyed the book. It was a solid 3.5/4 star read for me. The writing was beautiful and descriptive; it really drew you into the world, however I don't think that that is where the strength in this book comes from. It comes from how well written the main character is. Tess is a complex character with a lot of issues that, I feel, a lot of young people deal with today such as depression, anxiety, and an inability to forgive oneself for what happened in the past. We see Tess running away from home and encountering different parts of herself while exploring a world she never thought she'd get to see with her childhood best friend....who just so happens to look like a chameleon (at least in my mind).

I thought the friendship between these two characters was lovely. They, as a duo, we complicated, but no matter how much the other annoyed or hurt or angered the other they managed to work things out. It reminded me a lot of my friendships and, after reading this book, I appreciate my friends so much more. Overall, I don't think that the story was about finding the World Serpents, which is what I expected going into this tale, but I got a story about forgiveness and love and learning which people in your life will be there when you're at your rock bottom and decide to help yourself instead of helping them.

The only negative I have about this tale is that it dragged in the middle. I found myself struggling to get through certain parts because, as I mentioned, I'd expected something different than what I got. I didn't feel like it needed to be as long as it was. But I powered through because I wanted Tess to succeed, I wanted her to help herself.

Looking at other reviews, it’s clear that a lot of people had trouble with Tess of the Road. I can see why they had problems with the book, but I thought it was a very good character-driven fantasy novel.

At the beginning of the book, Tess, Seraphina’s younger sister, is deeply unhappy with herself and with her life. Always a mischievous child, Tess committed the ultimate sin in her mother’s eyes when she was seduced by a man. Now considered a fallen woman, Tess spends all her time trying to get her sister Jeanne married off to a wealthy husband while drowning her sorrows in drink. That becomes her downfall when her drunken antics at her sister’s wedding cause her parents to decide to ship her off immediately to a convent. Faced with either that fate or living as a nursemaid to her sister’s children, Tess decides to take her life into her own hands and (with Seraphina’s help) runs away to find her fortune. A chance encounter with an old friend, Pathka the quigutl, gives her a purpose as they journey to find a World Serpent, a mythic creature from quigutl tales.

Tess of the Road certainly is not the book for everyone. Tess is pretty unlikeable at the beginning of the book. She’s emotionally damaged and a drunk, and it takes a while for her to shed that version of herself, maybe too long for readers who find her unpleasant. This book also doesn’t have a breakneck pace with lots of action, and dragons are incidental to the plot, in spite of what the cover might suggest. It’s a slower read that’s really more about Tess’s interior life, with her journey serving as a mechanism for personal growth.

Tess spends much of the book walking from one country to the next dressed as a young man for safety. Normally I’m not a big fan of plots that revolve around a woman disguising herself as a man, because I think most women couldn’t pull it off. However, I was willing to look the other way here, because the point of Tess’s road trip is that it lets her experience life outside of the narrow confines mandated by her family and her place as a woman. She meets all sorts of people and learns that their worth as individuals has very little to do with the value they are assigned by others; a priest can be a villain, and a whore can be kind. Tess also learns to appreciate simple things, like working on a farm or building a road or just lying in the grass watching a bee. In the end, her travels allow her to decide for herself how her life should be lived and what is worth valuing, rather than simply accepting what she has been taught.

The novel is also about families, and the damage family members can do to each other, as demonstrated by both Tess’s family and Pathka’s fraught relationship with his daughter, Kikiu. It’s about how siblings get slotted into certain roles, and in Tess’s case, she’s the bad one. Tess’s relationship with her mother is particularly toxic, since her mother prioritizes virtue and chastity; to her, Tess has little value without her virginity. Tess has absorbed the message that she is irredeemably flawed to the point that she hates herself, and part of her journey involves learning that she is capable of goodness and worthy of forgiveness even if she does do something wrong.

Finding the World Serpent is almost incidental to Tess’s interior journey, but it does set the stage for the next book in the series. I’ve kind of fallen in love with Tess and all her flaws and her struggle to find her way, so I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next.

Recommended for readers who appreciate fantasy novels that are more about the characters than the plot. You don’t absolutely have to read the first two books to understand what's going on in this one, but I think it would help.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

New Release 2-27-2018

The third book in Rachel Hartman's Seraphina collection, Seraphina's younger half sister Tess (of the pair of twins) is the center of this tale. Tess of the Road was provided as an ARC by Random House for Young Readers via NetGalley in return for an honest review. 

I'm not sure why I skipped over the second book of the collection. I vaguely remember that I took Shadow Scale out of the library and then had to take it back because someone else had it on hold, or maybe it was because it was 2309483570922 pages, but either way I can say with certainty that you should read Seraphina first, but you could pick up Tess of the Road or Shadow Scale next and you wouldn't miss a beat. 

While her two previous novels were hefty tomes full of detail and world-building, Hartman changes pace with Tess of the Road and has created a triumph of feminism in a medieval setting. From teenage pregnancy to rape, arranged marriage to vocations, family relations to religion - Tess of the Road shows that girls and women can buck the system and they will always find someone who will support them no matter where they go. 

One of the few drawbacks of the story is that Tess is only 16 when the book begins, but it is mentioned so rarely and so many of the themes are very adult, that you can read the book as though you are reading about a young adult in her early twenties and never notice the difference. 

The major plot here involves World Serpents, creatures older and larger than the dragons, and the novel continues the storyline of the saar (dragonkind), quigutl (lizard-type creatures), and humans and the politics, religion, and saints that surround them all. Tess meets up with her childhood friend Pathka, a quigutl who is on a mission to discover Anassussia, a World Serpent of legend who has called to him in his dreams. This quest is the umbrella over all of the feminist themes that Tess tackles on her journey to discovering herself and all she is capable of. 

Again, you will want to at least read Seraphina first so you have an idea about this world and the players in it, but I would wholeheartedly recommend Tess of the Road, especially if you know a headstrong young woman who might be in need of inspiration and encouragement in the midst of a world that is just beginning to accept loud, brash, strong women as normal.

Tess of the Road is the third book by Rachel Hartman that I've read so far. It is set in the same world as Seraphina and Shadow Scale, but you do not necessarily have to have read those two books in order to read this new one. In fact, it is not marketed as Seraphina No. 3.

Rachel Hartman to me is an author who creates a unique world with strong female characters, but also someone who is not afraid to introduce difficult subjects into a fantasy novel targeting young readers. In this book, she deals with such themes as teen pregnancy, sexual education (or the perils of having none), dogmatic conservative upbringing and rebellion against it, suicidal tendencies, depression, grief, date rape, abandonment, and coming to terms with your own sexuality and body image. She also more broadly deals with the issue of female empowerment and breaking down gender biases.

The main character of the novel is a seventeen-year-old Tess, who by all accounts (or at lease according to her mother) is a sinner with no prospects of a future and definitely no way of getting to Heaven. Unlike her twin sister Jeanne or her famous half-sister and half-dragon Seraphina, Tess is a troublemaker. At 6, she is curious about where kids come from. At 13, she starts sneaking out of the house to attend public lectures on philosophy, fauna and geology. At 14, she gets pregnant and has a child out of wedlock...

By the standards of Goredd, the medieval-like country Tess lives in, she is utterly and hopelessly ruined. But her mighty downfall does not end there. At 17, driven by grief and despair, she makes a spectacle of herself at her twin sister's wedding, thus losing any prospects of a respectable future. Her family resolves to send her to a nunnery.

Tess, however, is not ready to dedicate her life to a Saint she is not even sure she believes in. Instead, she runs away and embarks on a quest for mysterious World Serpents, whose very existence is denied by the wisest human and dragon scholars. Tess does not travel alone. She is joined on her quest by a childhood friend Pathka, who is a quigutl, a subspecies of a dragon that is looked down upon by humans and dragons alike.

On the road, Tess realizes many things about her past. Every day she resolves to keep walking on and living on. She faces her demons and slowly, painfully begins to heal. Thus, Tess is not just on a quest for mysterious creatures, she is also on the road to self-discovery and self-love.

Tess of the Road is a wonderful book about coming to terms with who you are, getting rid of harmful labels and guilt, and rediscovering joy, hope and trust in beings surrounding you. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. It ends in such a way that a sequel is highly likely. It is hard to say if or when the next installment will come into being, but I for one would definitely pick it up.

I received an advanced review copy of this novel from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review. The official publication date is February 27, 2018.

This book was reviewed by one of my reviewers named Marissa Shields. This is her review as followed:

3.5/5 Stars

Tess Dombegh believes she was born bad. Growing up with half-dragon Saint Seraphina, and sweet, docile twin sister Jeanne, their pious and often cold mother has marked Tess as the trouble-maker. At seventeen, Tess has found herself ruined and without a future. She resigns herself to a life of discontent, ultimately rejecting any chance of her own happiness to tend to Jeanne’s. When Tess ruins Jeanne’s wedding through a series of bad decisions, her parents decide to send Tess to a nunnery to get her off their hands.
Tess, never one for following orders, disguises herself as a man and loses escapes to the roads of the Southlands. Along the way, she runs into an old Quigutl friend in search of a fabled World Serpent. Together they travel the road, where she learns what it means to be herself – scars and all.
At the beginning of the novel, Tess is a bitter, unlikeable character. She spends her time reveling in her misfortunes, lashes out at anyone who tries to help her, and placates her misery by drinking – getting so drunk that she ruins her sister’s wedding.
The reason for Tess’s anger unfolds as Tess walks The Road. If you manage swallow the bitter pill that is Tess Dombegh, you will discover a poignant story about the damage caused by forcing yourself to fit society’s mold, the shame women carry for the things that happen to them, the deep cuts that can heal, and the scars that cannot.
Tess of the Road takes place in the same world as Seraphina, and although the book makes plenty of references to Seraphina’s story, it is not necessary to read Seraphina prior to Tess of the Road.
Tess of the Road is filled with dragons, tales of World Serpents, the lizard creatures Quigutls, medieval nuns, priests, and monks, thieves and road-travelers, along with other colorful characters. Hartman takes care to flesh out Goredd, discussing at length Goredd’s history as well as the lore and language of the Quigutls.
The novel also deals heavily in coming of age and sexual themes. The themes of sexuality and sexual assault are not a tacky attempt at a plot-twist. Instead, it’s an examination of society’s shame culture and a push for female empowerment.
At its heart, Tess of the Road is a story about forging ahead when the whole world seems against you. Tess must learn to view the world with new eyes, and as she walks on, you might find yourself wanting to unfurl yourself right along with her.

TG: Rape

A coming of age story of a girl who survives a shitty world that is full of malicious people, and keeps on fighting, keeps on seeking answers. I absolutely loved this story, and I can't wait to read the sequel!




I want to start by saying that I haven't read Seraphina. It is in my tbr list, but I never picked it up, yet.

Rachel Hartman breaks all of of the YA Fantasy stereotypes and expectations in Tess of the Road. From Taboo subjects, to having a very flawed and troubled main character that most people look down upon, to capturing the essence of Rape Culture, Tess' story has the spark of novelty, freshness, and necessity.



Tess is seen as a disgrace; as a shameless person who dives deep into the ocean of sin. That is of course, from the outside looking in. As we dabble into her past and her present, we get to see the strength and determination she has to move on from the past, and decided that her perception of her reputation is the only one that should matter. She goes from hating her existences, to discovering the road to her soul. She redefines what good and bad means. And all of that doesn't happen magically by swallowing a dragon's egg. Hell to the no!

I also really loved how caring and protective she was when it came to her sister.

The structure of sentences used in this Fantasy novel are as exotic as the Dragons of this fictional world. The writing style was simply, beautiful!



Tess' story is raw and honest. The storyline and events don't preach any form of ideality; instead, it follows Tess as she battles to figure out what is considered to be right or wrong for her. This is a book that will shatter your soul, so make sure you add it to your tbr.


I received a review copy in exchange with an honest review.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.



I am going to start out by saying that I spent the majority of this book trying to decide whether I loved it or hated it. I had a really hard time getting into it, and the prologue was just strange to me. I seriously contemplated DNF'ing the book around 30-40%, but let me just say I am so glad that I didn't. While there were some things that I really didn't agree with or like, there was just so much more that I really connected with. By the end of the book I had come to the conclusion that it wasn't about love or hate, but something much more. 

To me, this book was not about dragons, serpents or religion; this book was about Tess and her discovery of herself and the world around her. Tess is so flawed that it hurts, but that makes her growth as a person that much better.  In the beginning of the book Tess' world is unbelievably small and revolves around herself, whether she realizes it or not. Throughout the book Tess learns that there is so much more to the world than she thought -so many more people with lives just as important as hers. During Tess' journey she forges new relationships with people from all walks of life, and the help she is able to offer these people is what allows her to begin healing her own inner wounds. By the end of the story Tess has become someone she can be proud of; someone with nothing to prove to anyone (except maybe herself).

I honestly am not sure how to truly explain my feelings for this book. I have so many overwhelming emotions and my heart is very full. If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to the readers:

If you feel like putting this book down, please try to keep going. I know for a fact that this is a book that will be with me for a very long time to come. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

There is so much I love about this novel. I love the way it handles grief and depression, so much of it feels true. I was brokenhearted watching Tess fall apart, but heartened again watching her try to rebuild herself. The world building is incredible--I haven't yet read Seraphina so I don't know how it compares, but it was gorgeous and I became mesmerized by the hierarchy of this world. The book overall was rather slow, and it wasn't always easy to stick with. Even while Tess is going on a physical journey, so much of it is internalized and the personal journey is just as critical to the story line.

DNF at 45% so I did not give a rating.
I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. And that did not change my rating.

I really TRIED to get into this book, but I was expecting more fantasy, more dragons, more adventure. I believe the first dragon-like creature (other than Seraphina) didn't show up until around 30%.

Instead this book is more about Tess. Tess is the black sheep of her family and she's depressed because of something huge in her past (no spoilers). Instead of focusing on the fantasy aspects of the story, it focuses on her depression and her struggles. It's a very dense read. I would have been okay with it except it kept dragging on for me.

While this book was not for me, I'm sure other people may like it. I love the writing style, just not the content.

This book was one fun adventure ride from beginning to the end. Tess is a brave soul who's journey is a roller coaster ride of emotions. I felt the feminist vibes wrapped in a fantasy world. Part of me feels like I should read Seraphina, just to get a better feeling of this world.

The author of Seraphina, Rachel Hartman returns with a companion novel about one of Seraphina's stepsisters, Tess Dombegh. Tess likes to break the rules, but with a domineering mother like hers, it is no wonder. Tess' rule breaking is not always bad decision making, she does it for pure reasons. Tess is a great heroine because she is perfectly imperfect, and longs to do the right thing. At first a slow moving narrative, the novel needed some time to explain Tess and who she is before she is propelled on her journey down the road. Hartman does a great job of creating diverse characters who mirror the world around us in the fantasy world of Goredd, much like she did, to my delight, in Seraphina. Tess of the Road can be read as a stand alone without having read Seraphina first. Tess learns valuable lessons about herself, about how to be empowered as a young woman and what consent really means. I feel the lessons that Tess learns are important for all young adults and love the way that the novel sets out to enlighten and help its readers through Tess' journey. This is a fantasy that tells a story about experiences that young women can relate to in our world as well. The themes of tolerance, consent, empowerment, self determination and success are all found in this great narrative. I recommend it as a purchase. It is already on order for my library.