ONE STAR to the non-existent chemistry between the Dragon and Agnieszka. It was bullshit. ZERO STAR to the love interest. If there's one thing I really hate, it's romance revolving around verbal and physical abuses. I swear, verbal abusing Agnieszka is the only language the Dragon knows how to speak in. After hitting two for two, Naomi Novik has turned into a must-read author for me. I can't wait to dive into more of her books. I absolutely loved Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver, and so I had gone into Uprooted with high expectations. While I didn't love this one quite as much, it delivered aplenty, with a magical tale full of adventure, courage, overcoming great odds, and a little dash of romance as well.

OH MY GOD A DRAGON. A TERRIBLE DRAGON WHO KIDNAPS A VILLAGE'S BEAUTIFUL YOUNG GIRLS. DO THEY GET EATEN?! DO THEY GET TORTURED?!!! WHAT IS THEIR TERRIBLE FATE?! “They forget how to live here...[they] remember to be afraid,” my father said. That was all. Kasia is Agnieszka's best and only friend. She is also the girl that everyone expected the Dragon to choose. So imagine my dismay when shortly after she escapes that fate, she is abducted by one of the Wood's foul creatures.This book would have been far more effective had the friendship at the start been allowed more time to develop. It was thrown into the action that much, that when the romance came it made no sense. It didn’t have time to work; it just sprung and left me feeling a little surprised. It was a case of where did that come from? I think there should have been much more time spent in the tower, as the rest of the world was slowly, and gradually, revealed. That way this could have easily ended at the midway point.

What an incredible fairy tale. This book is a lot like the The Wood that dominates this story, luring you close, whispering in your ear, offering you the most tantalizing temptations, if only you'll be persuaded into it. The difference between the two is that where The Wood is a dark, twisted creation that speaks only lies, this book delivers on its promises. I do plan to edit this review some time later in the near future (hopefully whenever I get into the critical reviewing headspace) rewriting it into a more coherent and concise review. But for now, I'll just leave this little note. Sooo this just got awkward cause all I remember are the cons. But there are pros, I just can't really remember them. I mean, it couldn't have been that terrible, I did finish it, so there's that. Also, the story is good but I just didn't like how it was told. And the Wood is creepy (not buts here). Yeah...I'm shutting up now.His nature is taciturn, impatient, and formal, so the villagers, despite their dependence on him for protection, fear him, despise him: The writing style for me was below average. It was mediocre, tiresome and there was absolutely nothing special about it. There were so many unnecessary paragraphs in the book, mainly consisting of pointless descriptions that I quite easily could have done without reading.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose. PRAISE FOR UPROOTEDUprooted has everything I love: a great heroine, new takes on old myths and legends, and surprising twists and turns. A delight.”—Cassandra Clare I'll freely admit that I was immediately caught within its grasp, and remained spellbound from beginning to end. a b c El-Mohtar, Amal (24 May 2015). "Friendship, Magic And Danger Blossom In 'Uprooted' ". NPR . Retrieved 12 November 2022. Through notes left by previous girls, Agnieszka gathers that her role is mostly household duties. But the reason for his choice is that she has magical abilities, and he starts teaching her simple spells. Agnieszka finds these acts of magic difficult and unnatural. If you want to know whether or not Kasia is saved, you'll have to read the book for yourself (which you should do anyway, b/c AWESOME), but I will tell you that Agnieszka finds something in the Wood, and that something reminds me of one of my favorite Christian Schloe illustrations:

The Fifth Season still leads, followed closely with Uprooted. I've still got a few other titles to read, but I can tell you that Ancillary Mercy will be somewhere in the middle and Updraft will trail at the bottom. This is one of the few books in the last year that managed to captivate me. From the opening paragraph this story grabs and hauls you off into the wonders of darkly wooded world and just as sincerely holds you captive. Ms. Novik did everything right here. There’s no learning curve, as the story starts small, simple, and yet captivating. The the reader is introduced to a pleasant and likable young woman, whose life is drastically altered, not in some horrible way, but rather in an unexpectedly nice way. Such things don’t usually happen in fantasy stories. Nice characters, nice places, pleasant events—almost sounds boring, only it isn’t. Quite the contrary, I was far more fascinated and riveted by this not-miserable place and kindly people than in any other fantasy book I’ve read in decade. Agnieszka worries for her best friend, Kasia, who is the most beautiful girl in the village. Everyone is sure Kasia will be snatched up by the Dragon at the next Choosing. Instead, much to her surprise, Agnieszka is chosen to serve the Dragon, and that's when she discovered how dark and frightening the world really is.

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Uprooted has everything I love: a great heroine, new takes on old myths and legends, and surprising twists and turns. A delight.” —Cassandra Clare, New York Times bestselling author of The Mortal Instruments series