uprooted by naomi novik

This and Spinning Silver are just the best of the best of discomforting heterosexual romance YA novels. The prose is perfect and timeless. The plotting is spectacular, with all the layers and the loose ends tied up. Plus, the incorporation of cultural elements is very well done. (Note: I didn't think this of Spinning Silver, but for all the actual italicized spells, Uprooted's fantasy lexicon was unimpressive (The Wood. The Wood-Queen. The Heart-Tree. The Tower. The Walkers. The Mantises.)) But the "reylo"-esque romance element is just so gross and bleak to me, beyond what the book needs to do to stay "in character" (traditional folklore.) Either it's too romanticized or not romanticized enough.