Rachel Hartman

From the critically acclaimed and bestselling author of Seraphina comes a tour de force and an exquisite feminist fantasy."Astonishing and perfect." --NPR In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their protectors, and dragons can be whomever they choose. Tess is. . . different. She speaks out of turn, has wild ideas, and can't seem to keep out of trouble. Then Tess goes too far. So Tess's family decide the only path for her is a nunnery. But on the day she is to join the nuns, Tess chooses a different path for herself. She cuts her hair, pulls on her boots, and sets out on a journey. She's not running away, she's running towards something. What that something is, she doesn't know. Tess just sees the open road as a map to somewhere else--a life where she might belong.Returning to the spellbinding world of the Southlands she created in the award-winning, New York Times bestselling novel Seraphina, Rachel Hartman explores self-reliance and redemption in this wholly original fantasy.

Tess of the Road

"Tess Dombegh journeys through the kingdom of Goredd in search of the World Serpents and finds herself along the way"--

Sarah Sammis

I need to take a break from this. I need to read Seraphina first. Right now my impression of this book is a fantasy retelling of Tess of the D'Ubervilles shoehorned into being a sequel to a very different sort of book.

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Savannah Winchell

If you didn’t love this book you are factually a coward with terrible taste I will hear no arguments u bitch ass losers

Ella Zegarra

Jordan Robinson

3.5 / 5

I loved how dark this book was and I loved the character development
but it was WAAAAAAAY too long.

Hala Abdulaziz 

This whole books was unexpectedly different from what i thought it would be , not typical at all ; the thing is, when i read the word ‘ dragon ‘ and ‘ pirates’ i was like ‘ hell yes i’m reading this book right now’ and at first i felt like this could be my next favorite book and there are going to be a lot of adventures, well i can say now that it didn’t turn out to be one of my favorites , but it’s definitely so different from what I usually read and I appreciated that , although it’s a slow paced book, but i think the author did a great job of keeping the reader gripped even if the story wasn’t that amazing . 
What i loved about this book , is the fact that even it’s a fictional fantasy book , i felt like tess’s journey was like what we go through in this life , we ( walk on ) having these goals and dreams and we don’t know what’s waiting for us down the corner, but still we keep moving no matter what , and this book wasn’t all happy and great adventures , it was in a way realistic and i found myself relating to tess sometimes , i think it could be a little boring in some parts , but that what life is like , you don’t get a very amazing and great adventures all the time unless you walk through regular normal boring times right ? I just found it enjoyable in some ways and that’s what I appreciated ..

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Tess of the Road, written by Rachel Hartman, is set in the world of Seraphina, a book that I haven’t read. In this world there are Dragons, that can become human and are considered saints, quitqul (I KNOW I SPELLED THAT WRONG, I ALREADY RETURNED THE BOOK), and Tess doesn’t conform to any of the rules.

Down to the book.

This novel is so well written. The smooth transitions between the road and her memories is lovely, and I really enjoy how Tess’ story is revealed and her character grows.
Tess as an amazing character and the perfect example of imperfection and questioning life as we know it.
I wanted some romance. There is no romance.
Lots of adventure. Lots. Exploration and giant serpents, and just, so much.
That being said, I really did want some kind of romance. (Alright, I may be on a bit of a kick, sue me.) Admittedly, I wanted this to be a stand alone novel. When I got to the end, it could have been an end. It isn’t, because this is just the start of a series, but it could have been. And it left me feeling… unsatisfied.

Reading this book before Seraphina left me not wanting to read Seraphina. She, Seaphina, comes off as just rather flat. Which is likely the point. I also don’t know if I want to read the complicated story with her and the prince. I just…. I don’t know.

We will see.

If you like adventure and fantasy, this will likely be a good book (series) for you to try out. Go ahead.

If you want romance… keep trying.

Ben Nathan

Had a very victorian feel. So much about propriety. I was a big fan of this and really want to read more of the series. On the strength of this I picked up her previous book, Seraphina and am looking forward to it. Tess is great, as are the randos she meets. Not everyone is good, not everyone is bad, but everyone is interesting.

Joleen

This arc was provided to me for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

3.5 Stars

First, I was unaware of what I was getting into when I read this book. It was only until half way that I realized there was a previous book series. I would have liked to have read that series before I started this one. Just so I could have understood the background of the world more. However, that is my fault and mine alone. 

I did in fact enjoy this book as it had all the makings of my kind of novel. It had adventure, dragons, romance, and some good fights. I really liked Tess as a character as the story evolved because she slowly lets you in a little bit at a time. You think you know exactly who she is until you see a little bit more. 
 
This book revolves around Tess, the eldest daughter who has somehow shamed herself and now must help her sister marry. Tess being the troublemaker she is causes a scene at the wedding and her family attempts to send her to a nunnery. That is when Tess finally decided to leave it all behind and run. Tess has a grand adventure before her and we meet some very entertaining characters. 

Tess’s background is what hit me the hardest, we are led to believe it was one thing, but, it’s not. I appreciated Tess because she wanted to be more than what the men in her life wanted her to be. She never would have been meant for a mundane lifestyle. 

If you like dragons and long adventures, then I would highly recommend this book to you. The characters alone are worth the read.

Manon van Heumen

This was an incredible journey, literally. I loved the plot, world-building and depth of the characters. It was just everything you'd want in a fantasy book. This was amazing, and it was perfect.

From award-winning Rachel Hartman, Tess of the Road is a tour de force and an exquisite feminist fantasy. In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their protectors and dragons get to be whomever they want. Tess, stubbornly, is a troublemaker. You can't make a scene at your sister's wedding and break a relative's nose with one punch (no matter how pompous he is) and not suffer the consequences. As her family plans to send her to a nunnery, Tess yanks on her boots and sets out on a journey across the Southlands, alone and pretending to be a boy. Where Tess is headed is a mystery, even to her. So when she runs into an old friend, it's a stroke of luck. This friend is a quigutl -- a subspecies of dragon -- who gives her both a purpose and protection on the road. But Tess is guarding a troubling secret. Her tumultuous past is a heavy burden to carry, and the memories she's tried to forget threaten to expose her to the world in more ways than one.

Tess of the Road

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