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A review by littlebirdbooks
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
5.0
Firstly, a huge thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
CW: slavery, suicide, domestic violence, rape, murder, sex trafficking
I have been dying to read this novel since I heard about it last year. Pompeii is somewhere that I have always been fascinated by, so I was thrilled to see that Harper has brought so many frogmen women to life, all based on graffiti at the Lupanar.
All of the women in the novel were brilliantly crafted, each one had a unique story and personality that truly brought the novel to life. It's so impressive how Harper portrays these women as normal friends, even though the situations that have led them all to meet and work together are far from normal. Although the subject matter of the novel is heavy to say the least, the women’s interactions with each other were still lovely to read. To picture them laughing and joking together to get them through the days and nights was lovely. It also made these scenes even more bittersweet and powerful when you are reminded of the situation that they're in.
Amara was such a perfect protagonist for this novel, even if, as a character, she was imperfect and had flaws. I loved and admired her loyalty to her friends as well as her determination to be free - even if some of the means she went to were very troublesome. I also loved Dido and seeing her grow over the course of the novel. Victoria, on the other hand, was not shy at all and truly knew how to play the game and yet, there were moments where Harper showed us the scared and vulnerable side to her.
What surprised me the most about the novel was the fact I found it very difficult to hate Felix, the owner of the brothel. Yes he's abhorrent who does, and says, terrible things and yet he is so complex and you occasionally get glimpses into different sides of him. They are never enough to make him as likeable as the women but enough that you wonder how he became the way he did. In fact a lot of the recurring male characters were rarely portrayed as the villains which was such an interesting choice, but one that made you take a deeper look into the society as a whole and that not everyone or every action could easily be categorised as good or evil.
The pacing of this novel was brilliant, going from settling the reader into the day to day lies of these women to something more plot driven. I could have easily read another 400 pages of their lives and not be bored. There are some heavy and heartbreaking scenes but everything has been done with a purpose. Whilst this novel does focus on slaves in a brothel, Harper has carefully considered each scene and only gives sex the briefest of torches when truly allows you to focus on the character.
Overall, this is a fantastic and powerful novel in many ways. All the women have easily worked their way into my heart and I'm so grateful to Harper for introducing the world to the possible women at the Lupanar.
CW: slavery, suicide, domestic violence, rape, murder, sex trafficking
I have been dying to read this novel since I heard about it last year. Pompeii is somewhere that I have always been fascinated by, so I was thrilled to see that Harper has brought so many frogmen women to life, all based on graffiti at the Lupanar.
All of the women in the novel were brilliantly crafted, each one had a unique story and personality that truly brought the novel to life. It's so impressive how Harper portrays these women as normal friends, even though the situations that have led them all to meet and work together are far from normal. Although the subject matter of the novel is heavy to say the least, the women’s interactions with each other were still lovely to read. To picture them laughing and joking together to get them through the days and nights was lovely. It also made these scenes even more bittersweet and powerful when you are reminded of the situation that they're in.
Amara was such a perfect protagonist for this novel, even if, as a character, she was imperfect and had flaws. I loved and admired her loyalty to her friends as well as her determination to be free - even if some of the means she went to were very troublesome. I also loved Dido and seeing her grow over the course of the novel. Victoria, on the other hand, was not shy at all and truly knew how to play the game and yet, there were moments where Harper showed us the scared and vulnerable side to her.
What surprised me the most about the novel was the fact I found it very difficult to hate Felix, the owner of the brothel. Yes he's abhorrent who does, and says, terrible things and yet he is so complex and you occasionally get glimpses into different sides of him. They are never enough to make him as likeable as the women but enough that you wonder how he became the way he did. In fact a lot of the recurring male characters were rarely portrayed as the villains which was such an interesting choice, but one that made you take a deeper look into the society as a whole and that not everyone or every action could easily be categorised as good or evil.
The pacing of this novel was brilliant, going from settling the reader into the day to day lies of these women to something more plot driven. I could have easily read another 400 pages of their lives and not be bored. There are some heavy and heartbreaking scenes but everything has been done with a purpose. Whilst this novel does focus on slaves in a brothel, Harper has carefully considered each scene and only gives sex the briefest of torches when truly allows you to focus on the character.
Overall, this is a fantastic and powerful novel in many ways. All the women have easily worked their way into my heart and I'm so grateful to Harper for introducing the world to the possible women at the Lupanar.