Uprooted | Naomi Novik

Last night, I finished reading Uprooted by Naomi Novik, This book comes highly recommended wherever you go for reviews so I couldn't wait to get stuck in and let me say, it did not disappoint.

The (rather long) synopsis is, as taken from Goodreads;

“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.

It has been a long time since I have read a book that consumed every spare thought I had and made me ensure a quiet weekend in order to maximise my time spend reading, but this did exactly that (sorry anyone who tried to make plans with me this weekend just gone). I don't want to give any more of the plot away than is in the synopsis above because I would hate to give you any expectations on what you think will happen, because even as I was reading and predicting, the storyline constantly subverted my expectations. 

Part of me hopes for a sequel, as while the book wraps up the story in a satisfying way, I would love to dive into the world head first again. The other part of me wants it to stay the standalone little piece of perfection that it is. 

I fell in love with this book, absolutely head over heels and I think you will find it hard not too. 

NB. If anyone wants to talk to me about how beautifully The Wood is described, or just run off to a forest for a while - let me know!