Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Wolf Den

Upon finishing this book, I had a lot of conflicting emotions. This book is another reminder of both how far we have come in terms of equality and the treatment of women, while simultaneously having barely progressed at all. This was not an easy read, particularly as a survivor of SA; I definitely underestimated how SA and the R word would occur and be discussed. Although it almost never actually happened on the page which I think is what made me able to keep reading it and not have to DNF the book.

It's a powerful story about the female experience, the inherent dangers of living as a woman or marginalized person in general, and how the cycle of abuse perpetuates itself. I really feel like intense acts that happened in the final chapters were set up purely to turn this from a standalone novel into the trilogy the author wanted, and I personally think that's a mistake. I think this book was so heavy so much of the time, I would personally have enjoyed it more if we got the more uplifting part of the ending we as readers were hoping for without the violent events that will clearly be the focus of the next book (trying to talk about it without spoilers).

For the first time in a long time, I think this is a series I won't be continuing. Not because it isn't well written, I enjoyed the author's writing style. Just because it is a rather hard read, and I am honestly not invested enough in seeing more of these characters for the apparent plot point the next book(s) will tackle. The biggest strength this book has, and the thing that really was apparent and stuck out to me the most, is it's also an ode to the resilience of women. Between reading this book and listening to the song "Labour" by Paris Paloma on repeat, I am overly filled with ancestral feminine rage and I definitely need a palette cleanser after this.

Content Warnings

kmami's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad 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

one of the best books i’ve read so far this year. the plot is perfectly thought out. the story was perfectly written. i really couldn’t put it down; i finished it in 24 hours. i can’t wait to read the second book.

Content Warnings