Serafina and the Seven Stars by Robert Beatty

Summary from Goodreads:

Serafina and Braeden make an epic return in the hotly anticipated fourth installment of Robert Beatty's #1 New York Times best-selling Serafina series. Serafina, the Guardian of Biltmore Estate, has won battle after battle against the dark forces encroaching on her home. Now, tranquility has returned to Biltmore. Serafina doesn't trust it. She patrols the grounds night and day, hardly sleeping, uncertain of her place after her best friend Braeden Vanderbilt's departure for boarding school in New York.

When Mr. Vanderbilt, the kind master of Biltmore, asks Serafina to move upstairs into one of the house's grandest rooms, she's sure it's to keep an eye on the guests who have arrived for the estate's annual hunt.

But as Serafina investigates, she becomes more and more unsettled by what Biltmore has become-a place haunted by nameless terrors where no dark corridor is safe. Even worse, she begins to doubt her own senses. Is Braeden really hundreds of miles away, or did he return to Biltmore for one strange night before vanishing? Is the bond between them truly broken or is it stronger than ever?

Then Serafina witnesses a crime that turns her world upside down. How can all that once seemed good and worthy of protection now be evil? And how can she guard those around her when she can't even be sure of the truth of her own heart?

Serafina and the Seven Stars marks the return of a heroine like no other, as master storyteller Robert Beatty weaves his darkest, most astonishing tale yet.

Review:

As I wrote on Goodreads, this wasn’t quite as suspenseful or dark or as addicting as the other books in this series. But…I still loved it. The ending melted my heart. It felt like this was the closure fans needed from book 3, but didn’t get. We got some closure in this book and it was nice.

I am a huge fan of this series. I find myself recommending it to children, teens, and adults. The writing style, the setting, and the plot are just masterful. It’s what I wish all middle grade novels can be, and secretly hope for each time I flip through new pages.

I was sad when the third (and thought to be final) book ended. I wanted more closure. I needed to know what would become of Serafina. She can’t live in the basement forever. And was there any possibility of her and Braeden becoming more than just friends? This fourth book (and definitely probably) last book answers all these questions.

There’s also of course a supernatural mystery to solve. I liked the involvement of Greek mythology, though I have to say out of all the mysteries, this one grabbed me the least. Maybe because my focus was on other things. Or maybe because my focus was supposed to be elsewhere. I’m not sure. That being said, it was still filled some serious surprises for me. One scene had me gasping in shock.

I liked that things resolved with a neat ribbon at the end. Though, maybe the ending was too good to be true. I liked how happy everything was. Don’t get me wrong. I feel like I have been drowning in sad stories, endings, and pot twists lately. It was refreshing to have so much happiness. It just comes off as almost too good. If that makes sense. But, I guess I’m kind of nitpicking here. I love this series. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next. I give this last book an 8/10.