Hey friends!

Summer is coming, and you know what that means? Campfires and marshmallows and stories of things that shuffle through dark halls in the night! And I’ve got the perfect story to start your summer adventures off right.

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serfina is proud of her job. As the C.R.C. (Chief Rat Catcher) of the enormous Biltmore Manor, her mission it to catch and drive off beady-eyed rodents great and small. Her nightly hunts have taught her how to move invisibly through the corridors while the rest of the house sleeps. During the day, she knows how to see without being seen and often makes visits to Mr. Vanderbilt’s private library. Serafina has a happy life, but there’s one thing she’s missing.

A friend.

See, no one in the Bilmore Manor knows Serifina exists or that she lives with her pa in the basement. They have no idea she sleeps curled up behind the boiler while her pa works tirelessly to keep the electricity running.

Her pa has only two rules for her: Never let the rich folk of Biltmore Manor see her and never go into the forest. There are dangerous things there, he warns, that will steal your very soul.

Serafina is very careful to follow those rules until the night the man in a dark cloak appears and a girl in a yellow dress goes missing. With the entire mansion plunged into darkness and another child disappearing each night, Serafina takes it upon herself to hunt down the “rat” responsible and bring the children home.

Along the way she not only discovers what friendship is, but why her pa has worked so hard to keep her hidden away from the world—and to protect her from a dark secret that lurks deep within the woods.

Just the right touch of spooky

Serafina and the Black Cloak is the first book in a series by Robert Beatty. I found out about it from a friend who was thinking about sharing them with her young reader. Once I looked it up, I knew I needed to give it a go!

This story is perfect for the reader who likes telling ghost stories around the campfire. It’s got just the right balance of spooky without being terrifying. But, if your reader has a hyper-active imagination, this might be a story that is better being read as a family during daylight hours.

One of the things I liked so much about this book is that Serafina doesn’t allow herself to be held back by the knowledge that she’s different from other kids. Instead, she finds out what she’s good at and she works at her gifts until she excels at them.

I also like that even through Serafina has every right to be angry and scared when she finds out more about her past and her true identity, she chooses the path of forgiveness. Even though it’s hard. It’s that choice, and the strength that comes with it, that ultimately allows her to succeed in reuniting the families torn apart by the man in the black cloak.

I have a whole pile of books still waiting to be reviewed for you, so it’ll be a little bit yet before I can read any more of Serafina’s adventures. But you can bet your dragon scales I’ll be looking for them at the library as soon as I can!

I give Serafina and the Black Cloak  4.5 dark chocolate eggs. It’s best for readers 9 or older and it’s perfect for summer reading adventures. Once you finish, you can continue on with Serafina and the Twisted Staff and Serafina and the Splintered Heart.

If you get to read them before me, let me know what you think. Happy reading!

Note: No goods or services were exchanged for this review. The opinions belong solely to the reviewer.