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A review by booksthatburn
Wolf, Willow, Witch by Freydís Moon
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.
**My recommendation has been pulled based on issues with the author. The original text of the review remains below.
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WOLF, WILLOW, WITCH is a strangely direct follow-up to HAUNT, HEART, HAVOC, while having different main characters, a pretty cool trick to manage. The "wolf" is Lincoln, the deceased ex-husband of Bishop from the first book. Tehlor is the Norse witch who helped them clear some of the other bothersome spirits out of the house. While Colin and Bishop are off on a cross-country exorcism trip, Tehlor seizes the opportunity to steal Lincoln's corpse and turn him into a magical sentry (not a familiar, she already has her rat for that).
I love how WOLF, WILLOW, WITCH tells a full story which give a much better sense of Lincoln in addition to showing Tehlor through her narration, provides answers to some of the unaddressed questions from HAUNT, HEART, HAVOC, and briefly introduces the protagonist for the next book. It seems like they don't completely deal with Haven, but they manage to change the course of the group's plans in ways that are likely to play out in the final book of the trilogy.
I rarely read books with an unabashed villain as one of the love interests without some effort to soften them. Lincoln is as close to that as I'm comfortable reading, and I'm fascinated by his and Tehlor's relationship. She's not "fixing" him, he's not really corrupting her, they're two people with intermittently compatible goals and a whole lot of enlightened self interest.
The scenes in Haven, the Catholic-ish cult, were deeply creepy. I used to be Christian and am familiar with the non-magical versions of many parts of those scenes, especially all the misogyny disguised as politeness.
This was great and I'm very excited to read how the series winds up!
**My recommendation has been pulled based on issues with the author. The original text of the review remains below.
-----
WOLF, WILLOW, WITCH is a strangely direct follow-up to HAUNT, HEART, HAVOC, while having different main characters, a pretty cool trick to manage. The "wolf" is Lincoln, the deceased ex-husband of Bishop from the first book. Tehlor is the Norse witch who helped them clear some of the other bothersome spirits out of the house. While Colin and Bishop are off on a cross-country exorcism trip, Tehlor seizes the opportunity to steal Lincoln's corpse and turn him into a magical sentry (not a familiar, she already has her rat for that).
I love how WOLF, WILLOW, WITCH tells a full story which give a much better sense of Lincoln in addition to showing Tehlor through her narration, provides answers to some of the unaddressed questions from HAUNT, HEART, HAVOC, and briefly introduces the protagonist for the next book. It seems like they don't completely deal with Haven, but they manage to change the course of the group's plans in ways that are likely to play out in the final book of the trilogy.
I rarely read books with an unabashed villain as one of the love interests without some effort to soften them. Lincoln is as close to that as I'm comfortable reading, and I'm fascinated by his and Tehlor's relationship. She's not "fixing" him, he's not really corrupting her, they're two people with intermittently compatible goals and a whole lot of enlightened self interest.
The scenes in Haven, the Catholic-ish cult, were deeply creepy. I used to be Christian and am familiar with the non-magical versions of many parts of those scenes, especially all the misogyny disguised as politeness.
This was great and I'm very excited to read how the series winds up!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Sexual content, Gun violence, Violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, and Cursing
Minor: Pregnancy, Self harm, Vomit, and Drug use