Reviews

Ontworteld by Naomi Novik

lyakimov's review against another edition

1.0

wtf. soooo lol this sucked. what the hell did I just read.

bibliophile80's review against another edition

4.0

Recommendation from the Writing Excuses podcast
This is not my usual type of book. I'm not normally into fantasy and wizardry beyond Harry Potter, but I really enjoyed this one. The author crafted a solid fantasy world and brought me along for the ride, without dumping a ton of world-building information right up front. Uprooted was like something straight out of Grimms' Fairy Tales, which is not surprising given that the Grimms served as a primary inspiration. I really wasn't sure where the story was going when it began, but I loved following the twists and turns and deep-rooted magic encountered by the protagonist. The development of the plot mimicked the path a tree's roots might follow. Her personal growth was also immensely satisfying, and even the very few (two, maybe) sexual scenes felt appropriate and integrated, though still graphic. I'd be surprised if fantasy fans were disappointed, and others might find a new favorite genre with this one.

dennse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

kivt's review against another edition

4.0

Really quite a good read for a fantasy novel about straight people. A lot of the characterization is fairly weak--pretty much everyone but the protagonist has one trait at most. But it was well enough written and had enough surprises that it was a lot of fun to tear through. I'll definitely look up the author's other work.

I didn't realize this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling til I read a few Goodreads reviews. The romantic plotline feels pointless and shoehorned in, and now that makes a lot of sense. Whoops.

amoureux_des_livres's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

5.0

sammytee's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

4.5

hannahriley30's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

sunny_face's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

This is one of the two books which helped me get back into reading ! I fell in love with Naomi Novik’s characters and the way she describes magic ✨

hanlov's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

carolina_naim's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious

4.25