Did anyone else not care a wit about Kasia?

[JO]

I am only a third of the way through and I find it kind of boring. I do not think the author did enough to develope their friendship to make me care about Kasia or understand why they are so close. So far the book seems simplistic and the only person I am interested in is the Dragon... I am slightly curious about the wood but I am not drawn to keep reading the book. Maybe I am too old for it. I forge ahead and hopefully it gets better...............

[Bipeda Implume]

It´s because the author tells us that Nieshka (I don´t remember how to write it, it´s been a while since I read this book) loves Kasia, but never really shows us their friendship. :/

[Beverly]

I didn't care for any of the characters even the lead whose name I can't remember. I thought they all were poorly developed.

[Peter]

It seemed to me that the narrator was infected by the distance the sorcerer/dragon felt between himself and his world. The girls also expect to be separated by the choosing, so there would be some ambivalence between them - I would expect at least. One of the themes of the story is becoming interested in people around you, friendship, love, all that nonsense that normal people need. I liked the way the characters developed, the depth you see in them, slowly creep in through the book, and it fits nicely with the ending. Keep reading. Novik writes beautifully and her dialogue is wonderful. Also, I am older (and male) and I liked it.

[Lauren]

Kasia was actually the only character I really liked. The rest I could take or leave.

[Wave]

Lol! Yes! Could not care less about her.
If anything, the more problems they encountered, the more I kept thinking that they could have easily wrapped the whole mess up much sooner if they'd just let her die or bumped her off.

[Amanda]

Peter wrote: "It seemed to me that the narrator was infected by the distance the sorcerer/dragon felt between himself and his world. The girls also expect to be separated by the choosing, so there would be some ..."

I liked it very much. Complex relationships are always interesting.

[Rick]

Yes, this character dominated the rather uninspiring middle section. I thought the sections with the Dragon were far more interesting.

[Tena]

I definitely felt that Kasia was the driving force behind the book but for me she just seemed kinda like a jerk? I can see the reasoning behind it - she's been told and treated like she'll be the one the Dragon chooses all her life and then her "plain" friend gets chosen instead, and I think there is some resentment for that. But I didn't feel that there was enough redemption in her character arc to make up for it. I enjoyed Agnieszka's growth through the story and her and The Dragon's relationship enough to put up with it. :)

[Brian]

Just finished this recently. I felt the portions of the book with direct engagement with the Wood felt stronger. I felt the portion of the novel in the capital was weak. That's likely because both the Wood and the Dragon were not part of the main character's interactions.

[Lily]

I don't get the hype of this book or how people love the "romance" -- newsflash: the Dragon verbally abuses Kasia and this is apparently ok.

[Amanda]

Lily wrote: "I don't get the hype of this book or how people love the "romance" -- newsflash: the Dragon verbally abuses Kasia and this is apparently ok."

He was pretty much an asshat to everyone around...but in the end I found it understandable. He was old...and had lived a life of constant struggle against the Forest. The Royalty sat in the far-off capital and made demands. He had no normal face to face interactions with people, and he was full of magic.
He was cranky, selfish, and kind of a jerk, but when he and Neiszka worked together, they started respecting each other, and eventually caring for each other. Was he perfect? Nope. Was she? Not really. Was their relationship interesting and complicated? It was to me.