Unrooted

by Sarah N. Lawson

Blood on the snow grants wishes, you know. For better or worse, for blessing or curse. Blood can mean life, blood can mean death, but better not sit around holding your breath.

In the realm of Izolat, the sacred Trees of Viaţă are tied to one’s life and destiny. Should any harm come to their Tree, a soul becomes Unrooted, doomed to wander as an exile after death. Pomona, the cursed keeper of the Trees, fears that she is Unrooted herself, but she’s determined to protect the Trees of others. Yet everything is thrown into turmoil when Pomona wishes upon blood on the snow and the Tree of Prințesa Nevea, the fairest of them all, burns down under her watch. The loss of the Tree sets off a series of revelations about Pomona’s curse, her relationship with the prinţesa, and the scheme that threatens to destroy them both. Pomona and Nevea must navigate their differences to survive in the forest to which they’ve fled, but when Nevea won’t believe the threat is even real, the struggle to escape to the southern realm becomes even more dire.

Genres: Fantasy

Unknown Binding

About the author

Sarah N. Lawson grew up in the midst of forests, lakes, and waterfalls in Western New York. She was never seen without a book, and it's a surprise to exactly no one that she is now a writer and a full-time graduate student. By day, she is working toward a Dual Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Folklore at Indiana University, researching folklore and fairy tales in French, German, and Russian. By night, she writes fantasy novels about young women learning who they are and taking charge of their own stories.


ABOUT MY REVIEWS:
A quick guide to my star ratings:


5 STARS - This book struck me on a deep, emotional level or in other ways left a great impression on me. It's likely made me cry, broken my heart, filled me with great joy or inspiration, or some other strong feeling. I'm stingy with my 5-star ratings because I want these books to really stand out.

4 STARS - These are books that I really enjoyed but not might have left such a massive impression on me. If I give a book 4 stars, it means I definitely recommend it and there's likely nothing that took away from my reading experience. The only thing missing is that memorable emotional experience, BUT otherwise I think it's an excellent book and this should be considered a great rating from me!

3 STARS - It's a good book! Not incredible, but still enjoyable. I might have critiques of craft here and there, but overall it was good even if it didn't blow me away. I'm more selective in recommending these.

2 STARS - I did not enjoy this book. Sometimes this is subjective, but usually if I give a book this rating, I had strong feelings against it regarding content or theme. That, or it was just straight-up boring. Most of my DNFs get 2 stars.

1 STAR - Not only did I personally dislike this book, but it had significant craft problems that suggest it wasn't edited or was edited poorly. That, or it's so outrageously offensive that I can't bear to give it more than one star.

I will sometimes deduct stars for poor representation even if I otherwise enjoyed the book. This is done critically and individually for each book, and I always discuss this in my reviews.

Reviews

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unrooted is the story of two girls: Pomona, who is cursed so that anyone she touches dies; and Nevea, the gorgeous princess whose fiances keep mysteriously dying. I read an earlier draft of this book and felt so honored to get a sneak peek of such a masterpiece. The world-building and the magic system are exquisitely crafted. Anything that seems like it doesn't make sense ends up making sense by the end. I can't wait to hold the finished work in my hands and read the final version.

[Roxy D.C]

Congratulations on getting your book published Sarah!!!👏🏻👏🏻

I'm so excited for this book to come out!!!! You guys have no idea how pumped I am to read this book!!❤️❤️. Her fanfics are so well written, which is why I have high expectations for her debut novel!!!!❤️❤️😃😃