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gcjay1994's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
beforeviolets's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
As someone who is both Hungarian and Jewish, I was already brimming with anticipation for this book. But I would never have imagined the execution to be as flawless and riveting and gorgeously Jewish as it was. It is jam-packed with descriptive prose and constant excitement and amazing character development and pacing. The height of every plot point and every piece of character development felt earned without ever slowing down the pacing.
This book is a loose retelling of the story of Esther, which is often told around the Jewish holiday of Purim. Please look it up if you have the time, but the story is essentially about identity, about self-worth, and about human rights, all of which were themes that directly correlated with the plot of The Wolf and the Woodsman.
Firstly, the journey (physical and metaphorical) that we embarked on with the characters was so well-written. The physical journey was riddled with episodic folklore/fairytale elements, filling the travel scenes - that would normally drag in terms of pacing and development - with excitement and tension. Though a small aspect of the story as a whole, this really helped keep me engaged through a part of the story that would have otherwise potentially lost my attention and in my opinion, helped build the atmosphere of the story more than anything else.
The metaphorical journey on the other hand is one I can only begin to compliment. The conversation around religious oppression, religious divide, and anti-semitism was so purposefully and intricately woven into the framework of the character’s conversations and growth, and with such obvious care and nuance. Even the parts of the story that didn’t include the Jewish characters still felt like they included Jewish conversation at its core. I found myself screaming with excitement to see my experiences as a Jewish person in a Christian society so accurately reflected in the world of these characters. I would invite every Christian person to read this book and reflect on the oppressions their religion has placed on the world around them, in ways both large and small. (Also reminder that this is a fantasy book so this is done mostly through metaphor.)
But as much as I loved the journey and the atmosphere, the magic systems were maybe my favorite part of the entire work. They were utilized as such a strong vessel to hold conversations about power and religion and they all felt so purposefully crafted to further the themes of the story I mentioned earlier. I will say, my favorite magic system was that of the Yehuli. I could feel my Jewish ancestors smiling down at the idea of Hebrew being used as magic in and of itself. It added a whole other layer to the idea that words have meaning, and that they quite literally hold power. It made me feel empowered and it made me never want to read a non-Jewish fantasy book ever again. (It also made me want to get back to my Hebrew studies.)
I also LOVED the romance in this book. I love a good enemies to lovers slow-burn romance and Évike and Gáspár certainly delivered. However, the thing I actually loved most about this romance in particular was the fact that the romance plot line didn’t feel separate from the rest of the world or even the rest of the plot. It wasn't thrown in as a second thought or used as a little treat to toss in for the readers as a reward for getting through the dense gore and fantasy. It instead was used as a tool to continue the discussion of religious divides and power and morality and it ended up being the keystone to some of the most important themes in this story and helped the characters to grow and become better and more complex individuals, as the best romances should.
Overall, there’s not much more I can say other than I loved it. It’s a brand new favorite of mine and I can’t wait to recommend this to everyone I know.
(Also just a side note: it disgusts me to see people reviewing this book complaining that it was too Jewish or that the names in this book were "weird" and "hard to pronounce". There are cultures other than your own.)
This book is a loose retelling of the story of Esther, which is often told around the Jewish holiday of Purim. Please look it up if you have the time, but the story is essentially about identity, about self-worth, and about human rights, all of which were themes that directly correlated with the plot of The Wolf and the Woodsman.
Firstly, the journey (physical and metaphorical) that we embarked on with the characters was so well-written. The physical journey was riddled with episodic folklore/fairytale elements, filling the travel scenes - that would normally drag in terms of pacing and development - with excitement and tension. Though a small aspect of the story as a whole, this really helped keep me engaged through a part of the story that would have otherwise potentially lost my attention and in my opinion, helped build the atmosphere of the story more than anything else.
The metaphorical journey on the other hand is one I can only begin to compliment. The conversation around religious oppression, religious divide, and anti-semitism was so purposefully and intricately woven into the framework of the character’s conversations and growth, and with such obvious care and nuance. Even the parts of the story that didn’t include the Jewish characters still felt like they included Jewish conversation at its core. I found myself screaming with excitement to see my experiences as a Jewish person in a Christian society so accurately reflected in the world of these characters. I would invite every Christian person to read this book and reflect on the oppressions their religion has placed on the world around them, in ways both large and small. (Also reminder that this is a fantasy book so this is done mostly through metaphor.)
But as much as I loved the journey and the atmosphere, the magic systems were maybe my favorite part of the entire work. They were utilized as such a strong vessel to hold conversations about power and religion and they all felt so purposefully crafted to further the themes of the story I mentioned earlier. I will say, my favorite magic system was that of the Yehuli. I could feel my Jewish ancestors smiling down at the idea of Hebrew being used as magic in and of itself. It added a whole other layer to the idea that words have meaning, and that they quite literally hold power. It made me feel empowered and it made me never want to read a non-Jewish fantasy book ever again. (It also made me want to get back to my Hebrew studies.)
I also LOVED the romance in this book. I love a good enemies to lovers slow-burn romance and Évike and Gáspár certainly delivered. However, the thing I actually loved most about this romance in particular was the fact that the romance plot line didn’t feel separate from the rest of the world or even the rest of the plot. It wasn't thrown in as a second thought or used as a little treat to toss in for the readers as a reward for getting through the dense gore and fantasy. It instead was used as a tool to continue the discussion of religious divides and power and morality and it ended up being the keystone to some of the most important themes in this story and helped the characters to grow and become better and more complex individuals, as the best romances should.
Overall, there’s not much more I can say other than I loved it. It’s a brand new favorite of mine and I can’t wait to recommend this to everyone I know.
(Also just a side note: it disgusts me to see people reviewing this book complaining that it was too Jewish or that the names in this book were "weird" and "hard to pronounce". There are cultures other than your own.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Vomit, Violence, and War
Moderate: Grief
amber_vw's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Vomit, Violence, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Suicidal thoughts
oliverreeds's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
this book was fine. i don't understand what all of the hype is about around its release because, while the characters and their relationships are well-written, the magic and world-building seemed a little scant. i have no doubt the author spent a ridiculous amount of time building lore and that is evident, but i didn't understand a lot of the lore. it felt like when a super smart professor is explaining a very detailed and advanced concept and just kind of expects you to know it. the history of the the world just didn't make much sense and wasn't explained as well as i wanted it to be. most of the book is spent looking for this creature called the tulur? and maybe i just didn't read super carefully, but i had no idea what the tulur actually meant to the world until it died. and even then nothing seemed to have changed. there was still magic. the trees seemed to still be alive. so why was there such a thing about killing this bird. i didn't understand it . i also didn't understand the way magic works in this story. the wolf-girls are (mostly) all born with magic- all except evike. great. that makes sense. but then evike wants magic so she cuts of her finger as a sacrifice to one of the gods and he just... gives her magic? i didn't understand this. it didn't make any sense. and then without practicing using her magic, evike fully shatters an axe in the royal court without really knowing what the perameters of her magic or the cost of her magic. the rules seemed flimsy. especially when she saves Gaspar after they're attacked by the witch. how did she save him?? she can't heal people?? . i also thought it was interesting that there are so many religions (only three) but they all have their own magic given from their own god which seems to imply that all of the gods actually exist in this universe. this then begs the question: why is there so much hate? the hate the woodsmen feel towards the pagans never is fully explained. i kind of understand the metaphor the author was working with, but in general, it felt forced sometimes. like... why? the pacing of this book was also pretty slow. in the climax moments, i didn't feel like there was much of a climax. like when evike has just been stabbed. i was like oh sh*t! but then she just like gets up? and walks to gaspars room and then she rests for like ten minutes and then she's just like fine. like she's having a full conversation when she was just on the brink of death. this also happens in the pagan battle at the very end. nandor has just pulled out evike's molars (by all means a traumatic and painful experience) and then after the whole gaspar nandor fight, she's just fine? she kisses gaspar but like she just had like buckets of blood in her mouth??? the severity of wounds was definitely something that didn't make much sense to me because a character would be seriously wounded (often to the brink of death) and then like have full on coherent conversations and then get up and walk around. the first part of this book also read a lot like fanficiton (which i honestly didn't have a problem with. it was my favorite part of the book no cap) because it's all about the slow romance between evike and gaspar so evike will like almost freeze to death or pass out or something and then gaspar (shocker) will save her or help her. like the amount of times evike ~almost~ died on the way up to find the tulur the first time was honestly wild. but overall, the characters were interesting and i liked the in depth analysis of how religious bigotry effects people, romance, and governing states. i thought it was a good first book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
hanz's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Violence
kayladaila's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation and Self harm
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
whatellisreadnext's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, and Violence
leahjanespeare's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
It’s an impressive feat to tell a story that’s both masochistic and romantic at its core. Évike is a tough woman to connect to but as she embarks unwillingly on this long, forested trek, I grew to love her spirit, her grit. She will fight to belong with every breath, all the while struggling with her dual identities and outcast status. This incredible world is fantasy but feels ancient and true. Monsters are everywhere—human and otherwise—be it wolf or woodsman or the gods themselves; fairytale horror at its finest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, and Grief
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