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franceselsie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book wasn’t what I expected. I have to admit I don’t know a lot about Jewish folklore but I’d anticipated this being lighter in themes and tone than it was – don’t let the cover fool you!
I found Evike (the protagonist) quite frustrating as she seems to be riddled with angst; I found myself often forgetting that she’s supposed to be 25 rather than 15.
The second half of the novel was much easier for me to read than the first half because I think it took me a while to get used to the rhythm of the writing and how dark the content was, so feel like it flowed better as it went on. The list of translated words at the back of the book was also really helpful.
I found Evike (the protagonist) quite frustrating as she seems to be riddled with angst; I found myself often forgetting that she’s supposed to be 25 rather than 15.
The second half of the novel was much easier for me to read than the first half because I think it took me a while to get used to the rhythm of the writing and how dark the content was, so feel like it flowed better as it went on. The list of translated words at the back of the book was also really helpful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Torture, Violence, and Death
gemmie_gee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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: Body horror, War, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Bullying, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
brianna_moye's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and Animal death
Minor: Sexual content and War
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.
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.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.
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
nettleviolet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
1.75
This had to be one of my least favourite books of the year, which was super disappointing. To start, I found the characters really inconsistent, unbelievable, repetitive and one-dimensional and the romance between the two main characters to be totally unbelievable and gross. I hate the trope of "the oppressed falls for the oppressor" (where the oppressor is a person of great power in the oppressive system) because it is very hard to do and they did it really poorly in this book.
The first half was mostly this blossoming, totally unbelievable and really gross romance, which consisted of the "strong female character" doing her best to both be mean to, but not hurt the feelings of, her captor that she is "falling in love" with.
But, into the second half, I enjoyed the story more as it delved more into politics, spirituality, family and ancestry. Not enough to enjoy the book, but enough to rate it more than 1 star.
But, into the second half, I enjoyed the story more as it delved more into politics, spirituality, family and ancestry. Not enough to enjoy the book, but enough to rate it more than 1 star.
There were many folk tales peppered through the book which were my favourite part, and the mythology was well developed as was the magic system. However, neither of these were good enough to redeem the book.
I'm not super into horror/gore and there was a lot of it in this book and that was also off-putting. BUT I have definitely tolerated higher levels of horror/gore in books I've enjoyed, so I think it just was a point against a book I already hated.
Overall, if I hadn't been reading this for a bookclub I would've DNF'd it about 20% in, if not sooner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Torture
r_a_bell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.5
The perfect example of what a stand-alone should be! You get all of the story of a trilogy in one book. The beginning journey did seem a little pointless in the end, and I kind of wish it had been a bit shorter if it wasn’t really going to go anywhere. However, it was still enjoyable to read and didn’t feel unnecessarily drawn out. I love how realistic it was its depiction of social structures and relationships, especially in regard to religion. I also really liked the end! It didn’t wrap everything up in a neat little bow just because that’s what the author thought readers would want. The ending was realistic and true to the story, yet satisfying, and it left that little kernel of hope that everything would end up as a “happily ever after.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, War, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Violence, Body horror, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Sexual content, Hate crime, Misogyny, Torture, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Antisemitism
jessslibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Torture
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, and Violence
bookishchef's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.25
There's some really good stuff in here, and some bad.
There's an obvious macguffin (the Turul barely has a function gtfo) but there's also enjoyable plot twists and turns.
The love story was predictable but enjoyable.
The sexual tension and build up is nice and slow but then gets resolved quite suddenly and unrealistically. Also we didn't even get a real smut scene after all that buildup??? So needless to say I was a little disappointed with that resolution.
Mostly I really liked the worldbuilding. Even though I'm still not completely clear on all the countries and their motivations, the world building really shines when it comes to religions and ethnic groups. In this story alone there are 3 fleshed out religions. They're all original in their own way even if some of their inspirations are quite obvious (The Yehuli faith seems like a mix of Judaism and Islam to me, and the Patritian faith has elements of Catholicism).
However the character work is a bit so-so. It took me a while to warm up to Évike because she is a bit of a cliche when it comes to fantasy protagonists. Same goes for Gaspar. Almost all the other characters in this story are irrelevant. None of them get really outspoken personalities. Tuula and Szabin are interesting in theory, but only get about an alinea each dedicated to their personalities and general characteristics. Katalin doesn't get any personality traits beyond 'bitch' until the last 10% of the book. It's a bit of a shame.
There's also some plot contrivances that kind of annoyed me. For example: About 50ish percent into the book Évike and Gaspar get attacked by some kind of sex demon which makes them very horny. The only function of this scene is to speed up their relationship by them admitting they're sexually attracted to each other. The demon is never relevant again, and it is quite obvious that the author just couldn't think of another way to make the stubborn Évike and the stoic Gaspar admit anything to each other.
The characters also seem to fast travel in the later chapters. In the early chapters of the book it is emphasized again and again that the environment is rough and locations are far away. This seems realistic and the traveling by itself takes weeks. Later in the book the characters seem to travel between those same locations in a matter of days or even hours because the pacing demands it. Like, I understand why the author wrote it this way, but it did pull me out of the story a bit.
Over all, it's a very flawed book but I did enjoy it.
There's an obvious macguffin (the Turul barely has a function gtfo) but there's also enjoyable plot twists and turns.
The love story was predictable but enjoyable.
The sexual tension and build up is nice and slow but then gets resolved quite suddenly and unrealistically.
Mostly I really liked the worldbuilding. Even though I'm still not completely clear on all the countries and their motivations, the world building really shines when it comes to religions and ethnic groups. In this story alone there are 3 fleshed out religions. They're all original in their own way even if some of their inspirations are quite obvious (The Yehuli faith seems like a mix of Judaism and Islam to me, and the Patritian faith has elements of Catholicism).
However the character work is a bit so-so. It took me a while to warm up to Évike because she is a bit of a cliche when it comes to fantasy protagonists. Same goes for Gaspar. Almost all the other characters in this story are irrelevant. None of them get really outspoken personalities. Tuula and Szabin are interesting in theory, but only get about an alinea each dedicated to their personalities and general characteristics. Katalin doesn't get any personality traits beyond 'bitch' until the last 10% of the book. It's a bit of a shame.
There's also some plot contrivances that kind of annoyed me. For example:
The characters also seem to fast travel in the later chapters. In the early chapters of the book it is emphasized again and again that the environment is rough and locations are far away. This seems realistic and the traveling by itself takes weeks. Later in the book the characters seem to travel between those same locations in a matter of days or even hours because the pacing demands it. Like, I understand why the author wrote it this way, but it did pull me out of the story a bit.
Over all, it's a very flawed book but I did enjoy it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Genocide, Murder, Sexual content, and Torture
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, War, and Child abuse
sydapel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
slow-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? No
4.0
A deeply vivid and striking book about religion, imperialism and mythology that doesn't shy away from the violence that accompanies shifts in power and in belief systems. I love when fantasy books center a person who isn't born with anything distinctly special about her, who has to struggle to overcome her own sense of place in her world, and the author does this so well with Évike. There are really interesting discussions within the story about hate and prejudice that resound today and the world building is done shockingly well for a debut. I don't know if this is a story that will continue, but it's one I would absolutely continue to follow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Death
Moderate: Torture, Antisemitism, Murder, Death of parent, and Self harm
Minor: War