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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tiene dragón de apodo pero no se convierte en uno go girl give us nothinggg
The writing was enjoyable, and the magic system a kind of spin on the very classic format of 'utter a spell and wave hands', so it was a very traditional-feeling novel in the fantasy writing domain. I enjoyed the elements of Eastern European lore and folk culture that were included, and I'm pleased that the author has family ties to that place (sorry Grishaverse).
Now for the part that took it down a few pegs for me: the Dragon is an absolutely awful man. He doesn't make up for his abhorrent behaviour and he is a fundamentally unkind character. This would be fine, if his relationship with Agnieszka weren't shown in a positive light. I can't understand when writers make the female character fall in love with an abusive man and portray the relationship in a complementary way, as is the case here - and then I am not even mentioning the age gap. The story was good but not memorable.
3.5
فکر میکردم خوشم نیاد ازش ولی برعکسش اتفاق افتاد و دوستش داشتم
فکر میکردم خوشم نیاد ازش ولی برعکسش اتفاق افتاد و دوستش داشتم
I had been slogging through it for 4 weeks and it was due back at the library. The parts in between the battles were slow and boring. After the first battle, I thought the book was over. I thought the same after the second one. How can there possibly be more in this book?
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
GOD, this book is stunning. I'm not usually a big fantasy reader, but stories that feature people (especially girls) with magic are the exception, so I'm very glad I took a chance and picked this one up. The magic is so well-written and believable, the world building is expertly done, but I think what's most impressive to me is that this book is over 430 pages and I never once felt bored or that it was dragging on while reading it. I took my time finishing it to be sure, but because I was truly savoring it- there were so many moments going about my day where I wanted to shirk all my responsibilities and finish the book in one long sitting. A standalone fantasy this exceptional is rare and precious; I'm definitely going to be reading more from this author and telling everyone I know to read this book!!
There were so many things I loved about this book - how enjoyable the characters were to be with, Agnieszka's relationships with Sarkan and Kasia, the way the soft magic system interlinked so closely was with characters emotions and intention. I had so many wonderful feelings emerge reading the scenes where Agnieszka was casting spells, especially when they were joint workings with Sarkan. A definite highlight! Where the book lost me, however, was in the structure, pacing and rapidly twisting narrative directions that I personally felt blindsided and confused by. I was so thrown by this that, extremely close to the end of the book (after the battle of the tower), I actually went and googled to see if my assumption that this was a stand-alone novel was wrong and there was in fact a sequel because I felt, pacing-wise, that this had to have been the final Big Plot Thing that happened and there was no way the whole "destroy/save the Wood" plot could be resolved by the end (I was wrong lol).
Now, I'm all for an intentional subversion of traditional narrative structure and pacing in order to play with reader expectations and emotions to enhance the story, but to me this didn't feel well crafted - I felt confused, off-kilter and disconnected from the story by the constant setting changes, the many high-intensity sequences that I felt thrown into with little preparation or build up, and the sudden infodump of lore at the end of the book surrounding how the Woods came to be in the first place. I know that this reveal was foreshadowed earlier in the story, but the ratio of "clues-and-info-we-discover-along-the-way" to "info-revealed-whilst-Agnieszka-is-in-the-heart-tree" had nowhere near enough foreshadowing for it to feel like a satisfying conclusion to me. But who knows - it could definitely be argued that the disordered pacing and structure were intended to make the reader feel just as uprooted as Agnieszka and therefore increase empathy for her and investment in her story, and maybe that works for some readers! Regardless, for me, those feelings were not ones that I particularly enjoyed experiencing, nor did they heighten my experience of or connection to the story.
Even though the book's structural style didn't work for me, it was definitely worth the read for the deeply juicy relationship that developed between Agnieszka and Sarkan, and those magical moments of them casting spells together. I absolutely froth it when a magic system is used to incredible emotional/sexual/sensual intimacy between characters. Big A+ there. Oh also I LOVED the name of the book and how relevant it was to so many different parts of the story, that was really cool to experience.
Now, I'm all for an intentional subversion of traditional narrative structure and pacing in order to play with reader expectations and emotions to enhance the story, but to me this didn't feel well crafted - I felt confused, off-kilter and disconnected from the story by the constant setting changes, the many high-intensity sequences that I felt thrown into with little preparation or build up, and the sudden infodump of lore at the end of the book surrounding how the Woods came to be in the first place. I know that this reveal was foreshadowed earlier in the story, but the ratio of "clues-and-info-we-discover-along-the-way" to "info-revealed-whilst-Agnieszka-is-in-the-heart-tree" had nowhere near enough foreshadowing for it to feel like a satisfying conclusion to me. But who knows - it could definitely be argued that the disordered pacing and structure were intended to make the reader feel just as uprooted as Agnieszka and therefore increase empathy for her and investment in her story, and maybe that works for some readers! Regardless, for me, those feelings were not ones that I particularly enjoyed experiencing, nor did they heighten my experience of or connection to the story.
Even though the book's structural style didn't work for me, it was definitely worth the read for the deeply juicy relationship that developed between Agnieszka and Sarkan, and those magical moments of them casting spells together. I absolutely froth it when a magic system is used to incredible emotional/sexual/sensual intimacy between characters. Big A+ there. Oh also I LOVED the name of the book and how relevant it was to so many different parts of the story, that was really cool to experience.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wow, picked this up randomly and fell head over heels. Gotta read everything by this author now
Fascinating, really good book. The ending was... Strange to me. Both rushed and dragging. Love the characters and the plot. And there's nothing funnier than a grumpy person trying not to be amused.
I utterly enjoyed the first half of the novel. Captivating magical world! Spunky heroine! Cold, aloof powerful wizard! A creepy, malevolent wood! And then...it kept going. Every time I thought the story was wrapping up, it continued. Eventually it felt like several books sewn together into one.
Book 1 - My favorite. Village girl Agnieszka is picked by the stiff, unfriendly local wizard known as the Dragon to be his assistant. Agnieszka displays a hidden talent for magic, which the Dragon attempts to teach her. She doesn't trust him, so it doesn't get very far. And then her home is threatened by the evils of the dark, malevolent Wood. Agnieszka realizes she needs to learn more magic to keep her loved ones safe. Agnieszka begins coming into her magic and bonds with the Dragon. Agnieszka's best friend and heart sister - the beautiful, determined Kasia - is taken by the Wood and Agnieszka must rescue her. Because Kasia is the damsel in distress that Agnieszka will do anything for.
Book 2- The kingdom's prince arrives and demands that the Dragon and Agnieszka rescue his long lost mother from the heart of the Wood. Novik should consider expanding into the horror genre because the journey into the Wood is one of the most disturbing, sinister, frightening things that I have read this year.
Book 3 - Kasia and Agnieszka have to go to the court. The whole court part is awful, especially since Agnieszka is a naive country bumpkin who is ignorant of court games, and then too disgusted to play when she learns of them. It is a complete waste of a court plotline to have the protagonist completely disengaged from the court intrigue. I felt this entire arc was rather pointless. It only existed to highlight .
Book 4 - Kasia and Agnieszka flee back to the Dragon's tower. There is a very, very long, very, very pointless, very, very bloody battle that kills what appears to be every single foot soldier in the entire kingdom. My suspicion is that Novik just really enjoys writing large army scenes (which she has done quite successfully in her Temeraire series). Because there is no reason for such a protracted, pointless epic battle.
Book 5 - Agnieszka and the Dragon enter the Wood to destroy it for good.
While all these arcs did tie together, they began to feel oddly disjointed. It was like a beautiful song with many false endings - while it's enchanting, you keep expecting that it's over, only to find that it is still going. The entire drive of the story was to get Agnieszka and the Dragon to try to destroy the Wood for once and for all, and that could have happened without the entire court arc and without the large battle scene. And if all of that was actually necessary then - and I hate to suggest this - it may have worked better as a series. Especially if a series was used to deepen the romance between Agnieszka and the Dragon (which was lovely as written, but I would have been happy for more).
Book 1 - My favorite. Village girl Agnieszka is picked by the stiff, unfriendly local wizard known as the Dragon to be his assistant. Agnieszka displays a hidden talent for magic, which the Dragon attempts to teach her. She doesn't trust him, so it doesn't get very far. And then her home is threatened by the evils of the dark, malevolent Wood. Agnieszka realizes she needs to learn more magic to keep her loved ones safe. Agnieszka begins coming into her magic and bonds with the Dragon. Agnieszka's best friend and heart sister - the beautiful, determined Kasia - is taken by the Wood and Agnieszka must rescue her. Because Kasia is the damsel in distress that Agnieszka will do anything for.
Book 2- The kingdom's prince arrives and demands that the Dragon and Agnieszka rescue his long lost mother from the heart of the Wood. Novik should consider expanding into the horror genre because the journey into the Wood is one of the most disturbing, sinister, frightening things that I have read this year.
Book 3 - Kasia and Agnieszka have to go to the court
Spoiler
(so that the king can decide whether to execute Kasia for being in the Wood too long and therefore too much of a danger of infection)Spoiler
how dangerous the Wood is and how infected the queen isBook 4 - Kasia and Agnieszka flee back to the Dragon's tower
Spoiler
with the kingdom's heirs in towBook 5 - Agnieszka and the Dragon enter the Wood to destroy it for good.
While all these arcs did tie together, they began to feel oddly disjointed. It was like a beautiful song with many false endings - while it's enchanting, you keep expecting that it's over, only to find that it is still going. The entire drive of the story was to get Agnieszka and the Dragon to try to destroy the Wood for once and for all, and that could have happened without the entire court arc and without the large battle scene. And if all of that was actually necessary then - and I hate to suggest this - it may have worked better as a series. Especially if a series was used to deepen the romance between Agnieszka and the Dragon (which was lovely as written, but I would have been happy for more).