I recommended this title as one of the "best of the best" among young adult speculative fiction at the 2018 Best of the Best workshop on children's and young adult literature, sponsored by the UTK Center for Children's and Young Adult Literature. Recommended for those who want a more contemplative take on high fantasy.

I give 5 stars to the book. I will be buying for the library and for my personal collection. Love the story and characters. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

DNF
Sadly I couldn't get into this. It's way too slow for my taste. I hoped that I would like it, since I love Hartman's quirky worldbuilding and her writing style. However the storyline is way too slow and too long wound for me

What a breath of fresh air! Tess of the Road is a beautiful tale of a broken girl and her path to self-discovery. Reminiscent of Gregory Maguire, Hartman's is a tale of pain and self-loathing, coming to terms with who you are and accepting that the opinions of others mean nothing. I think this is an essential read for any young woman, especially in an age where the lines of sexual consent and blame are blurred.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

I haven't read the previous books by Rachel Hartman so maybe her fans would enjoy this book. I on the other hand was completely taken by that beautiful dragon on the cover.

I love dragons and I'll read anything with them in it. However, I read this book and I'm almost 40% in and NOTHING seems to be happening. There are NO dragons. Let alone ANY OTHER cool creature. So much of the book just discusses her past it got annoying after a while.

I'm reading the book and I want to know what happens in the now. Not what happened back GOD KNOWS WHEN.

A lot of flashbacks in pretty much every page and I just couldn't take it anymore.

I really enjoyed the beginning. The story was a little slow but the voice carried me along. But then she ran away and the plot ceased to exist and I felt like I was being lectured with all the info-dumps and flashbacks. Not for me.

I wanted so badly to love this one, but I just couldn't get into it. The writing style didn't work for me and I was bored with it, so I couldn't force myself to continue. No one is more sad than I am, I was really looking forward to a dragon story!

I have a feeling this is a case of it's not you, it's me, but I absolutely despised the main character. That simple fact made the entire story feel like a chore to get through. I seem to be in the minority though, so I'll say read it if it sounds like your thing.

A touching allegory. It was an unusual fantasy novel, less about world building than character building. I really enjoyed the theme and the main characters. The people she meets are pretty one dimensional, but I love Tess. I also love the play between opposites and gender pronouns. Very cool.

I was really excited to read this book, mostly because it was supposed to be a really amazing novel with a badass protagonist and dragons, but truth be told, nothing exciting happened. There were mentions about magical creatures and dragons, but it was so slow and boring that I ended up stopping halfway through. And I hardly ever do that, because I think some books tend to get better as the story continues. Well, that wasn’t the case with this one.

I actually enjoyed the beginning of the story, but it was really confusing and I didn’t really followed the path of the story. The main character wasn’t my favorite, to be honest, and the flashbacks that happened in the story weren’t written properly, and I didn’t know if what I was reading was happening in the present or the past.

Overall, I didn’t like the plot nor the story, hence why I did not finish it, and I was expecting to read about dragons, and honestly? There wasn’t a lot of information about them, nor apparitions of those creatures in the story.

2.5 stars. Based on the description, positive press for both Tess and Seraphina, and the cover, I expected a high-adrenaline romp of a story. Unfortunately, Hartman missed the mark. Instead of being full of action and intrigue, Tess's quest is full of self-loathing and attempts at soothing her conscience. It takes a full 35% of the story to really get moving, but even then, the pace is inconsistent. Tess has many side "missions," some of which are stronger than the main story itself. There's too much filler, and too many come-and-go characters. Hartman tries to wrap everything together at the end, and it only *just* works. I have to give points for redemption - by the end of the story, Tess has learned to love herself, though even that felt a little forced. This isn't a terrible read by any means. I was just looking for more.

This was such a fun, entertaining read. I love the world that Rachel Hartman has created! Tess is such a fiesty, stubborn and fun character. I loved watching her grow! She started as a sullen teen, who lashed out at everyone and grew until she became a strong, capable woman. It was an absolute delight to journey with her!


ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

P. S. It took me awhile to read this simply because I started it, then had to backtrack. I highly recommend reading Seraphina and Shadow Scale before reading this. Just to get an idea of the world and some of the characters a little more clearly.

This book wasn’t for me. I decided not to review it on my site or any of the major retailers/Goodreads.

This book was strange, and well written and I really loved it and that took me completely by surprise.

I think we can all agree there are certain expectations that one has going into any fantasy novel, because as much as we all love fantasy there are only so many ways these stories go. Tess of the Road throws this knowledge out the window and tells a completely different fantasy story.  Whereas a lot of books in this genre are all about action and magic and the next big plot twist, this book is more of a meandering journey in which our main character finds herself.  And it's fantastic.

I never knew what was going to happen next, which was so interesting because the other side of the coin was the story was fairly slow. Usually when I say a story is slow I mean that in a bad way, but this was never boring for me. It was good that the story is slow. It takes Tess on a soul searching walking trip of her country, and every turn in the road is a new revelation.

Tess is a great character as well. I loved how flawed she was, I loved that she had a drinking problem, I loved that she was simultaneously selfish and selfless. I connected with her right away.

I also loved the world, with strange serpents and dragonoid creatures and strange myths. It was all written so well. It was magical and at the same time managed to be relevant. It deals with rape and what happens when women aren't taught about their bodies, and when men are taught they can do whatever they want. And it takes about all of these in a real way.

I could probably continue to gush about this story, I really enjoyed it. But I don't want to give too much away. Reading this book made me want to read more by Rachel Hartman. Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book, and I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

WOW, just wow! What a terrific book full of internal struggle and self reliance. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the world that was created. The characters are terrific.

A bit underwhelming and not very well written. The main girl was a bit too reserved and tough, also wasn't a well dialogue book.

I don't know of a nice way to say this, so I'm just going to come right out with it.

This book was really boring.

But in spite of the tedium, it was still well written.

Tess goes through a beautiful character arc throughout the book. She starts off as an angry, resentful, and dislikable girl who is bitter about the hand that life dealt her. As she sets aside her self-destructive ways and strikes out on her journey, she discovers who she is and finds the goodness in her heart. Through her interactions with people on the road and her experiences along the way, Tess becomes a different person. A strong, courageous, self-reliant girl who still isn't perfect, but she carves out a niche for herself.

That part of the story was lovely. However, the aimless wandering, the long explanations of quigutl language and traditions were tedious and hard to get through. While I loved the change Tess went through, I didn't like the tedium of getting there.

ess had always been an unruly girl. She had different ideas and could not keep herself from getting into trouble. Her parents, who were at a loss about how to handle Tess, decided to send her to a nunnery. Instead, Tess ran away and disguised herself as a man. She reunited with a quigutl, a species related to dragons, and set out to search for the mythological World Serpent. As Tess embarked on her journey, she made many friends along the way that taught her about life. Tess realized that the true journey is to find herself.

Tess of the Road is a companion novel to Seraphina. At first, it took me some time to warm up to Tess. She is different from Seraphina. Seraphina is composed, intelligent, and thoughtful. Tess seemed rude, selfish, and temperamental. However, once I got more into Tess’s story she became a real and lovable character. I truly felt that I understood her. She had suffered from a tragic past. She was always looking to heal her past. She learns that the past is who she is and learns to accept it. Tess is also a very compassionate person. As she heals and develops friendships with others along the road, she heals herself.

Overall, Tess of the Road is a journey of friendship, healing, forgiveness, and acceptance. The message of the novel is to learn to love yourself. Each of the characters play a role in shaping Tess’s character. Some of them are also on a quest of healing and self-discovery themselves. Therefore, each of the characters had a purpose and played a meaningful part in the story. The medieval setting of Tess of the Road was very realistic and did an excellent job in showing that women had very few options. After reading Tess of the Road, I’m very impatient for the sequel! Tess of the Road is a thought-provoking story that lingers with you! This is one of the most profound fantasies that I have read this year! I recommend this novel not only for women, but also to those who need a little inspiration and encouragement on their own life’s road.

*I received this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*
WOWZA! I really loved Tess, I had completely forgotten she was Seraphina's sister but this book just amazed me. Tess is wildly different from the normal heroine. She is complicated, unruly, and unhappy with her life. I loved that she decided to make her own path, and that at some point she had to stop caring what other people wanted her to do with her life. I get why people didn't like it, but I freaking loved it. Just like I loved Seraphina and Shadow Scale. Do you want beautiful world building? Do you want deep and complex characters? Do you want a dissection on a host of various social issues from rape culture to the victimization of the 'non-virginal' women of the world? If yes, please pick this book up because I cannot right a review to encapsulate this book.