Reviews with content warning for Gore - Uprooted

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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thedevouringbookshelf'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? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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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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gbmillar2002's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.25

The book was quite slow paced with the last 1/3 becoming more fast paced. The author had a beautiful command of metaphors and description but the plot felt like a generic fantasy book.

The enemies to lovers subplot felt haphazardly thrown in, with the budding Romance between the dragon and neishka not having adequate subtext. The ending was slightly more developed with the reveal of the true cause of the Wood. Nevertheless it felt short lived and crammed in the last 50 pages

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shaipanda's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious fast-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

Ok I was highlyyy anticipating rating this 5 stars but I think the last 25% marked it down for me a tiny bit - I didn’t lovee how dark and abruptly really shifted in tone and kinda pace too at the end but overall I really liked the ending and the story as a whole - definitely a really solid first read of Novik’s and a really good stand alone I think :)
Oh also - the huge ass age gap between the two characters? Weirddd - especially cause she starts the book at 17 and it does not clarify at alll how long this book goes on for and therefore how old she is at the end which made me a bit uncomfortable

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kindra_demi's review against another edition

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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!!

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themoonlightarchive's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

In Uprooted by Naomi Novik, a dark fairy tale with Polish roots, the most powerful wizard in the nation chooses one girl to serve him every ten years. In return, the Dragon protects the villages from the rotting corruption of the Wood that spreads its roots further and further every year. Agnieszka has always known that her best friend, Kasia, would be chosen, just as everyone else in their village has always known it. But when the Dragon comes, it isn’t Kasia that he takes away to his tower.

What I loved:

• The magic system in this book has to be one of my favourites that I’ve read.

• The main character, Agnieszka, was full of determination, never hesitated to help those in need, and held an emotional connection to her magic that I truly loved. She was stubborn as hell and I adored that about her. Every scene where she used magic held me captivated in a way I haven’t experienced in quite a while.

• The side characters were well-rounded and fleshed out. The love interest was mysterious, brooding, sulky and powerful. Exactly what I’m most weak for. I also adored Kasia, the main character’s best friend. She was just as determined as Agnieszka, as well as strong and caring and funny and beautiful.

• The writing, while a bit wordy at times, was full of beautiful imagery that drew you into the world the author created and put down roots. The vibe of the entire novel was immaculate, to be honest. It was dark and tense and perfect.

What I wish were different:

• I wish the book had been a bit longer because the pacing of the third act of the book felt rushed. There was definitely a lot of information crammed in there towards the end and it made it a little difficult to keep up at times.

• There were many characters that I wanted more closure with, including Agnieszka, Kasia and the Dragon. I don’t normally enjoy side stories but for this book, I would have gobbled those stories right up if they existed. I want to know how the prince turns out with Kasia’s influence. I want to know how Kasia’s life turns out. I want to see Agnieszka and the Dragon a few years down the road.

• My biggest complaint was the lack of maps. I didn’t understand the location of most places and didn’t understand the layout of the Tower. It would have helped with visualizing quite a bit.

Despite my complaints about this book, I truly adored and thoroughly enjoyed it. With a lush magic system, well-written characters and breathtaking imagery, Uprooted is most definitely getting added to my favourites list.

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penelopeja's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Characters were meh but the story was very atmospheric and fairytale-esque.

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