Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

190 reviews

simone_elizabeth's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

The thing I enjoyed most about this book was how it challenged our cultures view of historical eastern Europe and put marginalized cultures in the spotlight. I loved reading about Reid’s perspective on fiction as an academic and a Jewish person. The writing had some confusing imagery and the characters often repeated themselves, but those are minor gripes, especially for a debut. Also the gore in this book is hard core! (Which honestly… slay)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Animal death, Blood, Xenophobia, Body horror, Death, Gore, Murder, Racism, War, Antisemitism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Sexual content

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Review is withheld in solidarity of Harper Collins’s workers/union on strike.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Self harm, Violence, Torture, and War

miraileah's review against another edition

adventurous funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

4.0. I really liked this book! I read it with EmmaSkies book club, and I do agree with their assessments of the end: very odd that

Evike ends up back in Kezsi after the events of the book, though honestly, I think the position going back and forth suits her.

 I do think that this is very very well done enemies to lovers (TRUE enemies, none of this miscommunication nonsense) and Ava Reid’s prose is beautiful. Their depictions of body horror and gore are very well done, even as a person who isn’t usually a fan of that stuff. Overall, very glad I read this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Self harm, Gore, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Death of parent

adonis_march's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

The Wolf and the Woodsman is a debut novel. It’s got the clunk of one. But by god, is it a good debut novel. For all my issues with some of the tropes in this book, and it’s pacing, and occasionally meandering plot, the latter half of this novel had my heart pounding, my stomach doing turns.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Religious bigotry, Violence, Death, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Blood, Murder, Gore, and Hate crime

Moderate: Classism, Torture, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Bullying, Self harm, Body horror, War, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Animal death, Xenophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Kidnapping

This is a book very much about the horrific history and acts of Christian zealotry that caused both pagan and Jewish communities to be wiped out, and echoes the centuries of fear and grief that the Jewish community has had to endure since.

anna_feather's review against another edition

adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

where to start? with the fact that i’m glad it the book i start 2023 with probably. 

i cannot not recommend this book. it’s great, beautifully written and at the end you just want more of it. 
i could have read thousand of pages of Evike and Gáspár doing nothing, with the author’s prose i would have love it just as much. 

don’t get me wrong the plot is great too and i have things to say about it but the characters are the most important for me in a story. they kinda had a Nina/Matthias dynamic while being different and having a different character’s development. 

the plot is a good one. it’s not my blowing but every story has already been told and it’s retold in a good way here. 

the other thing Ava Reid nailed was the whole religious, myths and unfortunately the hatred that comes with it. this part of her world building felt so tangible, i believe in it immediately. 

another tiny thing is the names. i loved how they sounded it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Gore

carolinetvardy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I ended my beginning of the year reading slump with this book, and I could not be happier. The Wolf and the Woodsman is a true horror fantasy, enemies to lovers dream, and I loved every second of it. Reid has a knack for writing gorgeous prose and then weaving in horrorific gore without breaking the atmosphere, and it’s as compelling as it is sinister. The characters remain likeable despite their mistakes and flaws , and the enemies to lovers plot line doesn’t feel contrived or too rushed which is hard to come by these days. Overall, The Wolf and the Woodsman is as close to perfection in a book as I have come by recently, and I am so glad to have come upon it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Gore, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Animal death

sarah2438's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This had a promising start but ultimately just didn't work for me. The plot felt very dragged out, and I didn't feel any chemistry between the two main characters. I think this was a great concept and I applaud Reid for her world building and the actual writing, but the plot itself didn't work for me. Also, I don't mind some dark themes, but the gore and pointless slaughter of animals was gratuitous.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Animal death, and Bullying

toffishay's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

A really intense, sweeping epic of war built on history and distrust and racial/ethnic injustice. I appreciated how the author handled this subject matter and some scenes were too real that I wondered if I would be able to keep reading. I love Evike, but I think that I also maybe would have enjoyed Gaspars point of view in a few chapters. Overall, really awesome read though. The recommendation from Samantha Shannon is very apt; if you like Priory of the Orange Tree, you would enjoy this as well, I think.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Hate crime, Animal death, War, Physical abuse, Grief, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Self harm, Misogyny, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Murder, Gore, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Body horror, and Torture

Minor: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Child death

dainybernstein's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The premise of the book is good, but the execution is lacking. When I looked up the author and saw she studied ethnonationalism and religion, it all made sense. This is an intellectually sound story-experiment, but the characters' changes in emotion are abrupt and don't fully make sense.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Classism, Colonisation, Genocide, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Death, Gore, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, and Violence

Minor: War

sophielab's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Gore