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elenamarmiroli's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
2.75
Purtroppo anche se inizialmente questo libro mi aveva preso abbastanza, nonostante le sue vivide descrizioni del bosco in cui la maggior parte della storia è ambientata, alla fine non è riuscito a convincermi.
Ciò è principalmente dovuto a due cose: la prima dipende da me, la seconda dal libro.
La prima cosa riguarda il fatto che mi sono fermata a metà di questa lettura e prima di riprenderla in mano ho letto un libro fantastico, che mi ha fatto vedere come questo libro non mi intrigasse pienamente.
La seconda ragione, ma più importante, è che il finale mi è sembrato parecchio assurdo e un po' affrettato, tendendo a risultare non ben sviluppato e legato al resto dell'opera.
Consiglierei questo libro a chi fosse in cerca di una lettura con un'atmosfera cupa, in cui l'ambientazione è ben descritta.
Inoltre, non consiglierei questo libro a chi desiderasse un retelling di Cappuccetto Rosso, ma a chi ne volesse uno della Bella e la Bestia, in quanto l'opera ricorda maggiormente quest'ultima fiaba.
Ciò è principalmente dovuto a due cose: la prima dipende da me, la seconda dal libro.
La prima cosa riguarda il fatto che mi sono fermata a metà di questa lettura e prima di riprenderla in mano ho letto un libro fantastico, che mi ha fatto vedere come questo libro non mi intrigasse pienamente.
La seconda ragione, ma più importante, è che il finale mi è sembrato parecchio assurdo e un po' affrettato, tendendo a risultare non ben sviluppato e legato al resto dell'opera.
Consiglierei questo libro a chi fosse in cerca di una lettura con un'atmosfera cupa, in cui l'ambientazione è ben descritta.
Inoltre, non consiglierei questo libro a chi desiderasse un retelling di Cappuccetto Rosso, ma a chi ne volesse uno della Bella e la Bestia, in quanto l'opera ricorda maggiormente quest'ultima fiaba.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
beesknees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
slow-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
I truly enjoyed this book! For the Wolf takes elements of Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood to create a dark but original fairy tail fantasy. I found some elements of the story to be a little tiring, including the whimsical but sometimes very wordy descriptions. I appreciated all the detail put into this book, I just sometimes found the sentences to be garbled and had to reread to make sure I read it correctly. An aspect I really enjoyed were how common tropes were executed in this story. I have to say that the romance was very well done, the chemistry between the main couple was definitely present and enjoyable to read about. I find myself wanting to know what happens in the next book "For the Throne", so I will be excited to pick up a copy once it's been released!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Death of parent and Murder
calcifire's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Religious bigotry
Minor: Abandonment
reeseq10's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Gore, Death of parent, and Murder
graculus's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Another entry for the 'thank heavens I got this from the library and didn't spend cash money on it' category of reviews, I'm afraid. Which is a shame, since this was a book I was very much looking forward to and hoped would give me more than it managed to do. Meanwhile, I know there's also a bit of an issue at the moment where some people automatically go 'female authored fantasy book = YA' - this book is categorically not being sold as that but that's not helped when the writing overall (and particularly the relationship out of nowhere) feels just so teenage at times.
Okay, on with the book itself, which is the first of a trilogy. It's set in a world where there's an ongoing deal between the rulers of a particular kingdom and the wild forest on their borders that if there are two daughters born into the royal house, the first will be the heir (since it's a matrilineal crown, apparently) and the second will be sacrificed to the forest. The job of this particular country, which apparently survives in significant part because of it and the tithes it receives as a result, is to hold back the encroaching forest which would otherwise cover everything. There's also a slightly confusing piece of world-building going on about five kings who we discover partway through the book were not the Good People they were supposed to be.
Anyway, our protagonist (Red) is the eponymous Second Daughter and has been brought up for her entire life on this basis. She and her older sister also had an odd encounter a few years earlier when they got drunk and tried to burn the nearest part of the forest, only for the forest's magic to manifest through her and kill some local bandits in various gruesome ways. On reaching the right age, Red goes into the forest despite all of this and meets the Wolf, who conveniently turns out to be an attractive emo boy with floppy hair and a tendency to try to take responsibility for everything on himself called Eamonn.
Without spoiling the entire story, there's a lot of blood magic going on (mostly involving people who are not just restricted to Red and Eamonn cutting themselves) and also lots of the forest going a bit crazy for various reasons, both positive and negative. Red's sister is dragged into a conspiracy involving the religious practitioners of her country, supposedly in order to get Red back from the forest, but really for ulterior motives of their own.
I really wanted to like this book more than I did but found myself skimming chunks of it as the same things happened over and over again - character A is told not to do something but does it anyway, character B feels guilty about it even though it's clearly character A's fault for being a stubborn dumbass. Rinse and repeat. This is also one of those books where the world-building has been a bit over-egged and at times became semi-coherent as a result and that always has an impact on my ability to give a crap about what happens to the characters. I'm sure there will be people who'll absolutely adore this book but I'm not one of them. I might pick the next one up from the library if they get it but there's plenty of other stuff I'd prioritise reading first over that...
Okay, on with the book itself, which is the first of a trilogy. It's set in a world where there's an ongoing deal between the rulers of a particular kingdom and the wild forest on their borders that if there are two daughters born into the royal house, the first will be the heir (since it's a matrilineal crown, apparently) and the second will be sacrificed to the forest. The job of this particular country, which apparently survives in significant part because of it and the tithes it receives as a result, is to hold back the encroaching forest which would otherwise cover everything. There's also a slightly confusing piece of world-building going on about five kings who we discover partway through the book were not the Good People they were supposed to be.
Anyway, our protagonist (Red) is the eponymous Second Daughter and has been brought up for her entire life on this basis. She and her older sister also had an odd encounter a few years earlier when they got drunk and tried to burn the nearest part of the forest, only for the forest's magic to manifest through her and kill some local bandits in various gruesome ways. On reaching the right age, Red goes into the forest despite all of this and meets the Wolf, who conveniently turns out to be an attractive emo boy with floppy hair and a tendency to try to take responsibility for everything on himself called Eamonn.
Without spoiling the entire story, there's a lot of blood magic going on (mostly involving people who are not just restricted to Red and Eamonn cutting themselves) and also lots of the forest going a bit crazy for various reasons, both positive and negative. Red's sister is dragged into a conspiracy involving the religious practitioners of her country, supposedly in order to get Red back from the forest, but really for ulterior motives of their own.
I really wanted to like this book more than I did but found myself skimming chunks of it as the same things happened over and over again - character A is told not to do something but does it anyway, character B feels guilty about it even though it's clearly character A's fault for being a stubborn dumbass. Rinse and repeat. This is also one of those books where the world-building has been a bit over-egged and at times became semi-coherent as a result and that always has an impact on my ability to give a crap about what happens to the characters. I'm sure there will be people who'll absolutely adore this book but I'm not one of them. I might pick the next one up from the library if they get it but there's plenty of other stuff I'd prioritise reading first over that...
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm and Blood
Minor: Body horror
cammiem8's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.75
This book was interesting and kept me hooked but I felt it never quite lived up to its concept. Don’t be fooled by the title, the red riding hood connections are purely aesthetic and seem like a marketing gimmick. There are some really cool creepy images and some very intriguing bits of world building, so it’s a quick read despite being long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Sexual content and Death of parent
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Talk about an absolutely breathtaking book. The writing alone was enough to make me fall in love - and then you add a brilliant plot and swoon-worthy characters and it’s everything I could possibly ask for in a fantasy novel.
I was fascinated by the Beauty and the Beast-esque retelling that morphed into something entirely its own as the story went on. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect next and I loved every second of it. It was unpredictable and gripping!
The magic system was phenomenally creative. I mean, blood magic isn’t uncommon in fantasy - but blood and earth magic combined into something dark and vicious but also beautiful??? Now that is incredible!
I was absolutely shocked and pleasantly surprised to read a BatB retelling that didn't have a manipulative, possessive, or even abusive "beast" character. Eammon was a consent king and I appreciated every minute of it.
It got to the point where even when I would wind up slightly confused by what was happening, I still absolutely had to know what came next. It had me on the edge of my seat.
Now, I’m desperate to know what kind of wood and shadow will follow Red, Eammon, Neve, and the rest of the cast into the next book.
I was fascinated by the Beauty and the Beast-esque retelling that morphed into something entirely its own as the story went on. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect next and I loved every second of it. It was unpredictable and gripping!
The magic system was phenomenally creative. I mean, blood magic isn’t uncommon in fantasy - but blood and earth magic combined into something dark and vicious but also beautiful??? Now that is incredible!
I was absolutely shocked and pleasantly surprised to read a BatB retelling that didn't have a manipulative, possessive, or even abusive "beast" character. Eammon was a consent king and I appreciated every minute of it.
It got to the point where even when I would wind up slightly confused by what was happening, I still absolutely had to know what came next. It had me on the edge of my seat.
Now, I’m desperate to know what kind of wood and shadow will follow Red, Eammon, Neve, and the rest of the cast into the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, and Blood
Moderate: Torture and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing and Sexual content
naomisteele's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
3.25
this book suprised me in the best way possible! i was a bit hesitant to start it, but i’m really glad i did. the book took off at pretty fast pace, but did slow down a bit half way through. i think that the author did a really good job developing the different relationships between the main characters, and it was really fun to watch how far they all came by the end of the book! i didn’t like how repetitive some of the details in the book were, and i also think that the author stretched the book on a bit. there is a sequel (which i think could have been avoided), but i don’t know if i’m going to read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
nicolebooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood
mo345's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, and Blood
Moderate: Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment