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_loftwing_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
My third book by Novik! To be blunt, while I did enjoy this one, I prefer Spinning Silver. There were a couple things that felt off to me and stopped me from enjoying it as much as I thought I was going to. Part of it was the pacing towards the second half of the book. I thought it felt a little rushed, especially after Agnieszka and Kasia escaped back to the tower with the children , and that the ending was a little weird/abrupt, too.
The characters were fine - for me they fell a bit flat and weren’t particularly loveable or relatable. I also couldn’t get behind the romance - since there were so few scenes and so little development, it felt as though they would have made more sense as unlikely friends (and that it wouldn’t have affected the story all that much). I’m all for lowkey, second-to-the-plot romances - in fact, I usually prefer them - this one just didn’t work for me.
I should stress that while it wasn’t my favourite, and though I’ve gone into more depth about the things I disliked than the things I liked, there were lots of things I enjoyed about this book, including:
- The overall writing/story/plot, which was on par with Novik’s usual standards - well written, thought-provoking, and creative.
- The magic system was interesting, and I really liked the descriptions of it.
- Agnieszka’s friendship with Kasia. It’s always nice to read about a friendship that’s so obviously full of love and trust.
Overall, I’m glad I read this book, and recommend just giving it a try if you’re on the fence about it.
The characters were fine - for me they fell a bit flat and weren’t particularly loveable or relatable. I also couldn’t get behind the romance - since there were so few scenes and so little development, it felt as though they would have made more sense as unlikely friends (and that it wouldn’t have affected the story all that much). I’m all for lowkey, second-to-the-plot romances - in fact, I usually prefer them - this one just didn’t work for me.
I should stress that while it wasn’t my favourite, and though I’ve gone into more depth about the things I disliked than the things I liked, there were lots of things I enjoyed about this book, including:
- The overall writing/story/plot, which was on par with Novik’s usual standards - well written, thought-provoking, and creative.
- The magic system was interesting, and I really liked the descriptions of it.
- Agnieszka’s friendship with Kasia. It’s always nice to read about a friendship that’s so obviously full of love and trust.
Overall, I’m glad I read this book, and recommend just giving it a try if you’re on the fence about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Infidelity, and Alcohol
rosewater_rabbit's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I’m getting back into reading fiction and I really loved this story. I like the perspective of how it’s written. I was really pulled into the ending & how the main story arc wrapped up.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and War
dawsonglenc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content
ila_mae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Really beautiful. It felt like a fairy tale, but grown up and dark while still whimsical. I really appreciated that it was so grounded in our main character and that her learning to trust herself and her instincts is her main strength. I really enjoyed the plot and how the threat of the wood felt real and frightening the whole time- not once did I ever feel like this was something the characters could walk away from, and I thought it was done really well.
The one thing I didn't enjoy was the sex scene. I felt it was unnecessary and honestly kinda unbelievable considering the circumstances that had just happened. But I know that's a me thing.
The one thing I didn't enjoy was the sex scene. I felt it was unnecessary and honestly kinda unbelievable considering the circumstances that had just happened. But I know that's a me thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Body horror
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.5
3.5 ⭐ CW: Death, violence, blood, death of a parent, sexual content
Uprooted by Naomi Novik is a fantasy reminiscent of Grimm fairytales and turns the idea of a dragon coming to take a maiden on its head. Although I did enjoy the story, the pacing wasn't great and made for a slow read, so I knocked it down half a Star.
We follow Agnieszka, a peasant girl who always manages to get herself dirty and untidy. Every ten years the Dragon, a wizard lord, would come to their village and take an exceptional girl. At the end of ten years, she would come back changed and leave the valley for good. No one expected the Dragon to choose Agnieszka. Eventually, she realizes she was chosen because she possessed magic, and was to be trained as a witch.
The Dragon is the grumpiest of wizards that believes magic is very formulaic, and is frustrated when Agnieszka seems hopeless at learning magic the way he thinks she should. Instead, Agnieszka leaned toward the style of magic of Baba Jaga, a more intuitive magic. The Dragon's task in his tower was to hold back the force of the Wood, a sentient evil trying to take over the entire valley. When Agnieszka's friend Kasia is taken into the Wood by monsters, she does the impossible and gets her out of the tree she is trapped inside and cleanses her of the Wood's corruption. Because of this, the Prince of the kingdom demands she free his mother the Queen, even though she has been trapped for 20 years.
This was an interesting story, and I liked the concept of the magic and the Wood. Agnieszka was a nice departure for a female MC in this kind of story. She wasn't beautiful, and though she had a little romance with the Dragon, it wasn't an important plot point. I really loved the lore of the Wood. I do wish the story had been a bit quicker about getting to the point. Everything just took so long. I think this is a pattern for this author. I've read another of her books that I liked, but it took me a while to get into it.
Uprooted by Naomi Novik is a fantasy reminiscent of Grimm fairytales and turns the idea of a dragon coming to take a maiden on its head. Although I did enjoy the story, the pacing wasn't great and made for a slow read, so I knocked it down half a Star.
We follow Agnieszka, a peasant girl who always manages to get herself dirty and untidy. Every ten years the Dragon, a wizard lord, would come to their village and take an exceptional girl. At the end of ten years, she would come back changed and leave the valley for good. No one expected the Dragon to choose Agnieszka. Eventually, she realizes she was chosen because she possessed magic, and was to be trained as a witch.
The Dragon is the grumpiest of wizards that believes magic is very formulaic, and is frustrated when Agnieszka seems hopeless at learning magic the way he thinks she should. Instead, Agnieszka leaned toward the style of magic of Baba Jaga, a more intuitive magic. The Dragon's task in his tower was to hold back the force of the Wood, a sentient evil trying to take over the entire valley. When Agnieszka's friend Kasia is taken into the Wood by monsters, she does the impossible and gets her out of the tree she is trapped inside and cleanses her of the Wood's corruption. Because of this, the Prince of the kingdom demands she free his mother the Queen, even though she has been trapped for 20 years.
This was an interesting story, and I liked the concept of the magic and the Wood. Agnieszka was a nice departure for a female MC in this kind of story. She wasn't beautiful, and though she had a little romance with the Dragon, it wasn't an important plot point. I really loved the lore of the Wood. I do wish the story had been a bit quicker about getting to the point. Everything just took so long. I think this is a pattern for this author. I've read another of her books that I liked, but it took me a while to get into it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Blood and Death of parent
nightmarebees's review against another edition
3.5
i really wanted to love this one more than i did. i picked it based on some research via the NoveList database, which marked it as a readalike for 5+ of my recent favorites. alas, this wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t amazing either.
what i liked:
- the relationship between agnieszka and kasia was strong and remained so throughout, though they should’ve been gay
- agnieszka finding her own way around magic that completely ignores the traditional teaching
- the dread and body horror of the Wood as a big bad, from the way corruption enters human bodies to the bloodbath when they try to journey into it
what was meh:
- personally, i just don’t prefer first person POV in adult fantasy
- because angnieszka’s magic operates differently than everyone else’s, there’s never a solid explanation of how magic works in this world
- the romance between her and sarkan just lacked chemistry. i get that the point is he’s walled himself up to human connection, but we really never see these walls come down. they just have one magic-drunk makeout, separate to different cities for several weeks, and then bone as soon as she gets back RIGHT before the big battle. the age gap is worth noting, but it isn’t any more egregious than most hetero romantasy currently out there. the lack of development honestly bugs me more
- would’ve liked more than just 10-15 pages at the very end spent on the vague backstory of the Wood
what i liked:
- the relationship between agnieszka and kasia was strong and remained so throughout, though they should’ve been gay
- agnieszka finding her own way around magic that completely ignores the traditional teaching
- the dread and body horror of the Wood as a big bad, from the way corruption enters human bodies to the bloodbath when they try to journey into it
what was meh:
- personally, i just don’t prefer first person POV in adult fantasy
- because angnieszka’s magic operates differently than everyone else’s, there’s never a solid explanation of how magic works in this world
- the romance between her and sarkan just lacked chemistry. i get that the point is he’s walled himself up to human connection, but we really never see these walls come down. they just have one magic-drunk makeout, separate to different cities for several weeks, and then bone as soon as she gets back RIGHT before the big battle. the age gap is worth noting, but it isn’t any more egregious than most hetero romantasy currently out there. the lack of development honestly bugs me more
- would’ve liked more than just 10-15 pages at the very end spent on the vague backstory of the Wood
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Rape
stuffed_with_books's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.0
A beautifully crafted story and well narrated audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Murder, and War
astrangewind's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.75
Uprooted comes alive on the page, the magic seeming to come alive on my fingers where they touch the page, alive. Novik's ability to translate the ephemeral into tangible - Agnieszka's magic likened to gleaning the forest for berries, and Sarkan's to academia - is unparalleled. I almost believed I could cast a spell myself after looking up from the pages.
So, too, do Novik's characters come alive, leaping with life. It's hard to not love Agnieszka's scrappy defiance, Sarkan's dry wit, Kasia's unwavering devotion.
This book begins by recounting a tale of the Dragon taking a girl from the valley into his tower every ten years, but Uprooted is not so simple. The story starts with the Dragon, but then winds itself through the valley, the whole of Polnya, into the Wood; then folds back on itself, layering life and violence and beauty and corruption into an intricate web. Just when you think the story is getting good, just when you think there's going to be the climax, there's still dozens to hundreds of pages left, leaving you thinking, What could possibly happen next? And then you peel back layer after layer, finally settling down onto the mossy forest floor, looking at the sun dappling through the leaves, boughs heavy with fruit.
There's a reason this book isn't a 5.0 for me, though: the love interest. I'll spoiler tag it, but it's really not that much of a spoiler:Agnieszka and Sarkan. The story goes that the Dragon kidnaps a girl from the valley and locks her up in his tower . How am I supposed to jive with that? That's not even mentioning that fact that he is 8 times her age. When they meet, she is seventeen goddamn years old, and he is at least 150. How do I know that? It's brought up more than once. When they finally sleep together, he even protests, saying that he's way too old. Honestly, that makes it even worse, like he's absolved of all blame just because he mentions the one-hundred-year age gap, but goes along with it anyway. Even though I love them both as characters, and by the end I was aching to see them together, it doesn't sit right with me to read the really old guy falling in love with the mature-for-her-age child. (Besides, Kasia was the obvious choice for Agnieszka , anyway. Why are we so afraid of putting gay people in our fantasy?)
That said, this is a truly beautiful book, and I enjoyed it very much.
So, too, do Novik's characters come alive, leaping with life. It's hard to not love Agnieszka's scrappy defiance, Sarkan's dry wit, Kasia's unwavering devotion.
This book begins by recounting a tale of the Dragon taking a girl from the valley into his tower every ten years, but Uprooted is not so simple. The story starts with the Dragon, but then winds itself through the valley, the whole of Polnya, into the Wood; then folds back on itself, layering life and violence and beauty and corruption into an intricate web. Just when you think the story is getting good, just when you think there's going to be the climax, there's still dozens to hundreds of pages left, leaving you thinking, What could possibly happen next? And then you peel back layer after layer, finally settling down onto the mossy forest floor, looking at the sun dappling through the leaves, boughs heavy with fruit.
There's a reason this book isn't a 5.0 for me, though: the love interest. I'll spoiler tag it, but it's really not that much of a spoiler:
That said, this is a truly beautiful book, and I enjoyed it very much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Slavery, Vomit, and Classism
sammiebauer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
i loved this book from start to finish. the main character is fascinating in the way she navigates her world and forms relationships; the descriptions of her magic are so beautiful. the emotional core of this story is a bit hard to find at first, but by the end, i was entirely enveloped in the plight of every side of the conflict. it drove me to tears. the fairy tale elements of this story are also very well done. the ending was beautifully bittersweet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
tlskayte's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
One of /the/ best books I’ve ever read.
To me, Agnieszka is a rough and tumble Druid thrown into the worst the world has to offer, and eventually finds a way to bring peace through love, kindness and the strength of nature itself.
An absolute joy to read, I wish it never had to end.
To me, Agnieszka is a rough and tumble Druid thrown into the worst the world has to offer, and eventually finds a way to bring peace through love, kindness and the strength of nature itself.
An absolute joy to read, I wish it never had to end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content