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A review by penguin_emperor_of_the_north
The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
2.0
On the plus side, I liked the way that folk stories were relayed between Gaspar and Evike giving insight into their respective religions and cultures. And I liked the nuanced take where Gaspar and Evike both come from abused backgrounds but the book deals with the complexity of resenting their abuse but also still loving their respective families. The book walked a fine line there and I appreciate that the author approached that complex situation with some nuance.
On the downside, I really didn't like Evike or Gaspar. Evike reacts to every thing with anger and aggression (and I would've thought that would have been beaten out of her based on how she describes her upbringing). If the author was going for 'strong character' then I think I would've preferred a more shrewd character who played her cards close to her chest because it would've fit with her background more and would've been a smarter response to a lot of the situations she's in. As it is she just flips out in response to everything and that raises questions about why all these people supposedly bigoted against Evike are tolerating her behavior.
And Gaspar is just the opposite, he's spineless and it's rather frustrating. Though his behavior does align with the situations they find themselves in where Evike and he are clearly outnumbered and have little power so his more reserved response made sense. Still does get frustrating though.
Also, for being in a non-Earth world, the Yehulli are very clearly Jews. Like they have rabbis, the legend of the golem, the Biblical book of Esther . . . it's on the nose to the point that I was distracted while listening to it. Guess it's not necessarily a bad thing but I found it distracting.
On the downside, I really didn't like Evike or Gaspar. Evike reacts to every thing with anger and aggression (and I would've thought that would have been beaten out of her based on how she describes her upbringing). If the author was going for 'strong character' then I think I would've preferred a more shrewd character who played her cards close to her chest because it would've fit with her background more and would've been a smarter response to a lot of the situations she's in. As it is she just flips out in response to everything and that raises questions about why all these people supposedly bigoted against Evike are tolerating her behavior.
And Gaspar is just the opposite, he's spineless and it's rather frustrating. Though his behavior does align with the situations they find themselves in where Evike and he are clearly outnumbered and have little power so his more reserved response made sense. Still does get frustrating though.
Also, for being in a non-Earth world, the Yehulli are very clearly Jews. Like they have rabbis, the legend of the golem, the Biblical book of Esther . . . it's on the nose to the point that I was distracted while listening to it. Guess it's not necessarily a bad thing but I found it distracting.