Reviews with content warning for War - Das dunkle Herz des Waldes

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Das dunkle Herz des Waldes by Naomi Novik

105 reviews

themoonlightarchive's review against another edition

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.

Content Warnings

beesknees's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

Uprooted provides a slow-paced, ever-expanding adventure reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast. Agnieszka is not a girl following her fate, but an unsuspecting heroine who follows her intuition for better or for worse. Agnieszka truly is the highlight of this book, I was delighted to follow alongside her journey and watch her grow. Uprooted showcases complex relationships between friends, family, lovers, enemies, and community. Specifically the relationship between Agnieszka and Kasia was unique and well-documented. Again, this is a rather slow-paced story, so paying attention is crucial to gather the imagery author Novik describes. The story takes some classic tropes such a young and prideful princes, and moody loner wizards, and expands on them to create this new fairy tale.

Content Warnings

bookishchef's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

There's a few tropes in here that I am not the biggest fan of

- Ancient creature x barely legal teenager romance.

I know that there is no equivalent to this irl so I should stfu, but it still makes me uncomfortable, even if it is later revealed that the MC is immortal as well. It is even mentioned within the text by Sarkan that this has weird undertones (right before he has sex with the MC anyway, so he obviously was not too concerned).

- Best friend character that should have been the love interest instead but is not because heteronormativity says no.

I did not dislike Sarkan as a love interest. Gloomy, grumpy, bookish boys are a weak spot of mine. But Kasia x Agnieszka would have been immaculate. Super strong sword fighter girl x witch? I want that story dammit!

- Ancient magical objects and places getting a thorough explanation instead of staying mysterious.

Stories with fairy tale vibes do not need to explain everything. Why can the bears in Goldilocks talk? Because they can. Why do they eat porridge? Because they do. Not everything needs an explanation in fairy tales. And for me explaning why The Woods existed felt a bit unnecessary.

It is an enjoyable read nonetheless! And there was much I did enjoy!

- Uneasy allies to lovers
- Well written friendship
- A fairy tale esque feeling
- Female characters calling men out for their bullshit
- "Being strong" not being linked to violence or traditionally masculine tasks and features
- Eastern european influences (Baba Jaga, the food, the names of the characters, hell maybe even the Woods itself)
- Everything about the Summoning
- That singular smut scene

I don't love the ending of the book either, but somehow it did not take away from the rest of the story for me. There is just too much to enjoy here.

Content Warnings