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bookishchef's review
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
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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: Self harm
Moderate: Body horror, Animal cruelty, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Bullying, Animal death, Xenophobia, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Kidnapping, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Sexual content, War, Vomit, Child abuse, and Genocide
geilie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, Torture, Vomit, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Xenophobia, War, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Antisemitism, and Racism
kylasmv15's review
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Religious bigotry, Body horror, and Gore
Moderate: Vomit, Death of parent, Self harm, Grief, Violence, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
spellboundchapters's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
This book reminded me why I like slow paced books and slow-burn romances. ♥️ But don’t be fooled, although the romance occupies quite a big part of the story, it mainly focuses on heavier topics such as ethnic cleansing, religious persecution, or generational trauma.
Even though this book takes its sweet time, it manages to never be boring; and I feel like the sudden change in the pacing made the action scenes even more intense and unexpected whenever they happened.
My favourite thing in this book was probably the addition of all the myths and legends of all the different faiths. This added so much dimension to the story. And I appreciate how they permitted to discuss religions (both as faiths and institutions), and more precisely the similarities between different religions, without it feeling forced.
The entire worldbuilding was fascinating — a whole magic system based on body horror was not something I ever thought I would want more of in my fantasy stories, but I weirdly enjoyed it. It was so different from what I’m used to reading!
The romance was a delight to read. Finally, an enemies-to-lovers where they’re actually enemies at the start! 😂 The tension and pining between Évike and Gáspár… *chef’s kiss* is all I have to say; if you love Six of Crows’s Helnik you will probably love these two as well. 🥺
Took a star off because some of the writing was sometimes a bit repetitive, and because I didn’t feel like Évike was behaving like someone who has been bullied and abused during the majority of her life. And it featured one of my least favourite trope ever: the abused sacrificing themselves for their abusers and thinking things like "but I know they still loved me even if they never told me or showed me in any way" nope nope nopeee.
Even though this book takes its sweet time, it manages to never be boring; and I feel like the sudden change in the pacing made the action scenes even more intense and unexpected whenever they happened.
My favourite thing in this book was probably the addition of all the myths and legends of all the different faiths. This added so much dimension to the story. And I appreciate how they permitted to discuss religions (both as faiths and institutions), and more precisely the similarities between different religions, without it feeling forced.
The entire worldbuilding was fascinating — a whole magic system based on body horror was not something I ever thought I would want more of in my fantasy stories, but I weirdly enjoyed it. It was so different from what I’m used to reading!
The romance was a delight to read. Finally, an enemies-to-lovers where they’re actually enemies at the start! 😂 The tension and pining between Évike and Gáspár… *chef’s kiss* is all I have to say; if you love Six of Crows’s Helnik you will probably love these two as well. 🥺
Took a star off because some of the writing was sometimes a bit repetitive, and because I didn’t feel like Évike was behaving like someone who has been bullied and abused during the majority of her life. And it featured one of my least favourite trope ever: the abused sacrificing themselves for their abusers and thinking things like "but I know they still loved me even if they never told me or showed me in any way" nope nope nopeee.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Self harm, Antisemitism, Genocide, Physical abuse, and Vomit
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
wolfinthestars's review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Religious bigotry, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Self harm, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Genocide, Bullying, Colonisation, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism
onceuponabookcase's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid is a book I've been looking forward to for quite a while. A high fantasy inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology, it sounded right up my street. But while I enjoyed it for the most part, I didn't really love it.
The premise of the story is fascinating, and I enjoyed getting to learn about the world, and Évike and Gáspár. I really liked both characters; they're layered, complicated and flawed, and really believable. They're both conflicted in their own way; As a Patritian, Gáspár has been brought up to hate the Pagans, with their demon gods and atrocious magic, but Évike has knowledge that Gáspár needs in order to try and defeat his zealot, power-hungry half-brother Nandor - he needs her help. Similarly, Évike has always feared Patritians, and the Woodsmen specifically, for their hatred of their kind, and the fact that every few years, they take a woman from her village to the King of Régország, and ultimately to her death, but if Nandor becomes too powerful, he will exterminate the Pagans and the Yehuli. Neither of them have a choice; the King might be terrible, but he's the lesser of two evils.
I absolutely loved seeing both Évike and Gáspár grow as they spent more time together, and learnt more about each other, their lives and their faiths. What Reid has to say about faith and religion in The Wolf and the Woodsmen is really fascinating. It looks at personal faith versus religion. While the organised religion might seem absolutely disgusting, an individual's personal faith and how it guides them isn't necessarily bad. Gáspár's faith is true and genuine; despite what he's been taught to believe and think, it's not about judging and looking down on the Pagans. His faith is strong and is his moral compass. There is right and there is wrong. What struck me was not what he considered wrong, but what he considered right, and the moral standard he measures himself against. I didn't agree with all his views or the decisions he made, but at his heart he was a decent guy - despite the obvious heinous aspects of his religion, as seen through Évike's eyes.
But they both begin to question everything they've been told, brought up to believe and expect about the other. Évike learns about Gáspár's faith, and Gáspár learns about Évike's life and beliefs and stories. They get to know each other as individual people, and it turns their worlds upside down. There are definite questions over some of the darker sides of each, but neither is as bad as the other expects, and they become even more conflicted. The Patritians and the Pagans are not monoliths, and not everything they've been told is true - at least not of everyone. Similarly, it's a look at the beliefs about others you've been taught versus experience of those very people.
And it's this that sparks the romance, but to be honest, there isn't much in the way of sparks. I really liked both characters, but I just didn't feel or believe the romance. I could believe them discovering the other wasn't who they expected, and those barriers coming down lead to an acceptance that eased their alliance somewhat (though only somewhat), and maybe even camaraderie, and eventually friends, but not the romance. While I really enjoyed how this added a further dimension to the internal conflict each of them felt about betraying their own, I just didn't see when or how they fell in love; I don't think this aspect of the story was developed enough.
And it's probably to do with my bigger issue with the story. I was unaware that The Wolf and the Woodsman was a standalone novel. Historically, I do not tend to get on with standalone fantasies. The first half of the book was very stop/start, which was really frustrating. Despite being 418 pages, I feel the story should have been longer, or split into a duology maybe, so more time could be spent on the events that "halt" the story. While Gáspár and Évike are on their journey, they stop a few times, meet new people, have to deal with something, and then carry on. I'm not a fan of books that stop/start stop/start, I feel it stops the story flowing. But rather feeling like these events were unnecessary and shouldn't have taken place, I feel they were too brief; it made them feel pointless, but they really weren't. They were important moments in the development of the relationship between Évike and Gáspár; they allow for the two to learn certain things about the other, or saw a different side to them. But they went by too quickly, and then they were off traveling again. I also feel it was somewhat unfair to us to meet some really interesting characters, to then leave them so quickly.
But once we're past the halfway mark, and the two reach Király Szek, home of Gáspár and the King, things really start to pick up, and we get to see more strongly the horrors of this world, and of the Patritians specifically. The hate they have for people not like themselves is appalling, and the way they treat them is shocking. The King is despicable - treating those who aren't "pure" Régország Patritians terribly - but his son Nandor is horrifying - who would kill them all. Neither are good for all the people of Régország - the Pagans and the Yehuli, as well as the Patritians - but the King is the lesser of the two evils. Gáspár is trying to save a father who abused him in order to save the people he has been raised to hate.
The second half is truly epic; action and danger, with a much faster pace and raised tensions. The story really shone here, and Reid's skill really comes into it's own. However, once the story ends, there were certain things that disappointed me. I have questions around world building, Patritian magic specfically, and how and why it works for a particular person, and there was a whole subplot that actually came to nothing in the end. Just a few niggles that had me asking why. But I did enjoy the book as a whole, and I will be reading Reid's next novel, Juniper & Thorn, but I do feel The Wolf and the Woodsman left a lot to be desired. A lot of people loved this book, though, so do read other reviews before deciding whether or not to read it.
The premise of the story is fascinating, and I enjoyed getting to learn about the world, and Évike and Gáspár. I really liked both characters; they're layered, complicated and flawed, and really believable. They're both conflicted in their own way; As a Patritian, Gáspár has been brought up to hate the Pagans, with their demon gods and atrocious magic, but Évike has knowledge that Gáspár needs in order to try and defeat his zealot, power-hungry half-brother Nandor - he needs her help. Similarly, Évike has always feared Patritians, and the Woodsmen specifically, for their hatred of their kind, and the fact that every few years, they take a woman from her village to the King of Régország, and ultimately to her death, but if Nandor becomes too powerful, he will exterminate the Pagans and the Yehuli. Neither of them have a choice; the King might be terrible, but he's the lesser of two evils.
I absolutely loved seeing both Évike and Gáspár grow as they spent more time together, and learnt more about each other, their lives and their faiths. What Reid has to say about faith and religion in The Wolf and the Woodsmen is really fascinating. It looks at personal faith versus religion. While the organised religion might seem absolutely disgusting, an individual's personal faith and how it guides them isn't necessarily bad. Gáspár's faith is true and genuine; despite what he's been taught to believe and think, it's not about judging and looking down on the Pagans. His faith is strong and is his moral compass. There is right and there is wrong. What struck me was not what he considered wrong, but what he considered right, and the moral standard he measures himself against. I didn't agree with all his views or the decisions he made, but at his heart he was a decent guy - despite the obvious heinous aspects of his religion, as seen through Évike's eyes.
But they both begin to question everything they've been told, brought up to believe and expect about the other. Évike learns about Gáspár's faith, and Gáspár learns about Évike's life and beliefs and stories. They get to know each other as individual people, and it turns their worlds upside down. There are definite questions over some of the darker sides of each, but neither is as bad as the other expects, and they become even more conflicted. The Patritians and the Pagans are not monoliths, and not everything they've been told is true - at least not of everyone. Similarly, it's a look at the beliefs about others you've been taught versus experience of those very people.
And it's this that sparks the romance, but to be honest, there isn't much in the way of sparks. I really liked both characters, but I just didn't feel or believe the romance. I could believe them discovering the other wasn't who they expected, and those barriers coming down lead to an acceptance that eased their alliance somewhat (though only somewhat), and maybe even camaraderie, and eventually friends, but not the romance. While I really enjoyed how this added a further dimension to the internal conflict each of them felt about betraying their own, I just didn't see when or how they fell in love; I don't think this aspect of the story was developed enough.
And it's probably to do with my bigger issue with the story. I was unaware that The Wolf and the Woodsman was a standalone novel. Historically, I do not tend to get on with standalone fantasies. The first half of the book was very stop/start, which was really frustrating. Despite being 418 pages, I feel the story should have been longer, or split into a duology maybe, so more time could be spent on the events that "halt" the story. While Gáspár and Évike are on their journey, they stop a few times, meet new people, have to deal with something, and then carry on. I'm not a fan of books that stop/start stop/start, I feel it stops the story flowing. But rather feeling like these events were unnecessary and shouldn't have taken place, I feel they were too brief; it made them feel pointless, but they really weren't. They were important moments in the development of the relationship between Évike and Gáspár; they allow for the two to learn certain things about the other, or saw a different side to them. But they went by too quickly, and then they were off traveling again. I also feel it was somewhat unfair to us to meet some really interesting characters, to then leave them so quickly.
But once we're past the halfway mark, and the two reach Király Szek, home of Gáspár and the King, things really start to pick up, and we get to see more strongly the horrors of this world, and of the Patritians specifically. The hate they have for people not like themselves is appalling, and the way they treat them is shocking. The King is despicable - treating those who aren't "pure" Régország Patritians terribly - but his son Nandor is horrifying - who would kill them all. Neither are good for all the people of Régország - the Pagans and the Yehuli, as well as the Patritians - but the King is the lesser of the two evils. Gáspár is trying to save a father who abused him in order to save the people he has been raised to hate.
The second half is truly epic; action and danger, with a much faster pace and raised tensions. The story really shone here, and Reid's skill really comes into it's own. However, once the story ends, there were certain things that disappointed me. I have questions around world building, Patritian magic specfically, and how and why it works for a particular person, and there was a whole subplot that actually came to nothing in the end. Just a few niggles that had me asking why. But I did enjoy the book as a whole, and I will be reading Reid's next novel, Juniper & Thorn, but I do feel The Wolf and the Woodsman left a lot to be desired. A lot of people loved this book, though, so do read other reviews before deciding whether or not to read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Racism, Self harm, and Torture
Minor: Sexual assault and Vomit
This book also contains violent, visceral descriptions; violence against women; mutilation; and self-mutilation.cemeterygay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I am so immensely happy I read this as my first fantasy of the year. If you're looking for a phenomenal fantasy steeped in aspects of Jewish and Hungarian folklore with a heavy dose of gore and beautiful prose, I could not recommend this book enough. This book is just a spectacular debut for Ava Reid.
The beautiful lyrical writing style works so brilliantly with both the quick pacing of the story and the horror elements so beautifully to create an almost gruesome fairytale-esque vibe. While some of the gore and horror elements can be quite intense the writing style almost happens to spin it into a softer vibe along the lines of darker fairytales and folk stories like Cinderella or Beowulf. The choice of POV worked wonderfully in tandem with both the writing style and pacing. As the pacing of the book is just so quick limiting the book to a first-person POV helps immensely as you are often learning aspects of the world as Evike learns them or are having them gradually recounted by her which helps make the quick pacing feasible. It also helps to establish a lot more about Evike as a person and to better illustrate the many internal conflicts she was dealing with which allowed the lyrical writing style to not only just be pleasing to read but to give it purpose by helping the reader to better understand Evike and how she thinks.
That brings me to Evike as a character. She is such a brilliant protagonist who is given both great space to grow and falter and really delve into her internal struggles of cultural identity, grief, and morality while confronting the horrors of religious persecution and colonization that she faces. Evike's deep empathy and sense of internal morality colliding with both external concepts of morality and her own grief and suffering is so interesting to read as it handled with such grace and sensitivity. Watching Evike grapple and find peace with her struggles of religious and ethnic identity is so deeply interesting and satisfying. The ultimate trajectory of her story is intensely satisfying and works so beautifully with the themes of the story.
The relationship between Evike and Gaspar is so well-handled as is Gaspar as a character. I'm not a big enemies to lovers person but this, this is the blueprint for how to effectively write an enemies to lovers story. Watching both Evike and Gaspar consistently challenge each other's views on the world, the future of the country, and religion was so deeply fascinating and greatly helps the exploration of religious persecution, specifically both towards Jewish folk and as a result of Christianity, as well as the many contradictions and complexities of Christian imperialism. I was so deeply invested in watching these characters grow from enemies to reluctant allies into more and to watch them individually grow.
I also need to highlight to how much Evike's relationship with the Yehuli including her father really adds to the story. Watching Evike explore what is essentially her Jewish identity and reconnect with her family is not only incredibly heartwarming but is such a nice aspect of the story that really helps portray an amazing example of resistance against oppression. It's such a nice contrast from earlier parts of the book in both tone and character development. It really helps provide a lot of resolution to prior conflicts and questions raised in the story specifically with Evike and really gives a broader look at discussions of religion and survival in the face of Christian imperialism.
The last relationship I need to highlight is between Evike and her village. This is where a lot of the conversations of trauma and grief really shine. Watching how Evike changes her relationships and views about other people from her village is just very compelling and really goes hand in hand with how her views on her own identity, religion, and the past trauma she's suffered change. Watching her heal from past trauma while also participating in community healing as well is such a nice departure from other books. Also just seeing how much those relationships affect her other relationships with other people, her own religious identity, as well as her own sense morality is such a needed addition to the book.
The exploration of both Nandor and the magic system is just absolutely phenomenal. Nandor as a character is so deeply entwined with the magic system and the exploration of it. The way Nandor represents Christian hypocrisy and imperialism is so interesting to watch play out. He does an amazing job at really becoming an imposing unlikeable character with a very real and consistent, but not true, view on the world and religion. Nandor is so heavily used as an exploration of how different groups gain access to magic and thus gain political power and also just the way people practice religion. Watching Nandor, the Woodsmen, and even Evike sacrifice to gain power so clearly parallels a lot of the conversations in the book about each religious system and the contradictions within each's religious beliefs and practice. In general, seeing this concept used to discuss how Christianity adopted Pagan practices while also decrying them to gain support is fascinating and so well-executed. Even the discussions of how each in-text religious group view each other parallels real life experiences so brilliantly.
I just want to thank my friend Bri for getting me this book, as I think this is a book that will really stick with me for a long time.
The beautiful lyrical writing style works so brilliantly with both the quick pacing of the story and the horror elements so beautifully to create an almost gruesome fairytale-esque vibe. While some of the gore and horror elements can be quite intense the writing style almost happens to spin it into a softer vibe along the lines of darker fairytales and folk stories like Cinderella or Beowulf. The choice of POV worked wonderfully in tandem with both the writing style and pacing. As the pacing of the book is just so quick limiting the book to a first-person POV helps immensely as you are often learning aspects of the world as Evike learns them or are having them gradually recounted by her which helps make the quick pacing feasible. It also helps to establish a lot more about Evike as a person and to better illustrate the many internal conflicts she was dealing with which allowed the lyrical writing style to not only just be pleasing to read but to give it purpose by helping the reader to better understand Evike and how she thinks.
That brings me to Evike as a character. She is such a brilliant protagonist who is given both great space to grow and falter and really delve into her internal struggles of cultural identity, grief, and morality while confronting the horrors of religious persecution and colonization that she faces. Evike's deep empathy and sense of internal morality colliding with both external concepts of morality and her own grief and suffering is so interesting to read as it handled with such grace and sensitivity. Watching Evike grapple and find peace with her struggles of religious and ethnic identity is so deeply interesting and satisfying. The ultimate trajectory of her story is intensely satisfying and works so beautifully with the themes of the story.
The relationship between Evike and Gaspar is so well-handled as is Gaspar as a character.
I also need to highlight to how much Evike's relationship with the Yehuli including her father really adds to the story. Watching Evike explore what is essentially her Jewish identity and reconnect with her family is not only incredibly heartwarming but is such a nice aspect of the story that really helps portray an amazing example of resistance against oppression. It's such a nice contrast from earlier parts of the book in both tone and character development. It really helps provide a lot of resolution to prior conflicts and questions raised in the story specifically with Evike and really gives a broader look at discussions of religion and survival in the face of Christian imperialism.
The last relationship I need to highlight is between Evike and her village. This is where a lot of the conversations of trauma and grief really shine. Watching how Evike changes her relationships and views about other people from her village is just very compelling and really goes hand in hand with how her views on her own identity, religion, and the past trauma she's suffered change. Watching her heal from past trauma while also participating in community healing as well is such a nice departure from other books. Also just seeing how much those relationships affect her other relationships with other people, her own religious identity, as well as her own sense morality is such a needed addition to the book.
The exploration of both Nandor and the magic system is just absolutely phenomenal. Nandor as a character is so deeply entwined with the magic system and the exploration of it. The way Nandor represents Christian hypocrisy and imperialism is so interesting to watch play out. He does an amazing job at really becoming an imposing unlikeable character with a very real and consistent, but not true, view on the world and religion. Nandor is so heavily used as an exploration of how different groups gain access to magic and thus gain political power and also just the way people practice religion. Watching Nandor, the Woodsmen, and even Evike sacrifice to gain power so clearly parallels a lot of the conversations in the book about each religious system and the contradictions within each's religious beliefs and practice. In general, seeing this concept used to discuss how Christianity adopted Pagan practices while also decrying them to gain support is fascinating and so well-executed. Even the discussions of how each in-text religious group view each other parallels real life experiences so brilliantly.
I just want to thank my friend Bri for getting me this book, as I think this is a book that will really stick with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Colonisation, Body horror, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Vomit, Violence, War, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Grief and Child abuse
Additional CW: Colorism (moderate), hunting, frequent discussions of genocide (not actually acted upon), Neglect (moderate), Disowning (graphic), Imprisonment (fantasy), revolutionemilyharmonica's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Gore, and Torture
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Vomit, and War
ehmannky'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think that you can generally guess the broad strokes of the story (the beats of Évike and Gáspár's relationship felt very by the book at times), but the world building and prose is so fabulous that I loved following the story anyways. I am very pro-female protagonists who have a bent towards "unlikability," and Évike is so viscous and passionate that I just deeply enjoyed it. It's a really great world infused with Jewish and Hungarian mythos, set in a creepy world full of dark forests and bitter cold, and protagonists who love their homeland and peoples.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, Death, Gore, and Self harm
Moderate: Xenophobia, Torture, Antisemitism, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Minor: War, Vomit, and Death of parent