A review by pokeybear1
Uprooted by Naomi Novik

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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