BOOK REVIEW: Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

This is a book review for Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty. I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The scheduled publication date for this book is July 14, 2015.

Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of the Biltmore estate. There's plenty to explore in her grand home, although she must take care to never be seen. None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina exists; she and her pa, the estate's maintenance man, have secretly lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can remember. But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is:a terrifying man in a black cloak who stalks Biltmore's corridors at night. Following her own harrowing escape, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt, the young nephew of the Biltmore's owners. Braeden and Serafina must uncover the Man in the Black Cloak's true identity before all of the children vanish one by one.

One of the main reasons I requested this book was because of the setting. The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC! I know it sounds random, but that place holds a special place in my heart. That is the place my husband and I went on our first weekend trip together while we were dating. And Biltmore Estate is also where he proposed almost eight years ago. The author did an awesome job with the setting of the book. Biltmore Estate is huge and I loved the descriptions of all the elaborate rooms and secret passageways. And I had never thought of the mountains surrounding Biltmore as creepy until this book. 

There were times while reading this book that I was irritated at the main character, I think because she is only twelve years old. There was so much more immaturity and lot more stupid decisions. Now I can forgive those a lot easier with a twelve year old character, but she was just harder to relate to. I don't think I really became engaged in the story until about halfway through. I loved the mystery of the missing children and the friendship between Serafina and Braeden was precious. Maybe if Serafina had been written as older, the author would have probably ruined it and made them fall instantly in love or something. But I liked the friendship the way it was. The author did a great job of building the mystery and when Serafina was trying to stop the Man in the Black Cloak, I actually did get creeped out a few times. There was a bit of a supernatural twist to the story. I can appreciate that this was a stand-alone book, but I still thought the ending was a little too neat and clean.

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Borrow. There were a couple of issues with the book, but all in all, it was an entertaining read.