Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

68 reviews

emmaline09's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Self harm, and Xenophobia

bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Genocide, Animal cruelty, Body horror, and War

Moderate: Child death

e_gracereads's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

I DEVOURED this book. It is a BEAUTIFUL fantasy set in a very vivid, gorgeous world based on medieval Hungary. I love our main characters, Evike and Gaspar, despite the fact they both have very evident negative traits (very refreshing in a book!) and I felt truly seen by them both. The conflict of not only two religions but two entirely different ways of life is portrayed beautifully here, and there is so much thought provoking imagery, as well as beautiful storytelling that is utterly central to the plot and emphasizes the importance of storytelling and myth in our lives and culture. God. I could go on and on. I loved this book and I will be reading more from her. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, and Death

katievallin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Xenophobia, War, Vomit, Blood, Child abuse, Genocide, Death, Racism, Religious bigotry, Torture, Grief, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Gore, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Antisemitism, and Bullying

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, and Alcohol

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

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.

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

niftynaturalist's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This book had me in its grips from start to finish. It is a captivating read, with a rich setting and dynamic characters that each have a lot of depth to them. The story plot is summed up well in the book's description: Évike, a pagan wolf-girl, and Gáspár, the outcast heir to the throne, are forced to work together to try and save the kingdom in which they both live. The whole story is steeped in folklore, magic, spirituality, and religion in ways that both illuminate and underpin the plot. If you are a fan of the Winternight trilogy (by Katherine Arden), you will very likely fall in love with this book. The ending is a bit open for interpretation, but there is a short epilogue that has been made available by the author for those interested in the romance piece.

The main character, Évike, is fiery and spirited and everything I could have hoped for in a wild wolf-girl protagonist. Gáspár, too, has a great deal of depth and character development, and I really enjoyed watching both of their journeys as the story progressed. Each side character you meet has their own tale to tell as well, and I truly felt that there were very few characters in this book that did NOT have an exceptional amount of depth and development. The one exception may be Nándor, the villain, but I think his rather one-track-mindedness plays into his character in a way that is believable and feeds the story.

There is a lot of religious tension in this book, mainly intolerance and violence from the Patritians (who are a parallel for Christians/Catholics I believe) towards the Yehuli (Jewish people) and the pagans of the country, so if you are not interested in reading that you may have a tough time. But the story itself is one of power and its abuse, of love and family and heritage, and of belief, its meaning, and the power it gives. I have added an antisemitism content warning, which I will expand upon here for those who are concerned:

there is a strong antisemitic sentiment among the Patritian zealots, and at one point a Yehuli man is made to stand on a pig's corpse and is handled roughly by his captors.

On a personal note, I am a huge fan of the relationships, particularly the romantic relationship, in this book and how they play out. Minor spoiler here, but if you are a sucker for the

enemies to lovers or the man on his knees before his beloved

trope, you will very much enjoy the romance in this book. The exploration of family and belonging here is excellent, both heartbreaking and hopeful in turn.

Overall, I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of folklore and mythology retellings, as well as those who enjoy fantasy or just like to read about semi-feral female protagonists. I loved every minute of it and I hope you do too!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Antisemitism, Self harm, and Sexual content

There is a fair bit of religious self-mutilation, but only a few instances where it is described very graphically. There is also a strong antisemitic sentiment among the Patritian zealots, and at one point

a Yehuli man is made to stand on a pig's corpse and is handled roughly by his captors.