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sarahdh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A really interesting read! Very new for me but I enjoyed the characters and the storytelling. It did drag a little for me and I do think it could have been condensed a little. However, the last portion of the book picked up and I liked the ending. Could have done without some of the more gory aspects though. Overall it was an interesting enemies to lovers fantasy standalone and contained some really fascinating mythology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse and Abandonment
howl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
i was disappointed to discover that this book is young adult in wolf’s clothing: a supposed adult fantasy novel that reads like innumerable young adult science fiction/fantasy novels i’ve encountered before, with heavy-handed first-person narration, an isolated heroine besieged by mean girls (even though they’re all supposed to be 25), and a scary magic man (who turns out to be a prince, of course) with whom she goes on an adventure while they grudgingly fall in love. once i got over my initial irritation i did start to enjoy it quite a bit, enough that i actually looked forward to reading more. the combination of first-person and present tense was still rough, and this book contains an astonishing number of similes (a near-constant distraction), but overall i enjoyed the dangerous traipse through the countryside and the snare of politics at the capital. i also didn’t really mind the romance, formulaic as it was; unrealistic romance can be fun to read, and i can definitely see why certain tropes therein are so popular. i’m often put off by m/f enemies-to-lovers if the man is too much of an asshole, but i didn’t think this was too bad compared to some other examples i’ve encountered. ultimately, however, i thought the best part of the novel may have been the heroine’s reconnection with her jewish heritage; it was so lovingly described and it imparted the most positive emotion i felt while reading. other aspects i found effective were some of the more gruesome surprises this book had in store (perhaps the only way it really asserted itself as adult besides the characters’ ages) and the integration of folktales that prefigured certain events. the latter reminded me of the bear and the nightingale, a comparison made by the publisher which otherwise fell a little short for me, besides the mystical eastern european setting and the fact that there is one character who seemed to have been very heavily inspired by bear’s konstantin: nandor, a blue-eyed, stunningly beautiful, and charismatic zealot buoyed by a larger supernatural power. overall it was a decent reading experience despite the flaws in the writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Sexual content
geekysasha's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Genocide and Death of parent
Antisemitism (a fantasy version of it) and religious bigotry are among the obstacles the characters face in this story, but the story itself is not.sarahholliday's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
In this bloody, visceral fantasy, author Ava Reid draws on Jewish mythology and Hungarian history to construct a strange-yet-familiar world in which religious zealotry and political intrigue take center stage.
Évike is a brash, impulsive heroine with a surprisingly compassionate and vulnerable underbelly. I loved her almost immediately. It took me a bit longer to warm to Gáspár, with his scowls and judgements, but Reid does a wonderful job of slowly revealing the figure of a young man desperate to do the right thing while healing from a lifetime of pain and isolation. The two make a formidable and entertaining team, and the slow-burn romance between them is based on intellectual chemistry as much as physical attraction.
The nuance that Reid offers when it comes to faith, religious devotion, zealotry, and power is impressive. I always enjoy stories that reveal the chaos and tenuousness of political stability, particularly in moments of revolts or transitions of power, and The Wolf and the Woodsman delivers on that front. It's also unusual for so many different magic systems to exist in a single fantasy world, but it allowed Reid to examine the malleability of faith without having to dig into questions of theology.
Overall, The Wolf and the Woodsman is an intelligent, haunting, beautifully written story by an #OwnVoices author that contributes to the much-needed diversification of the fantasy genre. The folklore-style telling & multiple magic systems can be difficult to follow at times, but the novel as a whole shines through these rough patches.
Évike is a brash, impulsive heroine with a surprisingly compassionate and vulnerable underbelly. I loved her almost immediately. It took me a bit longer to warm to Gáspár, with his scowls and judgements, but Reid does a wonderful job of slowly revealing the figure of a young man desperate to do the right thing while healing from a lifetime of pain and isolation. The two make a formidable and entertaining team, and the slow-burn romance between them is based on intellectual chemistry as much as physical attraction.
The nuance that Reid offers when it comes to faith, religious devotion, zealotry, and power is impressive. I always enjoy stories that reveal the chaos and tenuousness of political stability, particularly in moments of revolts or transitions of power, and The Wolf and the Woodsman delivers on that front. It's also unusual for so many different magic systems to exist in a single fantasy world, but it allowed Reid to examine the malleability of faith without having to dig into questions of theology.
Overall, The Wolf and the Woodsman is an intelligent, haunting, beautifully written story by an #OwnVoices author that contributes to the much-needed diversification of the fantasy genre. The folklore-style telling & multiple magic systems can be difficult to follow at times, but the novel as a whole shines through these rough patches.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child abuse
jamesflint's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Self harm, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Child abuse and Vomit
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