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A review by leafblade
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
2.0
I feel like I wasted my time with this book, honestly.
The beginning was great, the writing pulled me in instantly and I didn't hate any character. This was until, like, when they healed Jerzy maybe?????
Then it just got confusing. The world building was horrible, and I didn't ever understand where they were standing. If you know your book is going to be published as an ebook too, don't make it necessary for the reader to have a map handy at any given time. You can't just name places and hope for everyone to understand. The landscape descriptions were really confusing and plainly bad, at times I had to read three paragraphs like five times each and I wouldn't be able to construct the world in my head. Some things just didn't make sense.
The battle scenes were, again, confusing. That's my main problem with this book. I hate not knowing what's going on if it's an important plot point, but I can accept it. But if it's not a plot thing but just that the author can't get her ideas on the paper clearly enough, then it's worse.
Also it took a direction I would never imagine it taking, and if I had knew I would've never read it. I came here to read a story about magic, a fairy tale, the dragon locking girls up in the tower and those girls fighting to get free. Instead I got:
a) A political kind of story with characters we didn't even have the need to meet?????
b) A love story that was totally scary, I'm not kidding. And I'm not talking about age gap because yes we know immortal characters could never love anyone that way. I'm talking that the dragon practically kidnapped agnieszka, scared the shit out of her when he just went "say this" "*magic happens* SHIT" (and he knew how badly witches were treated in her village), and okay that could've been it. But then they kiss, which is okay too. I was waiting for it, honestly. Their second kiss takes them to sex (oh and a question, was agnieszka a virgin???? not because it should add or take anything but I'm just curious), and then they never do anything romantic again ever. They never kissed again. I think they never hugged again. They definitely held hands but just because their magic required it. Like, what the fuck Naomi Novik. You're telling me you """developed""" this whole love story and then they just had sex (which was an experience itself but I am sex repulsed so I get it if it wasn't that bad for everyone else) and???????? never talked it out????????? not even the morning after???????????? did the dragon use a condom??????????????????? or magical protection??????????????? does she take pills??????????? what is this
By the end I was just annoyed, bored and didn't want to have anything to do with this book so I skim read it and it was bad, man. It should've been either a shorter book or more than one book.
The beginning was great, the writing pulled me in instantly and I didn't hate any character. This was until, like, when they healed Jerzy maybe?????
Then it just got confusing. The world building was horrible, and I didn't ever understand where they were standing. If you know your book is going to be published as an ebook too, don't make it necessary for the reader to have a map handy at any given time. You can't just name places and hope for everyone to understand. The landscape descriptions were really confusing and plainly bad, at times I had to read three paragraphs like five times each and I wouldn't be able to construct the world in my head. Some things just didn't make sense.
The battle scenes were, again, confusing. That's my main problem with this book. I hate not knowing what's going on if it's an important plot point, but I can accept it. But if it's not a plot thing but just that the author can't get her ideas on the paper clearly enough, then it's worse.
Also it took a direction I would never imagine it taking, and if I had knew I would've never read it. I came here to read a story about magic, a fairy tale, the dragon locking girls up in the tower and those girls fighting to get free. Instead I got:
a) A political kind of story with characters we didn't even have the need to meet?????
b) A love story that was totally scary, I'm not kidding. And I'm not talking about age gap because yes we know immortal characters could never love anyone that way. I'm talking that the dragon practically kidnapped agnieszka, scared the shit out of her when he just went "say this" "*magic happens* SHIT" (and he knew how badly witches were treated in her village), and okay that could've been it. But then they kiss, which is okay too. I was waiting for it, honestly. Their second kiss takes them to sex (oh and a question, was agnieszka a virgin???? not because it should add or take anything but I'm just curious), and then they never do anything romantic again ever. They never kissed again. I think they never hugged again. They definitely held hands but just because their magic required it. Like, what the fuck Naomi Novik. You're telling me you """developed""" this whole love story and then they just had sex (which was an experience itself but I am sex repulsed so I get it if it wasn't that bad for everyone else) and???????? never talked it out????????? not even the morning after???????????? did the dragon use a condom??????????????????? or magical protection??????????????? does she take pills??????????? what is this
By the end I was just annoyed, bored and didn't want to have anything to do with this book so I skim read it and it was bad, man. It should've been either a shorter book or more than one book.