Reviews with content warning for Death - Enraizados

I'm so glad I finally got a chance to read this one!

If you enjoy dark fairytales, beautiful prose, and being immersed in new fantasy worlds, I think you'll enjoy this one.

Agnieszka is unexpectedly chosen to be taken by the Dragon, an event that happens in her valley every ten years. The villagers go along with it because the Dragon protects them from the evil Wood, but no one really knows what happens to the girls he takes, besides the fact that when they come out, they always leave the valley.

I feel like I didn't have a very good idea of what this book would be about when I started it; the blurb on the back only covers the first couple chapters. I was intrigued from the start, though, and the depth of the story just built and built from there until I was making all kinds of connections I and couldn't put the book down! I'm willing to bet you'll feel a little breathless by the end, caught up in everything that's happening and thoroughly satisfied by the ending, like I was.

The characters: I loved Agnieszka and Kasia's friendship, and I loved Agnieszka and the Dragon's "rivalry" and his grumpy to her sunshine :)

Like a fairytale, this book was full of rich themes, like the fact that misery and fear can be poisonous, and hate creates monstrosities and can topple societies. I like deep themes, what can I say? 🤷‍♀️

A note about the pace: this book isn't fast-paced like a YA fantasy. The story takes its time, the writing style is rich and prose-heavy, and it reads like a fairytale. I thought it was so beautiful, but I tend to enjoy beautiful language. It took me a lot longer to read this one than most books, but in my opinion it was definitely worth it.

Uprooted was just about everything I could ask for in a fantasy novel. I highly recommend it to lovers of deep, rich fantasy and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

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revonue's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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julesadventurezone's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective tense medium-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

4.0

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huntress's review against another edition

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alliecat1915's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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lizzie24601's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

For the vast majority of it, this book was a slog to get through. Until

Agnieshka flees the capital

, the book is written very episodically. Agnieshka is hanging out at the tower, learning magic, until someone arrives! And they do something. Then she goes back to her studies until... someone arrives! The plot doesn't progress evenly forward - it moves in fits and starts like this, and it's hard to tell what the story is supposed to be about. (Especially when the description on the back of the book only describes half of the first chapter.)

I did not find any of the characters to be particularly well-developed, and there isn't much character growth. Sure, Agnieshka's skills and power grow, but her personal character doesn't change much from the beginning to the end.

I was most upset by Kasia in this vein: she is hyped up at the beginning as being such a charming, brave, and wonderful person, but despite being by Agnieshka's side for the majority of the book, she is largely silent. In so many scenes she just serves as a tool to silently protect Agnieshka from some danger. The book emphasizes their friendship over and over again, but they never even really have a conversation.

The characters all felt so flat that the pace felt even slower, because there was no one I wanted to root for. And don't get me started on the romance... (The

teenager + centuries old magical being

romances either work or they don't, and this one just didn't for me.)

All that being said, the pace and excitement picks up immensely in the final third of the book, and the ending really is so good. I finally got what the author was going for, and what the book was about. Sure, there are other scenes that stand out (when

Kasia and Agnieshka have to deal with their unspoken animosity toward each other

and any scene with Alosha - loved her). I just wish the first 2/3 of the book had been as enjoyable!

Content Warnings

the_bees_books's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

If you like creepy forests, grumpy wizards, and female characters who are just a general hot mess, then you should totally read this.

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