Scan barcode
liteartha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
ehh. this is a tricky one to rate. from a prose standpoint, this would've been a four star read. i liked the dark folktale atmosphere, found the two leads likeable, and did enjoy the hungarian and jewish cultural aspects very much (though i have it on good authority that the brief line of turkish in this book is some mild bullshit lol)
the frequent weaving in of storytelling drew a lot of focus from the book's plot and politics and the pacing really suffered for it, especially in the latter third. i also really wished there'd been more establishing of how various sorts of power and magic worked within this world and found the relationships difficult to believeparticularly how évike seemed hardly to think of boróka (her one apparent friend) after leaving, the evolution of her relationship with gáspár which at once seemed to have a lot of forced tension and very little real development before they loved each other, and the relationship with her father and the other yehuli that felt thoroughly under-explored
overall, a promising debut novel but not quite all i'd been hoping for
p.s. gáspár is like a soft boi matthias helvar meets prince zuko and i'm not mad about it
the frequent weaving in of storytelling drew a lot of focus from the book's plot and politics and the pacing really suffered for it, especially in the latter third. i also really wished there'd been more establishing of how various sorts of power and magic worked within this world and found the relationships difficult to believe
overall, a promising debut novel but not quite all i'd been hoping for
p.s. gáspár is like a soft boi matthias helvar meets prince zuko and i'm not mad about it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Gore, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
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
forthesanityof1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I don't know what it is about this book, but I was not able to get into it at all. I was so excited to read it and hears a lot of praising words about it (nothing in detail) for a debut so I picked it up ASAP and started it.
I honestly think it might be me with this one, but I could not bond with the characters at all. That's not usually an issue, but I was so apathetic and downright irritated at some points that it took me well over a month to finish this. The MC was...complicated, the pacing was strange to me, the love interest was not interesting outside of the religious/moral division (which was one part of the book extremely well-done), the plot was not what I expected and at times did not make any sense, and the antagonist needed some developing to really fulfill how terrifying he could have been. There were some plot points that went over my head and sometimes the MC brought up issues at very odd times, especially with Katalin (spelling??). I would like to think this was all intentional, but some of it I think was more a by-product of poor writing and editing. I'll be checking out her other works, but I would not recommend this unless religious divide being central to the story is your thing.
One major positive: the author has a beautiful way with prose! A little too much sometimes (trying to draw a scene into a specific emotion when the actual content doesn't reflect it) but nice nonetheless!
I honestly think it might be me with this one, but I could not bond with the characters at all. That's not usually an issue, but I was so apathetic and downright irritated at some points that it took me well over a month to finish this. The MC was...complicated, the pacing was strange to me, the love interest was not interesting outside of the religious/moral division (which was one part of the book extremely well-done), the plot was not what I expected and at times did not make any sense, and the antagonist needed some developing to really fulfill how terrifying he could have been. There were some plot points that went over my head and sometimes the MC brought up issues at very odd times, especially with Katalin (spelling??). I would like to think this was all intentional, but some of it I think was more a by-product of poor writing and editing. I'll be checking out her other works, but I would not recommend this unless religious divide being central to the story is your thing.
One major positive: the author has a beautiful way with prose! A little too much sometimes (trying to draw a scene into a specific emotion when the actual content doesn't reflect it) but nice nonetheless!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Violence
thehappylittleelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
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
4.75
An entrancing adventure filled with unique lore and desperate internal struggles. If you like the enemies-to-lovers trope with a strong-willed female lead, you'll love this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Genocide, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Body horror, Child abuse, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, Gore, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Sexual content, War, and Death of parent
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 against another edition
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
sarahdh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
A really interesting read! Very new for me but I enjoyed the characters and the storytelling. It did drag a little for me and I do think it could have been condensed a little. However, the last portion of the book picked up and I liked the ending. Could have done without some of the more gory aspects though. Overall it was an interesting enemies to lovers fantasy standalone and contained some really fascinating mythology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Abandonment and Child abuse
howl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
i was disappointed to discover that this book is young adult in wolf’s clothing: a supposed adult fantasy novel that reads like innumerable young adult science fiction/fantasy novels i’ve encountered before, with heavy-handed first-person narration, an isolated heroine besieged by mean girls (even though they’re all supposed to be 25), and a scary magic man (who turns out to be a prince, of course) with whom she goes on an adventure while they grudgingly fall in love. once i got over my initial irritation i did start to enjoy it quite a bit, enough that i actually looked forward to reading more. the combination of first-person and present tense was still rough, and this book contains an astonishing number of similes (a near-constant distraction), but overall i enjoyed the dangerous traipse through the countryside and the snare of politics at the capital. i also didn’t really mind the romance, formulaic as it was; unrealistic romance can be fun to read, and i can definitely see why certain tropes therein are so popular. i’m often put off by m/f enemies-to-lovers if the man is too much of an asshole, but i didn’t think this was too bad compared to some other examples i’ve encountered. ultimately, however, i thought the best part of the novel may have been the heroine’s reconnection with her jewish heritage; it was so lovingly described and it imparted the most positive emotion i felt while reading. other aspects i found effective were some of the more gruesome surprises this book had in store (perhaps the only way it really asserted itself as adult besides the characters’ ages) and the integration of folktales that prefigured certain events. the latter reminded me of the bear and the nightingale, a comparison made by the publisher which otherwise fell a little short for me, besides the mystical eastern european setting and the fact that there is one character who seemed to have been very heavily inspired by bear’s konstantin: nandor, a blue-eyed, stunningly beautiful, and charismatic zealot buoyed by a larger supernatural power. overall it was a decent reading experience despite the flaws in the writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content
geekysasha's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Body horror, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Minor: Death of parent and Genocide
Antisemitism (a fantasy version of it) and religious bigotry are among the obstacles the characters face in this story, but the story itself is not.sarahholliday's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
In this bloody, visceral fantasy, author Ava Reid draws on Jewish mythology and Hungarian history to construct a strange-yet-familiar world in which religious zealotry and political intrigue take center stage.
Évike is a brash, impulsive heroine with a surprisingly compassionate and vulnerable underbelly. I loved her almost immediately. It took me a bit longer to warm to Gáspár, with his scowls and judgements, but Reid does a wonderful job of slowly revealing the figure of a young man desperate to do the right thing while healing from a lifetime of pain and isolation. The two make a formidable and entertaining team, and the slow-burn romance between them is based on intellectual chemistry as much as physical attraction.
The nuance that Reid offers when it comes to faith, religious devotion, zealotry, and power is impressive. I always enjoy stories that reveal the chaos and tenuousness of political stability, particularly in moments of revolts or transitions of power, and The Wolf and the Woodsman delivers on that front. It's also unusual for so many different magic systems to exist in a single fantasy world, but it allowed Reid to examine the malleability of faith without having to dig into questions of theology.
Overall, The Wolf and the Woodsman is an intelligent, haunting, beautifully written story by an #OwnVoices author that contributes to the much-needed diversification of the fantasy genre. The folklore-style telling & multiple magic systems can be difficult to follow at times, but the novel as a whole shines through these rough patches.
Évike is a brash, impulsive heroine with a surprisingly compassionate and vulnerable underbelly. I loved her almost immediately. It took me a bit longer to warm to Gáspár, with his scowls and judgements, but Reid does a wonderful job of slowly revealing the figure of a young man desperate to do the right thing while healing from a lifetime of pain and isolation. The two make a formidable and entertaining team, and the slow-burn romance between them is based on intellectual chemistry as much as physical attraction.
The nuance that Reid offers when it comes to faith, religious devotion, zealotry, and power is impressive. I always enjoy stories that reveal the chaos and tenuousness of political stability, particularly in moments of revolts or transitions of power, and The Wolf and the Woodsman delivers on that front. It's also unusual for so many different magic systems to exist in a single fantasy world, but it allowed Reid to examine the malleability of faith without having to dig into questions of theology.
Overall, The Wolf and the Woodsman is an intelligent, haunting, beautifully written story by an #OwnVoices author that contributes to the much-needed diversification of the fantasy genre. The folklore-style telling & multiple magic systems can be difficult to follow at times, but the novel as a whole shines through these rough patches.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Gore, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse