Reviews

Wolf of Withervale by Joaquín Baldwin

garett_hunt's review

adventurous slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

rocket_dog's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

4.25

werewolfhitchiker's review

5.0

This feels like the fantasy doorstoppers I loved when I was younger and had more spare time. In the line of LotR, WoT, etc. It's got all the classic elements: the meticulous worldmaps, the conlangs, the fantasy races and the uniquely fantastical landscapes and societies that follow from it's own magic system, except meant for me--this is a queer story, explicitly and unapologetically so--in a way that I've never seen from the genre before. And it's neither the unrealistic straightwashed saccharinity that tries to pretend homophobia never existed and that there's nothing more to the queer experience than you can learn from watching Drag Race, nor is it the trauma porn where no gay character can reach the end of the book without dying tragically. Things get to be messy, and dirty, and imperfect, and that's ok.

chronohart's review

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

kilgorewolfe's review

adventurous emotional hopeful sad 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

3.75

tiller's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

4.5

I loved this book. A queer fantasy story with a diverse set of characters with diverse bodies.

It really takes off once the adventure begins, and then builds the world while it moves the story forward. A mix of adventure, brave new worlds and romance.  I saw relationships I’ve had in this book. I saw myself in it too at times.

I struggled with the violence and ruthlessness of the villains, but that’s simply who I am as a person, and telling of the degrees of their villainy.

A must read for any gay bears, and for any furries. [any  gay bears who are furries- call me]

Moon light. Stars guide. 💜

isomorphism's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

zeravos's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

The first 100 or so pages are a bit hard to get through, as the book is set in a very, very detailed world. More books are being written and I have high hopes for the next ones. As this being the first book, it is primarily lore and world building, but the story is just too good to pass on. I found myself not being able to put this book down when I hadn’t touched a book in months! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Animal cruelty, War, and Animal death

Moderate: Blood, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Homophobia, Murder, Sexual content, Outing, Death, Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, War, Body shaming, Child abuse, Grief, Gore, Hate crime, and Torture

leeleet's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

This was a great debut. The world building was expansive and intricate, the characters had great growth and motivations. I loved Lago and Alaia. I hope book two gives more of her. I liked the little sprinkle of romance here and there for the main character. I liked his final relationship. The world map is gorgeous and I love a good world map. The book dragged a little as there was the obligatory training montage and in-depth discussion of the history of the world. I viscerally hated every Negian, which I’m sure that’s what the author was going for. So it worked. Not going to lie, I might have to go back annotate in case a lot of that pops up in the next book. But I still really liked this book.

alice_clawford's review against another edition

adventurous 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

5.0