Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Enraizados by Naomi Novik

23 reviews

kbkbkbkbkb's review against another edition

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

2.0

If the creepy romance between the main character and her captor didn't exist this would have been a solid 5. The story is really captivating, but the rediculous and creepy age gap and how quickly it's accepted (as well as how blatantly abusive the dragon is) is disgusting and takes so much away from the book. It would have been incredible if it stayed entirely a mentor-mentee relationship.
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orchidlilly's review against another edition

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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.
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rae_diant's review against another edition

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

3.75

Overall very fun. Don't expect well rounded characters or character development. Classic fairytale vibe. Was very frustrated with our main character it often felt like she was a Mary Sue but for the most part it worked. The plot was very strong and the ending was super inviting. Highly recommend as a fun read. I really think I'll enjoy it even more on a second read now that I know what to expect. 
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fatherprozac's review against another edition

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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.
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shieldbearer's review against another edition

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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. 
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falchionm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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ashbcgc's review against another edition

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adventurous relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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amyemm's review against another edition

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

2.5

I went into this books and really wanted to like it. I pushed through it really trying to enjoy it, but it wasn't for me. I couldn't connect much to the main character and struggled to find her as much developed, rather than someone with a few I'll defined traits who things happened to.

I truly disliked the romance in the book.
The trope of student/teacher would be something I'd have been willing to hand wave if Sarkan had anything developed or redeeming to him at all other than being grouchy and verbally abusive all the time. It felt as though the author married a pick up artist and wanted to normalize that. Or just felt that romance and sex would be need d to sell the book rather than letting the overall story exist in it's own right. Either way, it detracted and felt unnecessary.


The largely redeeming part of the book is Kasia. There aren't many other relationships with characters that develop enough to know them and care about them much. I did enjoy parts of the reveal at the end of the book, however, and wish there had been more exploration around that.
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queenie_ofthe_void's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

3.5

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pokeybear1's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Let's start with there are no actual dragons in this book, it is just a nickname. The description makes this seem like it is romance based, that is completely false, this is not romance at all, there is perhaps a small spark of it, but it fell flat for me. We have a centuries old wizard and a young girl given to him in tribute. He degrades her, repeatedly calls her an idiot, slovenly, useless. And she falls for him. There is zero evidence shown why she falls for him. He doesn't recognize that she has magic when he selects her, actually why he selects her is a complete mystery that also falls flat, it is expected he will choose another girl and he doesn't, but we don't quite know why not. The magic system is all over the place, all of the different wizards seem to use different types of magic, but there is never any explanation as to why or how. Of course our heroine is instantly the smartest one and the only one that can solve a problem that has lingered for hundreds of years. Themes of old russian and polish culture, toss some Baba Yaga in there and poof, you have a story. 
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