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A review by umbrellatrees
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
2.0
I started reading this book on a train ride to Edinburgh (good old times) and then completely forgot about it for three weeks - which already says a lot about how engaging the plot turned out to be.
Being completely honest, the overall vibes in the first half of the book were immaculate. Unknown magic, the woods, a powerful wizard, a girl who unexpectedly ends up in his tower (yes, I'm a big Howl's Moving Castle fan). This was the fun part. But it lost me very quickly, because the narration was soooo sleep-inducing I felt my chronic insomnia packing up and leaving.
The magic? Saying there is a magical system is already an overstatement. We get no explanation whatsoever to the "how?" - which is alright, depending on the story - but, most importantly, we get no "why?" either, which just makes Agnieszka look and act like the biggest Mary Sue ever published.
There was no character development, pretty much everyone has just one defining personality trait, the descriptions were trying too hard to be detailed and atmospheric, the main couple has little chemistry, the dialogue was so cliché sometimes I felt like I was reading pastiche.
I don't get why so many people love this book, I really don't. Vibes and a good premise, I guess?
Being completely honest, the overall vibes in the first half of the book were immaculate. Unknown magic, the woods, a powerful wizard, a girl who unexpectedly ends up in his tower (yes, I'm a big Howl's Moving Castle fan). This was the fun part. But it lost me very quickly, because the narration was soooo sleep-inducing I felt my chronic insomnia packing up and leaving.
The magic? Saying there is a magical system is already an overstatement. We get no explanation whatsoever to the "how?" - which is alright, depending on the story - but, most importantly, we get no "why?" either, which just makes Agnieszka look and act like the biggest Mary Sue ever published.
There was no character development, pretty much everyone has just one defining personality trait, the descriptions were trying too hard to be detailed and atmospheric, the main couple has little chemistry, the dialogue was so cliché sometimes I felt like I was reading pastiche.
I don't get why so many people love this book, I really don't. Vibes and a good premise, I guess?