Reviews

Das dunkle Herz des Waldes by Naomi Novik

sams_stories's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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

4.5

forwalaka's review against another edition

3.0

Ну так. А начало было очень многообещающее. Но позвольте побрюзжать немного. Романтическая линия сразу такая: ой, у него такие горячие пальцы, а что ещё у него горячее? Хочется сказать: автор, у вас тут трусы торчат. И накапайте побольше логики в сюжет, а так всё нормально. Деревья, люди-деревья, вот это вот всё.

ruhlen's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

medeira's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

4.5

enoemo's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

3.75

This was captivating - I finished it in two days. And I really liked it, apart from some minor things that were bugging me a bit.

First of all, the first few chapters really make it annoyingly clear how clumsy that girl is. I get that there is a reason and everything, but writing wise it felt a bit too over the top for me. Second of all, the romance plot: Apart from the age gap, I would have needed just at least a little bitof non-physical affection from Sarkan to ship it - I really wanted to root for them, but like many others I eventually hoped she would end up with Kasia instead, although I love a deep, sister-like loving platonic friendship between two female characters like this as well. Lastly, a little more background reasoning for why she's so overpowered would have been interesting for me, as someone who is always very interested in the rules and logic of magic in fantasy-like books.

Overall I loved the world-building, and the enemies, and I grew really fond of a lot of the characters. Definitely an adventurous page turner.

lab_goth's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Hate hate HATE the romance plotline 

unhallowed_eve's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

I usually base my reviews on how I feel about the experience of reading a book, so I can be more generously inclined to the books I love, and I know that does introduce a fair bit of subjectivity. For Uprooted, I felt more of a distant admiration with a few moments of irritation. Overall a generally positive feeling but without the enthusiasm that friends have expressed. 

 

The Wood was one of the best parts of the book. It is insidious, cunning, and horrifying. Even after each small victory against the Wood there is a sense of unease about where the corruption may have infiltrated. It is probably one of the most unique and well crafted enemies that I have read. 

 

I enjoyed the setting and the whole arc of the plot, but there were moments throughout that seemed incongruous with the world-building that had already been established. The Wood seemed more terrifying during the earliest encounters -

merely breathing the air in the Wood caused Agnieszka to take in corruption, and it was able to enter the Dragon from just a tiny scratch. But when they return to the Wood with Marek and the soldiers, only one soldier is turned by the corruption, while important characters retain control of their minds during a major fight and on the journey back to safety. They did have a protection spell which must have minimised the effects of corruption, though they still had to spend a week purifying each other afterwards, suggesting that they were all affected yet no one seemed to be influenced by it.

Agnieszka’s intuitive magic is versatile so she usually has a solution to problems that seem insurmountable. I did love her approach to magic, but it would have been nice to get a sense of the limits or perhaps understand why her ability soon rivals that of the wizards with decades of experience. I found the ending very satisfying and where we leave Agnieska is perfectly fitting for her. 

 

The prose is beautifully written and descriptions are vivid and unhurried. I think this is something that I admired but did not love, because it leaves the impression that the book was a lot longer than it really was, and it contributed to a few moments that felt like a push to get through. Perhaps this is very subjective as I’m not that interested in rich descriptions of scenery and surroundings. I’d much rather read more dialogue, which I think would have helped to bring secondary characters more to life too. Some of them felt like half-known acquaintances rather than fully realised characters: for example,

when Agnieszka briefly sees her family again after months away, she feels a lot of emotion but I did not, because I had little sense of who they were.

In saying all that, I think the writing style does reflect the mind of a character who observes more than she speaks, and it matches the slower pace of life in the valley and in the Dragon’s tower. 

EDIT: Upon more reflection, I dropped half a star because I think it more accurately reflects my thoughts on the character and relationship development. Kasia was Agnieska's closest friend and this is a key part of the book, but reading about their friendship was a very factual experience - there just isn't enough interaction and conversation between them to feel emotionally invested.

maeghie1408's review against another edition

2.0

This is probably another case of ‘it’s not you, it’s me’.
This was incredibly underwhelming for me and I think I just had too high expectations for it. The first chapter gripped my interest and I thought it was going to be a solid read but by the 2nd chapter I had already lost interest.
It was a ‘meh’ kind of read. Nothing stood out to me. Nothing surprised me. It also grew tiresome to have him call her an idiot every chance he got.

There was a severe lost opportunity with the romance in this book. The MMC & FMC had NO chemistry whatsoever. I really felt there was a strong chemistry between the FMC and her girl best friend. I wish the author would’ve went that way because the romance was way too forced.

sarah_nera's review against another edition

2.0

Gave up on the audiobook because I could not bring myself to care about the main character.

annknee's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.75