Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Das dunkle Herz des Waldes

the romance between the main character and the dragon really started I nope'd out, her being underage and him being who knows how many 100's of years old and them doing stuff really grossed me out, I was listening to the audiobook and ended up skipping through the sex scene because it made me too uncomfortable. I've never read twilight but from what I've heard the focus there is more around him still kind of being stuck around the mindset of the age where he became a vampire.
In this book that's just not the same, this is a whole ass man that might not be grey and wrinkly but he's grumpy and 'has seen too much' he has 100's of years of experience and the 17 year old girl who is naive and has no experience in the world is the one who grabs his attention?? Big pass I'm sorry I really am not the target audience for this) (I also wanted to add that not only is it a 100+ year old man and a minor, it's also a teacher/student dynamic and also he is technically her master (she called him that multiple times at the start of the book) once again, I know people like those dynamics, in this case, Especially with her being underage, I hated it)

I kept going in between if I wanted to rate this lower or higher than I ended up doing but I decided to go with this, up until they came out of the woods I quite enjoyed this (except the things mentioned in the spoiler) but after that point I really started to lose interest in the plot bit by bit, this may have to do with what I described in the spoiler and it putting me off too much but I honestly don't know, maybe the story changed too much for me to keep interested.

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abnormal_shadow's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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hannahparadise's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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audbaum's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I really enjoyed this book. The overarching plot was interesting, and I found the ending very satisfying. However, I can not get over the age gap in the romantic subplot. I did not think the romantic subplot added much at all, they could have done like a father-daughter type dynamic between our main characters without losing any of the stakes or growth that the relationship lends to the plot. This dude is more than a century older than our protagonist. Please stop, she’s like 17, too, so it’s super weird to me. I love the whole concept of a forest that is full of malice and tries to kind of take over the world by force. I like that, in the end, you learn

that the forest is angry for good reason. The being behind the anger was betrayed by those she trusted, and she saw people as just trying to cut down the trees that were actually her family and her people. As such, to defend those trees and in retribution for the damage they had caused, she forced people into the trees.

I also loved the magic in this book, and the way that magic is typically a rigid scientific-type discipline but to others can be a softer more artsy craft.

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julesadventurezone's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective tense medium-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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huntress's review against another edition

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renpuspita's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

4.0

Reading reviews for Uprooted , I can see that the opinion of this book is pretty much polarized. Either you love and praise it or you hate it with a passion of thousand burning suns (okay, this is exaggerate). As for myself, I really liked it. Uprooted remind me of time when I read Elantris and Gods of Jade and Shadows, two standalone novels that I always recommend to everyone that want to read stand alone novels. However, Uprooted also have some glaring weakness that make me don't want to rate it more than 4 stars.

In her notes, Novik said that the idea of Uprooted come from Polish folklore, titled Agnieszka Skrawek Neiba, and because of it, the titular heroine of Uprooted also have name Agnieszka. In the first glimpse and also the blurb, Uprooted start with a single, simple premise. There's a wizard called the Dragon that lived in the Tower. For every 10 years, he will demand people from the village to give a girl age 17 years to live with him, in exchange of his protection from the malicious evil forest called the Wood. After 10 years, he will release the girl, but that girl herself will come out change, no longer want to live in the village. This year, it's Agnieszka and her friends turn. Agnieszka dread the time when the Dragon come, because she's so sure that he will choose Kasia. Kasia is the brightest girl in Dvernik village, she's beautiful, kind and brave, everything that Agnieszka not. Yet, it's not Kasia that the Dragon choose, because he choose Agnieszka instead.

Bewildered, confused, and angry -also Agnieszka already hate the Dragon because he will snatch her beloved friend Kasia at first-, Agnieszka find life in the Tower at first is difficult. The Dragon not only aloof and indifference, but also quick to anger and chastised Agnieszka because that girl is so clumsy. I understand that the first 5-6 chapters or so is slogging to read. Too mundane perhaps. Add it with the way Novik write Uprooted which told from Agnieszka's first PoV. We read she grunt, hate and whining. It can be tedious to read at first, yet I understand that Agnieszka is still 17, she is homesick already and scared because of the Dragon's treatment. When the Dragon realized that Agnieszka has affinity with magic, he reluctantly teach her the art of magic only to find that rather than healing magic, Agnieszka is more attuned to Jaga's magic that very much different from the Dragon's.

The story pick up the pace when Agnieszka decide to defend her village from the Wood attack. That's when the story finally shines. That's when I finally can enjoy this book. I see that Novik have a way with words. Sure, that Agnieszka's narrative can be too hyperbole, too flowery and exaggerating, but I can feel Agnieszka's emotion as my own. Her confusion, her eagerness to learn magic, her worry for her village and especially her beloved friend, Kasia. Novik's writing can evoke those emotions from me, merely just from reading her passage. Just like reading a story that need a sacrifice of my time sleep. I think that Agnieszka's driving force in this story mostly come from her friendship with Kasia. How she will move to Heaven and Earth to protect her, especially after Kasia got taken by the Wood and end up change. But, I also liked that despite their friendship, Novik manage to also write the frustration between both characters. How they also hate each other condition, although the friendship overriding those hate.

I read in some article that Uprooted is like a story that can be told in trilogy, but just condensed into one volume. I do agree, because there's so much happen in this book after a dragging and sloughing first part. There's a fight between the Dragon and Agnieszka against the Wood in order to free Kasia. Then, we will get introduced to the Kingdom of Polyan, in which their queen already taken by the Wood 20 years ago, and her son, Prince Marek together with his wizard companion, the Falcon want the Dragon and Agnieszka to save the Queen. Yet, The Wood is malice, cunning and its spread its seeds of corruption in everywhere Agnieszka turn and bidding its time to strike in order to destroy everything. This is when I hold my breath, because wow, the story is told in a high octane that make me want to devour the book in a whole but in the same time I don't want it to end. Agnieszka and the Dragon try to fight the Wood with their magics, but the Wood always have aces in its sleeve and always ready to face both Agnieszka and the Dragon. Not only just fight, battle and siege with the Wood, Novik also write about court & magician politic, especially when Agnieszka go to Kralia, Polyan's capital in order to become a witch and warned the Polyan King of the lurking danger from the Wood.

However, for the last 2-3 chapters, the tension seems to lower and kinda lost some of the momentum after the intense siege between the Wood and combined force of the Dragon and Agnieszka. I feel like the ending feel open, like Novik tell the reader to how to interpreter it. I see a question where people ask if Novik will write the continuation of Uprooted and she answer that she don't have plan yet. I think that as a story, Uprooted can be read as a stand alone, yet some things are still left unresolved. This is why I didn't give it 5 stars despite in the middle toward the end part that make me don't want to finish this book quickly.

Another is the romance aspect. I'm a hardcore romance reader and I appreciate that Novik also incorporated the romance element. But, sadly I don't see the Dragon (aka Sarkan) as the love interest of Agnieszka, because I feel that he's too grumpy, aloof and although he relent when Agnieszka pursued him, he's also still running away from his feeling. I think maybe the first part when Agnieszka come to the Tower feel like Beauty and the Beast, but to read how Agnieszka's feeling toward the Dragon that changed from hate to want/need is weird. I can't said it's Stockholm Syndrome per se, and maybe Agnieszka feeling to Dragon come from when they try to intertwined their magic. Mind you, I read so much insta-lust and insta-love stories, but the insta-feeling that Agnieszka has for the Dragon in Uprooted left me dumbfounded. Although I praised Novik to write Agnieszka to pursue the Dragon first and didn't shy away from her sexuality. There's one sex scene, but modestly written and can be skipped if you prefer your fantasy to be clean from any sexual content (well, I'm not!!) Sadly, since Uprooted is told from Agnieszka's PoV, it's like the romantic feeling feel one-sided although the Dragon himself kind of reciprocated it.

One big question while reading Uprooted is why the Dragon took girls to his tower? With the story unfold, we will get the reason, and nope, the Dragon didn't rape or laying finger to them. Maybe he just want company but too proud to admit it and maybe there's a bigger reason for that. That reason is why I understand how the title Uprooted come. How the term "uprooted" is connected with the main plot in this book, not only with how the The Woods rooted in the place but also with the people of the Polyan Kingdom especially the Dvernik village. Some of reviews stated that Agnieszka is Mary Sue, however I don't feel it and I see that her emotion are valid although the narration can be too hyperbole. I also see that the magic system is sketchy at best and feel like Agnieszka can do many thing with her magic that seems endless. I do feel like the magic system is not explained thoroughly like with how Sanderson write, but well, this is the way Novik write her magic system for her Uprooted world. I liked her description of magic, and how the spell-tongue for the Wizard's real name when spelled by Agnieszka describe why the Wizard called by their moniker (like for the Falcon and the Dragon). I liked that Agnieszka's magic just a single or simple spell and cantrips but she wield it with song or telling a story. My favorite is when Agnieszka and the Dragon chant the Summoning spell, it's really feel magical.

I spent almost a week to read Uprooted because of my busy schedule, and find that with the dragging and slow first part, the story pace pick up in the second and third part although lost some momentum in the end. But, I still like Uprooted nonetheless, and will always recommend it if you search for a standalone fantasy that is magical and can evoke your emotions (in a good way) while read it.

PS: The Indonesian edition have dragon on the cover. But, nope, there's no dragon. There's monster like chimaera, hydra, the Wood's monster such as wolves, walkers and mantises, and some abomination from the Wood's trap. But no dragon, and well the Dragon is just the wizard's epithet. He won't suddenly change into dragon, lel.

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rohrbaugh82's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

The book was intriguing enough that I wanted to finish it. But it could easily have been 100 pages shorter and all the better for it. I found the action and spells drawn out and repetitive.

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