Friday Reads: ARC Review of Uprooted by Naomi Novik!!!

Hey guys! Still on hiatus, currently in NYC attending BEA for the very first time, but I felt like the blog could do with a lil update since I feel bad for abandoning the blog and since it might be a longer hiatus that I had planned originally... things with the apartment are taking a long while enough and I might not be moved and settled till July itself!

This is the last ARC review that I needed to complete my For Review category for my 105 Challenge, woohooo!!

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Another recommendation from bloggy friends that was an absolute success! A wonderful fantasy with wonderful characters, a plot that was never exactly what I expected and surprised me always for the best!

I started it an wasn't sure what to expect of it and very soon was enthralled with Agnieszka's voice and her story! I loved how she kept on being her own self, struggling with being told to change and finding her own way to do things despite it all. I loved how strong her love for her family and her amazing friendship with Kasia, that despite the ups and downs, is strong enough to brave the dangers of the Wood.

The Wood, oh boy, that's a whole character in itself, and probably my favourite part of the book, along with Agnierzka's journey of discovery of her own magic and her own worth. The Wood was all sorts of creepy and gruesome and simply fantasticly done! And when we get to learn about how it all started? Really NOT what I had expected and I loved how the climax was resolved!

I adored the relationship between Agnieszka and the Dragon, how it went from strong dislike, to reluctant respect & collaboration to explosive chemistry!
I really loved how things progressed with them, slowly and tentatively, but with plenty of spark and I loved that Agnieszka is not pasive about it, takes things into her own hands when the Dragon doesn't allow himself to, and when he runs away, she doesn't simply pine after him, she continues with her work and then doesn't take any of his nonsense.

I read this book in two big chunks, from start till about 56% then got into a slump once they got to court after the fight at the Wood and then went back to it and the court part that I wasn't too keen on was shorter than I expected and things started getting more interesting, dire and creepy very soon! In the end, I wanted the book to keep on going and be longer because I simply love the world too much! The ending is rather open and definitive at the same time, and although a sequel is not necessary, I wouldn't be adverse to getting more stories set in this world!

Very much deserved 4.5 stars to this one!



View all my reviews

Tell Me Tuesdays #27!!

Tell Me Tuesdays is a meme/feature created by the awesome ladies of Please Feed The Bookworm and La La In The Library, where we can share how we choose the book we are currently reading from our TBR pile!

I'm always curious about that, cause as much as I tend to make myself a rough schedule for books to read and the like, I'm quite a mood reader and sometimes I just HAVE to ignore my schedule and read something else!

Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein


A new historical thriller masterpiece from New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Elizabeth Wein

Emilia and Teo's lives changed in a fiery, terrifying instant when a bird strike brought down the plane their stunt pilot mothers were flying. Teo's mother died immediately, but Em's survived, determined to raise Teo according to his late mother's wishes-in a place where he won't be discriminated against because of the color of his skin. But in 1930s America, a white woman raising a black adoptive son alongside a white daughter is too often seen as a threat.

Seeking a home where her children won't be held back by ethnicity or gender, Rhoda brings Em and Teo to Ethiopia, and all three fall in love with the beautiful, peaceful country. But that peace is shattered by the threat of war with Italy, and teenage Em and Teo are drawn into the conflict. Will their devotion to their country, its culture and people, and each other be their downfall or their salvation?

In the tradition of her award-winning and bestselling Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein brings us another thrilling and deeply affecting novel that explores the bonds of friendship, the resilience of young pilots, and the strength of the human spirit

 Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

Seraphina took the literary world by storm with 8 starred reviews and numerous “Best of” lists. At last, her eagerly awaited sequel has arrived—and with it comes an epic battle between humans and dragons.

The kingdom of Goredd: a world where humans and dragons share life with an uneasy balance, and those few who are both human and dragon must hide the truth. Seraphina is one of these, part girl, part dragon, who is reluctantly drawn into the politics of her world. When war breaks out between the dragons and humans, she must travel the lands to find those like herself—for she has an inexplicable connection to all of them, and together they will be able to fight the dragons in powerful, magical ways.

As Seraphina gathers this motley crew, she is pursued by humans who want to stop her. But the most terrifying is another half dragon, who can creep into people’s minds and take them over. Until now, Seraphina has kept her mind safe from intruders, but that also means she’s held back her own gift. It is time to make a choice: Cling to the safety of her old life, or embrace a powerful new destiny? 

 Uprooted by Naomi Novik

 Naomi Novik, author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Temeraire novels, introduces a bold new world rooted in folk stories and legends, as elemental as a Grimm fairy tale.

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.


All these three are ARCs and I'm really enjoyed them all, though I haven't been making a lot of progress with them! Uprooted is a fantasy highly recommended by Jessica for Rabid Reads and she rarely leads me astray. Black Raven, White Dove is historical fiction with a different kind of narrative that I'm quite enjoying! And Shadow Scale is equally as gorgeous as Seraphina was, but I'm feeling like Phina is less in control that she was on the previous book and it's annoying me a lil how she fails to see some things coming!

  So what are you all guys reading and how and why did you decide to pick up that book? Shiny new ARC? Comfort read? Scheduled for review? Must have new release? Tell me!!