A review by amyemm
Uprooted by Naomi Novik

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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