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A review by theteaisaddictive
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-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
I remember disliking this book a lot when I first read it, which I think was mostly due to mismanaged expectations. Rereading it now, going in knowing that no matter what the blurb leads you to believe this is NOT a beauty and the beast retelling, I found the book much more enjoyable.
The descriptions are lush, the supporting cast well-sketched. Sarkan and Agnieska’s romance shows a sufficient amount of growth on both of their parts, and I’m always a sucker for Grumpy Old Man/Weird Younger Woman romances whose love language is insulting each other. The horrific ways the Woods twists the leaders of Polnya for its own ends is also newly resonant in ways it wasn’t when I was 19.
(that said, (a) you lose points for having the dragon not being a literal dragon, or at least a shapeshifter, and (b) somebody tell Naomi what sapphics are. Agnieska has two hands!!)
The descriptions are lush, the supporting cast well-sketched. Sarkan and Agnieska’s romance shows a sufficient amount of growth on both of their parts, and I’m always a sucker for Grumpy Old Man/Weird Younger Woman romances whose love language is insulting each other. The horrific ways the Woods twists the leaders of Polnya for its own ends is also newly resonant in ways it wasn’t when I was 19.
(that said, (a) you lose points for having the dragon not being a literal dragon, or at least a shapeshifter, and (b) somebody tell Naomi what sapphics are. Agnieska has two hands!!)