Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - The Wolf and the Woodsman

I think this is a great fantasy novel for someone who is interested in an adventurous story, but doesn't want to commit to a big series. I definitely think the story could have been fleshed out into multiple books, but it doesn't suffer from lack of content. The development of relationships between people would probably make more sense if it had been stretched out over multiple books, but I think it all still works well. I love that this story draws from Hungarian and Jewish folklore/history, as these aren't common sources for most American literature. I thought the world building was phenomenal. I would recommend this book, with the caveat that it is a dark and heavy read, so may not be everybody's cup of tea.

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c_dmckinney's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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chrispybacon's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

The book had a strong premise but poor execution. I was excited to have a heroine in her mid-twenties but Evike is so dumb I could not relate to her at all. None of her relationships are healthy - the Yehuli want her to convert (they also help her but they are very interested in her joining them), her love interest is a coward and also her jailer, her whole village physically and verbally abused her. Her life was shit and I would have left all of them in the dirt. It makes zero sense to return to her abusers.
The plot is a lot of walking, being horny, being angry, being horny, plans backfiring, suffering deadly injuries but surviving them, more being horny and more walking. Somewhere in there were aspects of accepting yourself, growing into your powers (and loosing them), and conflicts about religions and cultures clashing which suffered greatly under all the rest.

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alliecat1915's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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chrisljm's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

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

1.25

Meh. Not a fan of the narration, which read like poetry but in the way where I just don't know wtf they're talking about sometimes. The folklore is written well but it became repetitive and too drawn out, making the story drag.

Also for all the people who recommended this book because of the romance, you had to be making shit up because the romance sucked. Not to say the romance came out of nowhere, because I knew it was going to happen, but there was absolutely no build up at all. I didn't care for any of the characters, which is besides the point because they also had no chemistry at all. I truly don't understand what Gáspár liked about Évike because she was honestly dumb as fuck. She had no common sense and no sense of self preservation. She absolutely refused to think before any of her actions, even when Gáspár explicitly explains how she'd make the situation worse. She also spends majority of the book belittling Gáspár, and constantly attacking him on how she thinks he's ashamed they've laid and slept together, even though they have so many other things to worry about. He literally tries to get her to think before doing something rash and getting them both killed and she accuses him of fearing people will found out he's no longer pure. Like be fucking fr.

The book also touches on religious/ethical/moral themes but honestly with the messy plot and execution, flat characters, and confusing narration, I honestly don't know what the take away was supposed to be.

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