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"Tomorrow was the first of October, and the great feast would be held to show honor to our patron and lord. Tomorrow, the Dragon would come." ~ [b:Uprooted|22544764|Uprooted|Naomi Novik|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550135418l/22544764._SX50_.jpg|41876730]
This book has been on my to-read list FOREVER and I'm so glad I finally got around to it. It's definitely an ideal read for autumn; the atmosphere is so Octoberesque. My favorite aspect of this book was Agnieszka, the main heroine. She's spunky, klutzy and loyal to a fault. I love every moment she stands up for herself. When I began this book, it started off feeling like a "Beauty and the Beast" retelling, kind of reminding me of [b:Cruel Beauty|15839984|Cruel Beauty|Rosamund Hodge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1371652590l/15839984._SY75_.jpg|21580669]. However, it quickly became clear that this novel wasn't about romance. It's about Agnieszka learning magic and I love it! Her relationship with Dragon is so interesting, especially that it's such a slow burn that I wasn't even sure if they liked each other that way!
I love how dynamic and rich the relationships in this novel are; like you never know where the characters stand with each other and that motivated me to keep reading. Also I love how [a:Naomi Novik|8730|Naomi Novik|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206646770p2/8730.jpg] manages to pack so much detailed worldbuilding into a standalone book! The atmosphere is so dangerous, intriguing, and magical. Very rarely did I get lost in all the gorgeous plot. What I admired most was that the author didn't surrender to the classic fantasy trope of sending the main character off to a tower to abandon her friends and fall in love. Agnieszka actively demands that she has control over her own life. Her friendship with Kaisia is everything; it was such a welcome change to have two badass women working together in a fantasy story. Overall I couldn't get enough of this unusual story and I will definitely be reading more of Novik's writing in the future.
Some of my favorite quotes:
"His only extravagance was books. We were well read by the standards of villagers, because he would pay gold for a single great tome, and so the book-peddlers came all this way, even though our valley was at the very edge of Polnya."
"He had told me himself no one had ever been brought out of a heart-tree, no one had ever come out of the Wood—but Jaga had done it, and now I had, too. He could be mistaken; he was mistaken."
"Then I shut my eyes and felt out the shape of his magic: as full of thorns as his illusion, prickly and guarded. I started to murmur my own spell..."
"His name tasted of fire and wings, of curling smoke, of subtlety and strength and the rasping whisper of scales."
I realized she was hammering spells into the steel: her lips moved a little while she worked. It was a strange kind of magic..."
This book has been on my to-read list FOREVER and I'm so glad I finally got around to it. It's definitely an ideal read for autumn; the atmosphere is so Octoberesque. My favorite aspect of this book was Agnieszka, the main heroine. She's spunky, klutzy and loyal to a fault. I love every moment she stands up for herself. When I began this book, it started off feeling like a "Beauty and the Beast" retelling, kind of reminding me of [b:Cruel Beauty|15839984|Cruel Beauty|Rosamund Hodge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1371652590l/15839984._SY75_.jpg|21580669]. However, it quickly became clear that this novel wasn't about romance. It's about Agnieszka learning magic and I love it! Her relationship with Dragon is so interesting, especially that it's such a slow burn that I wasn't even sure if they liked each other that way!
I love how dynamic and rich the relationships in this novel are; like you never know where the characters stand with each other and that motivated me to keep reading. Also I love how [a:Naomi Novik|8730|Naomi Novik|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206646770p2/8730.jpg] manages to pack so much detailed worldbuilding into a standalone book! The atmosphere is so dangerous, intriguing, and magical. Very rarely did I get lost in all the gorgeous plot. What I admired most was that the author didn't surrender to the classic fantasy trope of sending the main character off to a tower to abandon her friends and fall in love. Agnieszka actively demands that she has control over her own life. Her friendship with Kaisia is everything; it was such a welcome change to have two badass women working together in a fantasy story. Overall I couldn't get enough of this unusual story and I will definitely be reading more of Novik's writing in the future.
Some of my favorite quotes:
"His only extravagance was books. We were well read by the standards of villagers, because he would pay gold for a single great tome, and so the book-peddlers came all this way, even though our valley was at the very edge of Polnya."
"He had told me himself no one had ever been brought out of a heart-tree, no one had ever come out of the Wood—but Jaga had done it, and now I had, too. He could be mistaken; he was mistaken."
"Then I shut my eyes and felt out the shape of his magic: as full of thorns as his illusion, prickly and guarded. I started to murmur my own spell..."
"His name tasted of fire and wings, of curling smoke, of subtlety and strength and the rasping whisper of scales."
I realized she was hammering spells into the steel: her lips moved a little while she worked. It was a strange kind of magic..."