Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Uprooted

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Uprooted by Naomi Novik

65 reviews

falchionm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective slow-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

4.75

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kindra_demi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Full transparency to this review: I had absolutely no interest in reading this book. This was the book my book club chose to read for March. Going into the book, I was just thinking “I am here for the ride”. And for this reason, I am incredibly surprised at how much I ended up liking this book! There were points in this book I was sad I had to put it down because life needed attention instead.

As with any fantasy book, the beginning was full of world building, but it wasn’t so much so that it made it difficult to understand. The parts that were left vague were intentional to be answered later on. I will say that the writing style at times was a bit confusing. There were times where something would be posed as a thought, only to be answered by another person verbally (though no mind reading was ever mention). In the same vein, I also found I did have to reread some passage a couple times to understand what was fully going on. This is especially true in the second half of the book that was action packed. While for the most part, the writing that was intentionally left vague were eventually answered, there are some moments where I wish we got an answer as to why something might have happened.

Hands down my favorite part of the book is the magic system. The magic system was one of the most interesting magic systems that I’ve read! (Light spoilers for the types of magic seen)

I loved how it Agnieszka's magic was supposed to feel warm, and almost folk-like, where it was doing with what you have around you. Whereas you have the Dragon, who was trained in the capital city in a very rigid structure, and as a result has a magic style similar to that.

For it’s faults, this is definitely a book I would recommend to any fantasy lover, but as always, check the content warnings and see if it’s something for you!!

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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.

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kate_arts's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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? No

3.5

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freya_amber's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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gowlstick's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is a fantastic standalone fantasy novel that honestly I find myself unable to keep going back to for some reason.
It is based on Polish & Slavic folklore tales in some instances.

Agneiszka is best friends with the girl, Kasia, who is assumed to be taken by the local wizard the Dragon. Upon choosing day it is Agneiszka who is chosen, not Kasia. And much to her surprise she has the talent of magic. Without exactly understanding her talent or the way the talent is normally perceived she ends up in a fight against The Wood which is not quite as it seems.

Without spoiling this book has a wonderful view on human relations, especially in the case where humans may have a different kind (witches/wizards live much much longer lives, up to a couple hundred years). Fantastical in nature it is an homage to those who love their home.

I cannot recommend this book enough to fellow fantasy lovers. I am left simply with wanting more but also so grateful that the planned plot was so well executed.

The only issue I, or others seem to have is the relationship between Agneiszka and the Dragon. (read more in spoiler if you choose)

She is only 17/18 during the happenings of the book whereas the Dragon is quite literally a century or so older than her. This is seen however and he is not the one who makes attempts at her. Agneiszka is the one who makes the advances (which is refreshing honestly). And they do not finish the book in a sense of her being subservient to his wishes or the vice versa.
By the end of the book due to her experiences (in my opinion) she feels youthful yes, but beyond time, particularly because she accepts she will outlive the ones she was blood born to.
The two of them never form an entire canonical 'relationship' in the way we modernly see, but more of a closeness with a lovers aspect.
I am incredibly happy with this decision.

I am so happy with this novel, and honestly wish there could have been more, but also desperately wish there wasn't.

With an intoxicating end to a plot I really do think that if you enjoy fantasy you should give this book a try.

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fantasycat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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bluejayreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

I thoroughly enjoyed the two books by Naomi Novik that I’ve read previously (Spinning Silver and A Deadly Education), and like I do every time I encounter two books by the same author that I love, I immediately set out to read all of that author’s other works to see if any of them are less good.

So far, no. Uprooted is just as good as the others.

Admittedly, it started out a little rough. The entire back cover is more setup than actual plot, and it’s skimmed over, mostly as exposition, in chapter one. But I kept going, because I wanted it to be good and because I remembered Spinning Silver was heavy on the exposition in the beginning and then it turned out fantastic.

The same thing happened here. What started as a very simple story – the wizard-lord of the valley takes a girl every ten years and the protagonist is taken – gradually unfolds like a blooming rose, revealing deeper and deeper levels of complexity and magic. The corruption in the Wood is sentient, plotting. It wants to take the valley and move on to take the world. The Dragon stands against its power, holding it back with fire and magic.

And then comes Agnieszka, brave and stubborn and full of deep caring for her people and rooted deep to the land the Wood wants to claim. She has to do two things the Dragon considered impossible before he would take her seriously, but she doesn’t give up and she is amazing. Agnieszka grows, the Dragon softens, and the characters are inseparable from the story and the land.

Since what’s on the back cover is so little of the story, I feel like I can’t say too much without spoilers. Which really sucks, because there is so much to the plot (the audiobook was 18 hours) that I would love to talk about. This book doesn’t follow standard story structures, which makes it feel more real – I can’t map it onto any fiction-writing templates, it ebbs and flows like real life. There were no less than three places that I thought must have been the climax and then saw there were several more hours of story to go. And I absolutely adore that in the end, even the antagonist was worthy of compassion and violence wasn’t the answer. (I don’t feel like that’s a spoiler since you won’t even know what antagonist I’m talking about until the last hour and a half of the book.)

I don’t often have the patience for audiobooks longer than 10 hours or so, but Uprooted deserved 18 hours of my attention and I would have happily given it more. Like the other two of Naomi’s books I’ve read, its delicious complexity slowly unfolds into something dark and rich and beautiful. I can’t put into words my adoration of this book but trust me: Read it.

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jenny_librarian's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

Interesting world, boring-as-hell characters.

I had zero emotional attachment for the characters in this book. At most, I can say that Agnieska and Kasia's relationship had some potential, but the way it's tackled, Kasia's just a pawn to further Agnieska's development. As for the "love interest", well Sarkan has all the red flags of a horrible partner (calls her an idiot constantly, doesn't display any kind of warmth towards her except when they're sleeping together, etc.) without any chemistry with Agnieska whatsoever. I might call them f**k buddies at best, but there's no love there -- or a very unhealthy kind.

The Wood itself was a great concept and pretty much the only reason I kept reading, until the end when I got so bored I skimmed the last 50-or-so pages. Take all the sexism, patriarchy and shitty relationships and there might have been something worth 435 pages. As it stands, it was just okay.

Seriously, though, what is it with fantasy writers who can't ever let go of patriarchy and sexism? You create a whole-ass world with magic, but you can't be bothered to stop objectifying women and seeing them as currency? There was no need for the near-rape scene and the passive misogyny in every single chapter.

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antjeliest's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

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