A review by anastasiamakes
Wayward by Hannah Mathewson

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I read Witherward a while ago, so I may be misremembering, but didn't that end ||with the brother arriving back on the scene|| - why does Wayward not continue that storyline in any way? In fact, it takes place prior to Witherward, with a couple overlapping sire characters, but no real links in. This just kinda soured the whole experience for me as I was constantly looking for connections and waiting for things to click - I wish the promo materials had been clearer that this is an "in the same world as" book, not a sequel/prequel.

Aside from this, I'm not big on either the mystery or horror genres, which this felt partially inspired by. You may get more mileage out of it if those are styles you like.

The setting continues to be a fascinating one, some of the descriptions of the magic were lovely, and it was a fun, quick read - but I just didn't particularly click with either the characters or plot.