Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Uprooted

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

158 reviews

laynerinke's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

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nicoreads333's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

This is the 2nd book I’ve read by Naomi Novik, and I have to say she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I admire her unique writing style and ability to weave complex, yet gripping stories that keep the reader engaged and curious until the end. It’s a rare quality, and she showcased beautifully in uprooted.

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bearism's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring tense 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

5.0

biggest flaw in the book was that the author made the ONLY black character have a background of being enslaved.

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strixy16's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

I don’t think this book is bad, I just don’t think it was for me!

The magic system was a little wishy-washy to me and I felt like I was just along for the ride as things progressed. There wasn’t a ton of motivations for moving from place to place and I really never figured out what was going to happen next, but not in a good way.

The second half also felt like it dragged to me. The ending redeemed it a bit though.

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cgwynne's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

Wonderful world building and prose. I felt very connected to the characters and the land. If I wasn’t working, probably could’ve finished in a couple sittings because it was so gripping. Was mainly fantasy with a romantic subplot that I honestly felt was unnecessary in the grand scheme of things (probably biased because I would’ve preferred it not to happen given the age difference). There was a plot hole that I was surprised to not be addressed, but overall very very good. Will certainly be reading more of Naomi’s work.

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samanthafrati's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Uprooted is a standalone, single POV, high fantasy novel with a romance subplot loosely based on Beauty and the Beast. I love Naomi Novik’s writing style and her ability to create unique, high fantasy worlds within a single novel. I really loved Novik’s Spinning Silver- also high fantasy and standalone- so I had high expectations for Uprooted. For the first 150 pages, I was totally captivated by the Wood, the magic, and the banter between Agnieszka and the Dragon. Novik is really good at not just building fantasy worlds but answering all the questions I have and tying up all the loose ends, something I can’t say about all fantasy authors. But this all came crumbling down with the first sexual scene (kissing and graphic touching, p. 158-159).

Sexual Content

I didn’t even think to check this book for sexual content because Spinning Silver barely had any. I kept reading thinking that was the end of it until the full blown sex scene on pages 353-355. Not to mention, she’s 17 and he’s approximately 150 years old. This didn’t bother me at first because I can excuse an age gap in a fantasy world. He doesn’t age normally so I assumed it’s not weird in this world, but that assumption was shattered when he, the Dragon, says “I’m a century and more older than you-” and protests Agnieszka’s advances (p. 353). That tells me it is in fact taboo, even in Novik’s fantasy world, ew. After I finished that specific chapter, I closed the book in frustration and almost dnf.

There is a sexual assault scene on pages 43-44 that I would not consider graphic.

Romance

Personally, I don’t like sexual content (kisses only, please). It completely ruins the fairytale vibe for me, but putting that aside, it just didn’t make any sense. There was no slow burn- barely any build up. The romance between Agnieszka and the Dragon was flat and didn’t feel believable. It felt like Novik only put it in there to fit the Beauty and The Beast trope and I found myself having to insert my own imaginings of emotions and dialogue to make it believable. Again, it was so different from Spinning Silver where the romance was subtle, yet beautifully done, and made me want to cry tears of joy in the end. I expected more! So. Much. More.

Plot and World

I did enjoy the magic system in this book and I loved the clash between the Dragon’s magic and Agnieszka’s- one methodical and one driven by pure instinct. Being methodical and logical myself, I could feel the Dragon’s frustration as he tried to teach her. And I could easily imagine how the two of them working together would create something truly, well, magical.

I got bored around page 250 and didn’t get back into it until about 50 pages from the end, but I really appreciated that I wasn’t able to guess the plot.

Character Development

Character development was really lacking.

[ Spoiler: The only time I noticed any real growth in characters was when the Dragon apologized to Kasia and said he would never take another girl.]

Speaking of Kasia, her character was so flat. We only really got a glimpse of her during the Summoning, yet she had a pretty large role in the story. She just felt like a pawn, only useful for the plot, not a meaningful character at all, but maybe that’s because she became more wood than human?

I really enjoyed the Dragon as a character and wished we could have learned more about him! Agnieszka, however, was just meh. I honestly don’t really have any thoughts about her.

Final Thoughts

Putting aside my high expectations for a moment, I really did enjoy the plot and the magic in this novel. I loved learning about the mysterious Wood and its connection to the people in the valley. However, this was ruined by the flat and awkward romance and completely unnecessary, and out of place, sex scene. I was also bored in the middle and as another reviewer suggested, this would have been better if it stayed in the tower and the valley.

Overall, not a terrible book, but it left me frustrated and disappointed.

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antonebooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense slow-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

Honestly? I loved it. Don’t know what other people are on about. If you like stories that take their time with the main character trying to figure out their new found powers and not being a “moral-compass” character where everything they do is right and everyone loves them instantly, take a chance on this book.

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dcdc's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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erinmichele_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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katiecoconut21's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-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

3.25

Uprooted by Naomi Novik is a beautiful re-telling of a Polish fairytale. Anyone who says it's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast is lying to you; the only similarities are very shaky at best.

I enjoyed it perhaps moreso as a retelling than some other books, and my only critiques are nit-picky, but ultimately, ended up taking away some of the magic of the story for me.

The lack of magic-system development particularly bothered me. For some reason, Agnieszka

is better at Baba Jaga's magic than the magic practiced by the Dragon, Sarkan

. That's exactly it though...for some reason. Emphasis is not really placed on why this is the case, and I feel like it is largely due to a magic-system that wasn't fully thought through. In most cases, it just felt like a reason for why Agnieszka is different.

Going on that vein, the

budding romance between Agnieszka and Sarkan

felt out-of-the-blue for me. Just because there's forced proximity doesn't mean love will follow.fairytale. I honestly felt more chemistry between Agnieszka and Kasia than I did otherwise (though Kasia was easily my favorite character).

The pacing was a bit off. The ending felt rushed for me, especially because Agnieszka's time

at court

felt so slow, and we weren't even introduced to

the Wood-Queen

until the book was almost over, making me feel like I was going to have to read a sequel, despite explicitly seeking out a standalone novel.

Having said all that, Uprooted is still a very enjoyable novel overall, especially for those who enjoy re-tellings from less famous fairytales.

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