From the Bookshelf of Pick-a-Shelf

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Misty
Oh man, I loved this book. Possibly my favorite of the year, and definitely exactly what I needed. Will be looking into more by Naomi Novik (and apologies to my former bookclub, 'cause I'm pretty sure numerous people recommended her, and I never looked into her books. I will rectify that). ...more
Cora
Every ten years the lord of the region, who happens to be a powerful wizard called the Dragon, chooses a village girl to serve him for ten years in his tower. The villagers are not sure what he uses the girls for, but at the end of ten years the girl is released, seemly unharmed. Once released, the girls are not satisfied with their former lives and most leave the village to pursue a life outside the region. The villages border an evil wood that can corrupt living things, turning them into evil ...more
Joanna
I listened to the audiobook for this with my twelve year old daughter. The narrator for the audiobook reads the book with a distinctive accent that contributed to the feel of this book as a sort of fairy tale or legend from the "old country." It felt like the sort of story told by a grandmother (yours, or the one down the hall or next door, or that you only see at the library on rainy Saturday afternoons).

I've read several books by this author and I'm very impressed by her range. My favorite by
...more
Rachel N.
Mar 04, 2023 rated it really liked it
Agnieszka lives in a valley that has a corrupt wood on it's edge. The valley is protected by a wizard known as the dragon in exchange every ten years he takes a girl from the valley to live with him. Everyone knows Agnieszka's best friend Kasia will be the next one picked so it's a big surprise when he picks Agnieszka instead. The slowly expands beyond Agnieszka and Sarkan (the wizard's) relationship to deal with the wood's corruption and thew rest of the kingdom. I liked the unique villain and ...more
Rebekah
This was a fun YA fairytale novel in the tradition of Eastern European fairytales (i.e. Grimm). It was quite enjoyable and the female characters were smart and powerful. A refreshing read. I would love to check out other works by this author!
D.G.
Jun 14, 2015 marked it as to-read
Shelves: fantasy, ebook
Lorna
Jun 17, 2015 marked it as to-read
Luann
Jun 27, 2015 marked it as to-read
Sandra
Jul 20, 2015 marked it as to-read
Gaijinmama
Jul 25, 2015 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: fantasy
Jayme Pendergraft
Aug 03, 2015 rated it really liked it
Carrie
Aug 10, 2015 marked it as to-read
Shelves: up-next, hmd, mgp
Kim DeCina
Nov 04, 2015 marked it as to-read
Micha
Jul 01, 2016 marked it as to-read
Nicole
Jul 26, 2016 rated it it was ok
Shelves: audio-book, 2016
Yz the Whyz
May 09, 2017 rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2017-reads
Jennifer
Mar 30, 2019 marked it as to-read
Kit
Apr 13, 2020 marked it as to-read
Heather
Mar 09, 2022 marked it as to-read
Slayermel
Dec 11, 2022 marked it as to-read
Mimi
Dec 08, 2023 marked it as to-read
Amy 💖
Sep 01, 2024 marked it as to-read
Shelves: fantasy, magic
Natasha
Aug 10, 2025 marked it as to-read
Rebekah
Sep 19, 2025 marked it as to-read
« previous 1 3 4 5