You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Enraizados by Naomi Novik

17 reviews

seadeepy's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

esme_may's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I adored this! It's written absolutely beautifully with gorgeous imagery, and the ending is maybe my favourite I've read this year. I'd read more by Naomi Novik in a heartbeat
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

orchidlilly's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Overall, subpar. The magic and world building are far more interesting than any of the characters could ever dream of being, which is a shame because we don't get to see much of it. The premise was interesting, the plot was an actual plot, but it could have been fleshed out so much better if it only had a bit more time. The ending was a semi-refreshing subversion of the expected romance ending, but it felt a bit rushed. The romance part itself was, in my opinion, wholly unnecessary and a bit unpleasant. The main romantic interest is an immortal while our mc is... 17-ish. Not to mention the attempted rape scene.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

fatherprozac's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I kept rooting for this book and it kind of kept letting me down, sadly. I fell in love with the magic system, the visualizations of spell casting, the descriptions of reading the Summoning, and the dark horror of the Wood. Unfortunately, Sarkan's never ending verbal abuse toward Nieshka, her being 17 to his 150, the weird sympathetic framing of a rapist, and the inclusion of only one explicitly black character just to have her be the daughter of a slave really soured me on the whole thing. 
I'll just rant here. The fact that Sarkan chooses specifically girls (never explained why boys aren't chosen if everyone with the gift must be trained) and expects them to cook all his meals for him for ten years was already irredeemable in my eyes. His constant berating of Nieshka literally left her EXPECTING abuse multiple times throughout the book which left me feeling sick at its romanticization. Truly, Sarkan's only traits were that he liked cleanliness and that he was mean. Their hideous age gap (of literally a child and a very old man) being framed as his excuse to momentarily hesitate from sex with her? yikes. Why did she need to be 17? I would have much preferred reading about an adult woman and her ages old immortal boyfriend. Lastly, the rape scene was handled unbelievably poorly and just made Sarkan even more monstrous to me.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

rainstormdragon's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

shieldbearer's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A very strong read, although I preferred Spinning Silver. My primary complaint is the romance between Sarkan and Agneskia - I simply could not see the romantic chemistr. It felt forced to me, and I think the narrative would have been better served without it. 

I also can't say I liked the reveal about the origin of the Wood Queen and the reason the wood is attacking. I think the Staryk were handled with more nuance in Spinning Silver. 

However, I would still strongly recommend this novel. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kindra_demi's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Full transparency to this review: I had absolutely no interest in reading this book. This was the book my book club chose to read for March. Going into the book, I was just thinking “I am here for the ride”. And for this reason, I am incredibly surprised at how much I ended up liking this book! There were points in this book I was sad I had to put it down because life needed attention instead.

As with any fantasy book, the beginning was full of world building, but it wasn’t so much so that it made it difficult to understand. The parts that were left vague were intentional to be answered later on. I will say that the writing style at times was a bit confusing. There were times where something would be posed as a thought, only to be answered by another person verbally (though no mind reading was ever mention). In the same vein, I also found I did have to reread some passage a couple times to understand what was fully going on. This is especially true in the second half of the book that was action packed. While for the most part, the writing that was intentionally left vague were eventually answered, there are some moments where I wish we got an answer as to why something might have happened. 

Hands down my favorite part of the book is the magic system. The magic system was one of the most interesting magic systems that I’ve read! (Light spoilers for the types of magic seen)
I loved how it Agnieszka's magic was supposed to feel warm, and almost folk-like, where it was doing with what you have around you. Whereas you have the Dragon, who was trained in the capital city in a very rigid structure, and as a result has a magic style similar to that.


For it’s faults, this is definitely a book I would recommend to any fantasy lover, but as always, check the content warnings and see if it’s something for you!!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings