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A review by thebookishworm
For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I had high hopes for this book, and I wanted to like this book more than I did, which is why the reality of this book is so disappointing.
I think the two major things working against this book were the world-building and the pacing. I would have appreciated more information on how the magic worked, why they even want the Kings to return, how the monsters got there, etc. Literally the only thing that was thoroughly explained was that the trees need blood to stay strong and will do anything to have it.
l think the thing that worked against this book was the pacing. Over halfway through the book, I was still confused about what was happening, and why I should care. It felt like until almost the 70% mark the entire book was just Eammon being like "sorry, I have to bleed all over these trees," and Red being like "I have this freaky power and I miss my sister." And then, in the final 30%, all of the pieces slot together and is sorta-kinda-not-at-all resolved. There needed to be more action and plot beyond just bleeding over different trees for 280 pages of the story. I think the interludes with Neve and what was happening back in Valleyda was what kept the plot moving along, and because of that, I think this book would have benefitted from being told from primarily from Neve's perspective, with the interludes coming from Red. I get why the author chose to tell this first story from Red's perspective, in order to set up the world and show how the myths were wrong and warped, but, if that was the case, there should have been more going on during Red's chapters.
I think the two major things working against this book were the world-building and the pacing. I would have appreciated more information on how the magic worked, why they even want the Kings to return, how the monsters got there, etc. Literally the only thing that was thoroughly explained was that the trees need blood to stay strong and will do anything to have it.
l think the thing that worked against this book was the pacing. Over halfway through the book, I was still confused about what was happening, and why I should care. It felt like until almost the 70% mark the entire book was just Eammon being like "sorry, I have to bleed all over these trees," and Red being like "I have this freaky power and I miss my sister." And then, in the final 30%, all of the pieces slot together and is sorta-kinda-not-at-all resolved. There needed to be more action and plot beyond just bleeding over different trees for 280 pages of the story. I think the interludes with Neve and what was happening back in Valleyda was what kept the plot moving along, and because of that, I think this book would have benefitted from being told from primarily from Neve's perspective, with the interludes coming from Red. I get why the author chose to tell this first story from Red's perspective, in order to set up the world and show how the myths were wrong and warped, but, if that was the case, there should have been more going on during Red's chapters.
Also, every character in this book was so hellbent on either being a martyr or saving somebody who didn't want/need saving, and that got annoying quickly, especially at the end. Eammon and Red's eventual romance and get-together was done way too quickly. We see them reluctantly become friends but no tension is built between them to explain how we got from that to this all-sacrificing love. And (this is a minor, petty gripe) their hookup is way too tame - if you're going to make me sit through hundreds of pages of nothing happening, at least give me more than just a fade-to-black sex scene that leaves it murky on if they even had sex.
It became pretty clear early on that this book was just a setup to a sequel following Neve's story, but I think in order for that method to be successful, you need to make this first book compelling enough to make me want to read the next book in the series, and, for now, I don't think that was accomplished for me. If the purpose of this book was just to set up the series, it could have been a novella and not over 400 pages, of which only the last ~100 really did or revealed anything. If you're committed to plowing through this one to get the backstory built up and then moving on to the sequel once it is published, I think you'll enjoy this book, but otherwise, I would save your time and read/watch a spoiler-y review of this book and then just read the second book when it comes out.
I will say, for all its flaws, the writing in this book is absolutely beautiful. There are some really amazing lines in here and Whitten does a great job building a rich atmosphere.
I will say, for all its flaws, the writing in this book is absolutely beautiful. There are some really amazing lines in here and Whitten does a great job building a rich atmosphere.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Blood