Uprooted by Naomi Novik
4.5 stars. I really got into this one — it reminded me a lot of the kinds of fantasy books I'd read as a teen. In particular I liked the characters of Agnieszka and the Dragon; Agnieszka was one of those relatable, sometimes self-deprecating protagonists who comes into her own as the story progresses, and the Dragon reminded me of Howl from Howl's Moving Castle and North from Brightly Woven — a crotchety wizard who doesn't like anyone to know how he really feels.
I also enjoyed the use of magic in this one — it was confusing at times, but creative, and I thought it was rather funny how ticked off the Dragon got that Agnieszka had such a different, and more intuitive, approach to magic than he did. Their connection was a very slow-burn, and to be honest, I could have used a little more of the romantic side of things (since the Dragon was SO prickly and unwilling to reveal his emotions).
I did find portions of the plot repetitive, and for a while there it seemed like they just kept fighting problem after problem and never catching a break (and I kept thinking, okay this is the climax, and then it wasn't, because something even bigger was happening).
