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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
emotional
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
sad
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:
No
3.5/5
Yays:
• Elodie Harper did a ton of research on Pompeii and it shines through in her vivid descriptions of buildings, festivals, music, etc.
• I’m in my Ancient Rome research era so I ate up the historical quotes included at the beginning of each chapter
• Harper is unflinchingly honest and empathetic with her depictions of the physical violence and emotional turmoil enslaved sex workers endure.
• Harper also does a good job of highlighting the complex relationships of friendship, competition/animosity out of survival, and solidarity between the women characters.
• I was the most interested in Victoria, Paris, Britannica, and Cressa. I wanted to learn more about them!
• Shoutout to the wonderful audiobook reader, Antonia Beamish!
Nays:
• While I was more invested in the side characters, most of the characters still felt a little flat. I especially struggled to connect to Amara (our main character) and Dido (arguably the second main character). It was tiring to be stuck in Amara’s head the entire book, and I just wanted everyone to feel more fleshed out.
• The writing tends to be on the nose, directly telling you about the characters’ emotions, motivations, and thoughts. This made it hard to feel fully immersed in the story and the emotional moments didn’t quite pack the emotional punch they were going for.
• This book felt longggg man
• The reviewer lucy✨ captures my feelings exactly:
“Despite appreciating the uncensored insights, I felt that the narrative lacked compelling force to drive the reader onwards. The story dragged and the plot was missing impetus. The achievements of the novel, as I mentioned beforehand, were present but not necessarily striking. The lives of the women were saddening, although the writing failed to incite visceral anger or sadness. It lacked tangible and raw emotion for me because it felt more 'telling than showing.’ The Wolf Den provided an unflinching look into the cruelties of exploitation but as a novel it wasn't fully effective in sustaining my engagement.” - lucy✨
THE WOLF DEN is worth checking out if you’re interested in Ancient Rome or Pompeii, but as a story, it isn’t going to stick with me that deeply. I still enjoyed the historical details though!
Yays:
• Elodie Harper did a ton of research on Pompeii and it shines through in her vivid descriptions of buildings, festivals, music, etc.
• I’m in my Ancient Rome research era so I ate up the historical quotes included at the beginning of each chapter
• Harper is unflinchingly honest and empathetic with her depictions of the physical violence and emotional turmoil enslaved sex workers endure.
• Harper also does a good job of highlighting the complex relationships of friendship, competition/animosity out of survival, and solidarity between the women characters.
• I was the most interested in Victoria, Paris, Britannica, and Cressa. I wanted to learn more about them!
• Shoutout to the wonderful audiobook reader, Antonia Beamish!
Nays:
• While I was more invested in the side characters, most of the characters still felt a little flat. I especially struggled to connect to Amara (our main character) and Dido (arguably the second main character). It was tiring to be stuck in Amara’s head the entire book, and I just wanted everyone to feel more fleshed out.
• The writing tends to be on the nose, directly telling you about the characters’ emotions, motivations, and thoughts. This made it hard to feel fully immersed in the story and the emotional moments didn’t quite pack the emotional punch they were going for.
• This book felt longggg man
• The reviewer lucy✨ captures my feelings exactly:
“Despite appreciating the uncensored insights, I felt that the narrative lacked compelling force to drive the reader onwards. The story dragged and the plot was missing impetus. The achievements of the novel, as I mentioned beforehand, were present but not necessarily striking. The lives of the women were saddening, although the writing failed to incite visceral anger or sadness. It lacked tangible and raw emotion for me because it felt more 'telling than showing.’ The Wolf Den provided an unflinching look into the cruelties of exploitation but as a novel it wasn't fully effective in sustaining my engagement.” - lucy✨
THE WOLF DEN is worth checking out if you’re interested in Ancient Rome or Pompeii, but as a story, it isn’t going to stick with me that deeply. I still enjoyed the historical details though!
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No