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saurahsaurus's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity and War
nightwing's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
"The Wolf and the Woodsman" follows Évike's treacherous journey with Gáspár, a Woodsman sent to capture her and bring her to the king she's never seen and in the process, we see their ideologies and ways of life clash with one another.
I really liked the first half of the story when it was just Évike & Gáspár but once they got to the city it got a bit dull. It's also a bit difficult to describe the book...dark fantasy/romance, I guess? It's not a typical book, to say the least.
The two major antagonists felt really flat and annoyed the heck out of me, the only thing missing from them was an evil mustache to twirl. I was also a bit uncomfortable with how the villagers constantly referred to Évike as "barren" for not having magic which just felt...weird.
Évike was a very entertaining protagonist, she's one you root for but you also want to yell at her for being ridiculous, ha.
Overall, a decent read, but it's not going to be for everyone. As many have said, it's similar to Naomi Novik's "Uprooted" and I also include the recent release "Serpent & Dove" by Shelby Mahuri as a similar read. Basically, dark fantasy, dark romance, dark everything! Not that it's bad, but if you're looking for a Hallmark romance, this ain't it.
"The Wolf and the Woodsman" follows Évike's treacherous journey with Gáspár, a Woodsman sent to capture her and bring her to the king she's never seen and in the process, we see their ideologies and ways of life clash with one another.
I really liked the first half of the story when it was just Évike & Gáspár but once they got to the city it got a bit dull. It's also a bit difficult to describe the book...dark fantasy/romance, I guess? It's not a typical book, to say the least.
The two major antagonists felt really flat and annoyed the heck out of me, the only thing missing from them was an evil mustache to twirl. I was also a bit uncomfortable with how the villagers constantly referred to Évike as "barren" for not having magic which just felt...weird.
Évike was a very entertaining protagonist, she's one you root for but you also want to yell at her for being ridiculous, ha.
Overall, a decent read, but it's not going to be for everyone. As many have said, it's similar to Naomi Novik's "Uprooted" and I also include the recent release "Serpent & Dove" by Shelby Mahuri as a similar read. Basically, dark fantasy, dark romance, dark everything! Not that it's bad, but if you're looking for a Hallmark romance, this ain't it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Murder