Reviews

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

rebekahmccubbins's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.75

johnsnowwasright's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Ava Reid is quickly becoming an auto buy author for me. I absolutely loved this book as I've loved all of Reid's other works. 
I love Reid's dark, twisted but ethereal settings that read like a Florence and the Machine song. 

Evike was such a complicated and flawed character. I would say she's an ugly character at times who is hard to like but we need more characters like her. 
Reid managed to explore how trauma can shape who we are and how we treat people in such a poignant way. I liked that we saw Evike grow beyond her trauma responses and realize that she can't treat people however she wants because she is hurting. That it is our choice to break the cycle of trauma and abuse. 
I also enjoyed the discussion of religious fundamentalism and the hypocrisy inherent in that fundamentalism. I found it hilarious that the 'Godfather of Life' was every bit as capricious as the pagan gods but the followers completely missed that in their devotion. 

I do wish that Reid had given more definition to how these gods interacted with each other and how all their magic could coexist. (Also if there is a godfather of life that's the Christian God then is the Yehuli God the same as Godfather Life but worshiped differently? That's something I wish she had expanded upon.) 

But all in all, Reid is such a unique voice and I cannot wait for her next book.  

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ktjernzt's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

4.0

bluestarfish's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

2.0

"The trees have to be tied down by sunset. When the Woodsmen come, they always try to run." Which is a very excellent way to start a book and I'm sad we didn't get more of it. There's also a lake called Taivas and people play an instrument called the kantele. 

Évike often thinks, acts, and behaves like a typical 17-year-old YA protagonist so it was always a little bit strange to remember she's meant to be 25 and that this isn't marketed as YA fiction. We never really got an answer to why the trees would run, instead there is a lot about religious zealots and nation-building and violence. And various feelings that are "pooling in the belly" (that picture came up a lot...). All a bit too righteous, and not enough about living with trees that can move. Another book I've read fairly recently about power kept coming to mind as I was reading this and I'm afraid I prefer that one over this. 

coolshrimp's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

hexenjunge's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

mmihaly's review against another edition

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2.0

I initially picked this up because of the cover art. I soon realized there were several Hungarian references and names in the book and was so pleasantly surprised! Unfortunately, I feel like this story was a bit too long and fragmented. I tried listening to the audio for the second half just to get through it and the Hungarian pronunciations really annoyed me. I wanted to love it but this just wasn’t for me.

bookishkitkat's review against another edition

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3.0

The premise and set up was so interesting. I was hooked in the beginning. However the pacing was really off for me, which made it less exciting, even at the most intense scenes. Also never fully got behind the romance.

grievingfortheliving's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

dalidja's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0