Scan barcode
A review by lisyda
The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My third Ava Reid book and she continues to be an author I love.
I can understand how her style of writing is not for everyone. To be fair, this goes for any author, really. But personally, I adore her style. While I was reading this book, I also told a friend about it and as I was trying to describe Ava Reid's prose to her, I said it was "both beautiful and violent, as well as raw and honest" or something to that effect. We ended up buddy reading it together and both of us had a great time with it. And my impression of the prose holds true for all of Reid's books, more or less.
In TWatW, the amount of background knowledge and research shines through everywhere. It provides the kind of detail and realism in worldbuilding that I've found lacking in certain other books I've read recently. Here, however, we get to hear the mythological stories of this world, we see how different people have hard time understanding one another, how some believe the beliefs of others are so wrong they must not be allowed to exist etc. Both the monsters and the people of this world are brutal, it's not pretty, and it's not supposed to be. To me, these little things made the story come to life in quite a vivid manner. And I confess, I did appreciate the use of more uncommon cultures and mythologies for the background of this book. And I especially loved the depiction of witches!
Then we have the characters. I think Gáspár was probably my favourite here, as seeing him struggle throughout the book with how his beliefs were constantly challenged and grow and change through it all was so engaging. And the FMC Évike wasn't necessarily a likeable person all the time. Like Gáspár, she struggles with her beliefs, but also with her temper, which is a part of the defense mechanisms implemented by her upbringing. She wages different internal battles, but we do get to see her learn and adapt and – one of my favourite details here, without getting into specifics and spoilers – reflect on how she made certain mistakes before that she then tries to caution others to avoid.
The main relationship is interesting to follow as both characters clearly carry their respective traumas, which impacts their behaviour and how they approach the relationship. This reminds me of "Juniper & Thorn" where the relationship was impacted by the characters lacking any sort of good blueprint for healthy relationships, and I can see that it is something that Reid likes to explore in her works.
Speaking of similarities, this book also tackles the subject of female sexuality head on. Évike doesn't shy away from her wants at all and as far as pure desire is concerned, it's not a source of shame, which was healthy to see (or, if I put in in buddy read terms here, my friend and I kept giggling at times at how thirsty she was). Another similarity to Reid's other works, but more specifically "Juniper & Thorn" due to the adult genre and nature, is the bits of gore and body horror. They're not exactly shocking elements within the book, but rather basic facts of this world – physical sacrifice in exchange for power is a key element in TWatW.
I personally just really appreciate the themes and topics that Reid explores in her books. I adore the atmospheres, the harsh and cruel worlds, the gorgeous prose. And now that I'm caught up with her works, I can't wait to get my hands on "Lady Macbeth" later this year.
I can understand how her style of writing is not for everyone. To be fair, this goes for any author, really. But personally, I adore her style. While I was reading this book, I also told a friend about it and as I was trying to describe Ava Reid's prose to her, I said it was "both beautiful and violent, as well as raw and honest" or something to that effect. We ended up buddy reading it together and both of us had a great time with it. And my impression of the prose holds true for all of Reid's books, more or less.
In TWatW, the amount of background knowledge and research shines through everywhere. It provides the kind of detail and realism in worldbuilding that I've found lacking in certain other books I've read recently. Here, however, we get to hear the mythological stories of this world, we see how different people have hard time understanding one another, how some believe the beliefs of others are so wrong they must not be allowed to exist etc. Both the monsters and the people of this world are brutal, it's not pretty, and it's not supposed to be. To me, these little things made the story come to life in quite a vivid manner. And I confess, I did appreciate the use of more uncommon cultures and mythologies for the background of this book. And I especially loved the depiction of witches!
Then we have the characters. I think Gáspár was probably my favourite here, as seeing him struggle throughout the book with how his beliefs were constantly challenged and grow and change through it all was so engaging. And the FMC Évike wasn't necessarily a likeable person all the time. Like Gáspár, she struggles with her beliefs, but also with her temper, which is a part of the defense mechanisms implemented by her upbringing. She wages different internal battles, but we do get to see her learn and adapt and – one of my favourite details here, without getting into specifics and spoilers – reflect on how she made certain mistakes before that she then tries to caution others to avoid.
The main relationship is interesting to follow as both characters clearly carry their respective traumas, which impacts their behaviour and how they approach the relationship. This reminds me of "Juniper & Thorn" where the relationship was impacted by the characters lacking any sort of good blueprint for healthy relationships, and I can see that it is something that Reid likes to explore in her works.
Speaking of similarities, this book also tackles the subject of female sexuality head on. Évike doesn't shy away from her wants at all and as far as pure desire is concerned, it's not a source of shame, which was healthy to see (or, if I put in in buddy read terms here, my friend and I kept giggling at times at how thirsty she was). Another similarity to Reid's other works, but more specifically "Juniper & Thorn" due to the adult genre and nature, is the bits of gore and body horror. They're not exactly shocking elements within the book, but rather basic facts of this world – physical sacrifice in exchange for power is a key element in TWatW.
I personally just really appreciate the themes and topics that Reid explores in her books. I adore the atmospheres, the harsh and cruel worlds, the gorgeous prose. And now that I'm caught up with her works, I can't wait to get my hands on "Lady Macbeth" later this year.