The Wolf and the Woodsman

Book Title: The Wolf and the Woodsman

Author: Ava Reid

Date Started: March 7th 2021

Date Completed: March 27th 2021

Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Adventure

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

Reid's novel felt very YA beside the books it compares itself to. That's not necessarily meant as a bad thing, but I do think the modernist, teenage style interferes slightly with the traditionally timeless fairytale tone. I don't think the 1st person present tense helps either; Èvike comes across rambly and preachy when giving away lore and worldbuilding, as well as presenting her as knowing everything there is to know for the sake of the prose, but then of course not letting her behave in that way for the sake of the plot.

This book is like four different stories in one; the last two are compelling, the first two not so much. Reid integrates a lot of really nice fantastical aspects from Hungarian and Jewish history and mythologies, but they're all used as placeholders to hurry the story along. In trying to do an epic akin to Novik or Arden in one book, Reid has lost the magic of folklore and wonder that make those stories such spectacles.

As much as I moan about comparing books to one another, Évike and Gáspár essentially follow Nina and Matthias' story from Six of Crows. I love that storyline and I think there's lots of room for variation, but I just wasn't convinced enough by the characters (who are frequently inconsistent and sometimes passive) for them to even begin treading a new path.

The Wolf and the Woodsman is worth the read if it sounds like something you'd like, but ultimately some creative choices left me underwhelmed and much preferring other authors in the same genre that execute their stories with more finesse and heart.