Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by oflawandlibraries
Song of the Dark Wood by Sheila Masterson
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
"I have no power over anything in my life. I’ve never asked you for anything. Please, just let me make this choice for myself. Everything else in my life just happens to me, but this is something I could choose.”
✮ 3.5 out of 4 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the free ARC of this audiobook.
Rowan is the Red Maiden next in line to be sacrificed for the Wolf, the God of Death, to devour. None of the previous maidens have survived their five years of servitude, but Rowan is determined to change the bargain with the god and ensure her own survival; and save Aoife who’s to serve after Rowan.
But the God of Death isn’t what Rowan expected, and slowly Rowan learns how to free herself from others’ expectations. With the lurking pressure from the village as a deadly blight spreads and dark forces slowly growing stronger in the forest, time is running out. But with the growing attraction to the god, Rowan must make the hardest choice yet; to protect the village or to choose love.
The Red Riding Hood and Hades x Persephone theme of this book was one I couldn’t say no to. When I started getting into romantasy a few years back, I picked up For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten, because I loved the Red Riding Hood premise for a love story. It unfortunately disappointed me a lot. I knew that Song of the Dark Wood would be the redemption for the red riding hood love story I wanted, and I knew I had to pick it up.
In many regards, Song of the Dark Wood delivers the exact kind of romantasy story I wanted out of a Red Riding Hood romance. The blend with the Hades and Persephone elements makes this story exquisite to experience, and a lot of the groundwork for an amazing romance is laid out strongly from the beginning. Song of the Dark Wood might not be the most original story; a maiden chosen to be the sacrifice to some powerful man, misogynistic village leaders and a magical dark forest are all known elements, but they are delivered nicely packaged in this book, so I cannot complain; especially because it’s all elements I love when they’re present in a book.
When I reached the last 10% of this book, I did wonder how all of the things happening had been squeezed into this book. There was simply too many elements that the story tried to fit in, compared to the length of the book. Polishing the plot a little and removing some of the elements or simplifying them wouldn’t have hurt this book at all. Instead it’s almost drowning in all it’s trying to be, which hurts the enjoyment of the book.
My biggest problem with this story was the sexual assault threats looming around Rowan. In theory I don’t mind when a book presents a nasty older man who’s an absolute unworthy piece of shit as a threat, but the amount of space it took of this book absolutely hurt my enjoyment of it. It didn’t make the bond and trust between Rowan and Connor (the God of Death) seem genuine, and it didn’t feel like a natural progression of their relationship. The book is, however, labeled as dark and I was aware of this when starting this book. This might, however, be someone else’s cup of tea, and if so, this book will deliver.
I did get the audiobook version of this book, so it would feel wrong to not mention the narrators; Aoife McMahon and Dermot Magennis, both of whom did an amazing job with the narration of this book. They both fit their characters nicely, and made it that much easier to immerse myself in the whole story.
If you love a good romantasy story and wants something that feels very classic romantasy, while also presenting some dark elements, then I think this story might be for you.
✮ 3.5 out of 4 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the free ARC of this audiobook.
Rowan is the Red Maiden next in line to be sacrificed for the Wolf, the God of Death, to devour. None of the previous maidens have survived their five years of servitude, but Rowan is determined to change the bargain with the god and ensure her own survival; and save Aoife who’s to serve after Rowan.
But the God of Death isn’t what Rowan expected, and slowly Rowan learns how to free herself from others’ expectations. With the lurking pressure from the village as a deadly blight spreads and dark forces slowly growing stronger in the forest, time is running out. But with the growing attraction to the god, Rowan must make the hardest choice yet; to protect the village or to choose love.
The Red Riding Hood and Hades x Persephone theme of this book was one I couldn’t say no to. When I started getting into romantasy a few years back, I picked up For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten, because I loved the Red Riding Hood premise for a love story. It unfortunately disappointed me a lot. I knew that Song of the Dark Wood would be the redemption for the red riding hood love story I wanted, and I knew I had to pick it up.
In many regards, Song of the Dark Wood delivers the exact kind of romantasy story I wanted out of a Red Riding Hood romance. The blend with the Hades and Persephone elements makes this story exquisite to experience, and a lot of the groundwork for an amazing romance is laid out strongly from the beginning. Song of the Dark Wood might not be the most original story; a maiden chosen to be the sacrifice to some powerful man, misogynistic village leaders and a magical dark forest are all known elements, but they are delivered nicely packaged in this book, so I cannot complain; especially because it’s all elements I love when they’re present in a book.
When I reached the last 10% of this book, I did wonder how all of the things happening had been squeezed into this book. There was simply too many elements that the story tried to fit in, compared to the length of the book. Polishing the plot a little and removing some of the elements or simplifying them wouldn’t have hurt this book at all. Instead it’s almost drowning in all it’s trying to be, which hurts the enjoyment of the book.
My biggest problem with this story was the sexual assault threats looming around Rowan. In theory I don’t mind when a book presents a nasty older man who’s an absolute unworthy piece of shit as a threat, but the amount of space it took of this book absolutely hurt my enjoyment of it. It didn’t make the bond and trust between Rowan and Connor (the God of Death) seem genuine, and it didn’t feel like a natural progression of their relationship. The book is, however, labeled as dark and I was aware of this when starting this book. This might, however, be someone else’s cup of tea, and if so, this book will deliver.
I did get the audiobook version of this book, so it would feel wrong to not mention the narrators; Aoife McMahon and Dermot Magennis, both of whom did an amazing job with the narration of this book. They both fit their characters nicely, and made it that much easier to immerse myself in the whole story.
If you love a good romantasy story and wants something that feels very classic romantasy, while also presenting some dark elements, then I think this story might be for you.
Content Warnings
Sexual assault threats