If you like books like The Bear and The Nightingale, books which are whimsical but also incredibly dark and evocative, then you will most likely enjoy this book. Much like The Bear and The Nightingale, this book has similar themes rooted in history, myth and a dark forest. But, if you're like me and can't seem to mesh with books like that (for reasons entirely impossible to put your finger on, but it's true nonetheless) than this book isn't for you.

The Wolf and the Woodsman follows Evike, a woman betrayed by her villagers who ends up stuck with a travelling band of soldiers who work for the Order of the Woodsman. But as darkness falls, a monster murders the whole lot of them, except Evike and the Woodsman captain. A captain who is actually a disgraced prince with a corrupt brother hunting dark magic. United by their need to stop this man, the unlikely pair work together and push the unrelenting desire to murder each other from their minds for a little while longer.

The trouble with this book for me isn't the writing; the writing is truly exceptional. The trouble is with the plot - much of it felt very trope-ridden, much of it had some confusing components which didn't work and I really struggled to connect with the characters. I like the grim setting, I think the world building is spot on, but the plot needed some work (and better editing) to really hit home.

Not for me, but certainly a 5 star for some.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an advance reader copy.

I thought this book was 'OK'. I don't have anything overly positive to say about it, the writing style felt quite juvenile and the bold comparisons that were made about this book pre-release don't even come close.

Unfortunately I DNF'd this book 20% in. It just wasn't for me I'm afraid. The writing style wasn't one I enjoyed, it's definitely a me thing and not the book.

Whilst I really like the narrator for this novel, unfortunately I didn't enjoy the book that much. I'm not sure what it is in particular I didn't like, but it just wasn't for me. I actually rated this 2.5 out of 5 stars, but you can't do half stars on Netgalley, so I've rounded up to 3.

I loved this and found the characters - whether likeable or not - really engaging. Great plot and great storytelling. Certainly lives in the memory.

This was very much a book of two halves for me. I found the first half a bit slow and found my attention wavering whilst I was reading. However, once the story moved to the city, I found the narrative much more engaging. I loved all of the folkloric tales woven into the narrative and thought that these really added to the atmosphere. Unfortunately, I didn't find the relationship between the main characters particularly interesting and this contributed to the slowness in the first half. I would recommend the audiobook as it was very helpful with pronunciation of unfamiliar names and words. Overall, I think this was a good book with some fascinating commentary on religion, but the pacing was a problem for me.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

One of the most haunting and enchanting fantasy stories out in recent times. Reid's novel will suck you right in and never let you go

I DNF this book. I kept getting to 20% of the audiobook and realising I had not been paying attention and going back a couple of chapters. This just did not hold my attention, It sounded like it was going to be really interesting but felt very young in both the writing and storyline. I found the narrator irritating in forced emotion through every word yet at the same time so monotonous I tuned out consistently.

This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. While there was a lot to love -- especially around the rich worldbuilding -- I just couldn't connect with the characters.

The world that Reid creates is lush and gorgeous, but far from perfect. The themes of antisemitism in the book are powerful, and seeing the way Yehuli are treated was incredibly moving and infuriating. I really appreciated the way that the culture in the book very much mirrored our own history (and in terms of the antisemitism, our present). I also adored the magic. I'm always here for magic systems that demand sacrifice, and Reid did a fantastic job creating a powerful, fascinating, and intricate magic system.

In terms of the characters, I just couldn't get on with Évike or Gáspár. Their interactions and dialogue were so volatile and it just didn't make sense to me that they could even like each other -- romantically or otherwise. Évike is one of those 'shoot first, ask questions later' (or less charitably, 'too stubborn to live') characters. Her actions are only the result of getting angry that someone is being sensible and telling her what she shouldn't do, so she does the opposite. This is one of my biggest pet peeves in books, so I really struggled with her. Gáspár was basically just a blank slate -- the only thing I remember about him is that he maybe had an eye patch.

I can absolutely see other people loving this book! But it leans so heavily on the characters that I just didn't like, which definitely impacted my enjoyment of the boo.

It did take me a little while to get into this book, but I’m glad I persevered because about a third of the way in it really picked up.

Reid has create such a rich world based on Hungarian history and Jewish mythology which I absolutely loved but I did struggle to get orientated at the start. Much of the first third involves a pagan ‘wolf girl’, Évike, travelling through magical woodland as the captive of the prince, Gáspár. But it isn’t until they arrive at the capital that I really became invested, everything starts to come together at this point and you get a better sense of the wider world. I enjoyed the palace intrigue but, on a smaller scale, it was Évike’s developing relationship with her father and her internal journey to discover her own identity that kept me reading.

I do think I may have enjoyed this more if I’d read it instead of listening to the audiobook, there’s just so much to take in and it would have been handy to be able to flip back and refer to earlier passages. The narrators just didn’t click with me either, I think that’s more of an issue specific to me because she did do a brilliant job and made each character was very distinctive.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

#TheWolfAndTheWoodsman by #AvaReid and read by #SaskiaMaarleveld is totally unexpected in so many ways. I normally devour audiobooks and this one took me a while to get through. There was just so much to absorb and process and I am sure that if I were to reread it or relisten there would be so much I missed first time around. This genre is totally out of my comfort zone. Total #gore and #genocide. This presents as whimsical and fairytalesque – definitely one to read the blurb before getting stuck in ….. I did not heed this warning. Despite being out of my comfort level and taking what seemed liked an age to listen to, I thoroughly enjoyed the thinking and processing that occurred throughout the story. I am impressed by this author and if I ever get near the end of my #TBR pile I will look for other titles.
Many thanks to #Netgalley for gifting me with an #arc in exchange for an honest review.
#netgalleyUk #PenguinRandomHouse #CornerstoneDigital #HistoricalFiction #Fantasy

I listened to the audiobook of this thanks to Penguin Random House UK and I can tell you this book literally had it all and I really enjoyed it!

Evike is given to the Woodsman under false pretenses and on their way to the Woodsman King, are ambushed by monsters....secrets are revealed......you really need to read to find out more!

So why I think this book has it all.....

- Enemies to lovers
- Forbidden love
- Slow burn romance
- On the dark side
- Certainly gorey (is gorey an actual word?!)
 
But I have a new book love! Captain Gaspar! I need some fan art of him!!!

I also heard this was a debut for this author and what a fab story to debut with....can't wait to see more!

It took me a little while to get into this book but once I did it was gripping with lots happening. It was an interesting story, but I couldn't really get on board with the main character. Evike is just so annoying, she does such stupid things then seems surprised at the consequences, and she repeats herself so much when she's angry about something. It seemed unrealistic that she cared so much about her home village when they were all so awful to her and sacrificed her without a thought. Gaspar was a much more believable character, even though he was more distant, I could see his motivations much clearer.
I liked the narrator's reading.

It took me a while to get into the audiobook but it was worth every second.

I absolutely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc!

I loved this audiobook, I knew I enjoyed the story as I had already read it prior to listening to this. I thought the narrator added a different level to an already wonderful tale, bringing the story to life and loved how they portrayed characters , it’s great to hear words as they should be pronounced too. This story is broken into sections a before, during and after , I found this worked really well with the narrative. Thoroughly recommended wether you listen or read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Random House UK Audio & Ava Reid for my advanced audio copy of The Wolf & The Woodsman in exchange for an honest review.

The Wolf & The Woodsman is a Hungarian/Jewish inspired mythology retelling. Èvike is the only woman in her village of Wolf girls who doesn’t have a magical power. So when the King’s Woodsmen come to take their annual pound of flesh, she’s the one girl the village are happy to sacrifice. But when monsters attack on the journey back to the capital Èvike is thrown together with Gáspár one of the woodsmen who is hiding the fact he’s the disgraced prince.

This book came with a lot of promise and a lack of delivery in my opinion.

Firstly, a lot of people have complimented the language & writing style of this book but it really wasn’t for me. There was an over abundance of similes to the point that literally every sentence had one. It was also very repetitive, e.g every-time something bad happened to Èvike her response was always ‘I might as well be back in my village being whipped/being threatened with fire’ EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.

Secondly, the characters. I liked Gáspár he was mysterious, troubled, a little damaged. Trying his best in a world that has rejected him. Évike however was whiny, nasty, cruel, unkind, vulgar she just wasn’t a pleasant person. Which is fine if you’re writing a strong character who refuses to take any rubbish but this wasn’t the case. The case with Évike is that she is a 25 year old woman who still refers to herself and acts like, a teenage girl.

I did enjoy the intermittent breaks into mythology stories and the set up of the different religious groups and the politics which had many parallels to Game of Thrones but I don’t feel like it was explored as well as it could have been. Sadly, this one was not a bit for me.

This is what I imagine Little Red Riding hood would be like if she was from a village of magic users and she was the wolf!

This story felt unique and rich with history, I was invested in the journey Evike and Gaspar were on, both emotionally and physically. Their relationship was complicated but not annoyingly so. I really loved the interwoven Hungarian history and Jewish mythology, it added a richness to the creatures, myths and stories Evike shares throughout the main story. Ava Reid created a world where I wished I was a wolf girl and even wondered what power I could receive after a sacrifice.

I really recommend the audiobook version to experience the full depth of this book, especially if the terms used in the book are unfamiliar to you!

The Wolf and The Woodsman is a fantasy story intertwined with Hungarian folk tales.

The narrator is great at bringing the story to life and the characters are likeable, relatable and it helps you stay invested in their stories.

the story is broken into almost 3 parts, a before, during and after and initially I really hoped as she found her powers this was going to turn into a trilogy of books but actually as the story developed it worked well as a standalone.

Cant wait to read more from Ava Reid.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this ARC

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy in return for an honest review.

I thought that I'd really love this book as I thoroughly enjoyed The Bear and the Nightingale and am also a fan of Naomi Novik but I struggled to get into the story.

I thought that it was well read and there were plenty of rich descriptions that made me feel as if I could almost smell the woods as they travelled. I enjoyed the idea of taking the myths and retelling them. Unfortunately I didn't feel very invested in the characters and their relationship and only listened about a third of the way through.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House for approving me for an ARC of this book.

Saskia Maarleveld was an excellent narrator. She brought fire and passion to Évike’s story and gave Gaspar a distinctive voice that matched his broody, stubborn personality perfectly.

To begin with I found there was a lot of information to take it. There were a lot of names and different factions to get my head around however this did not spoil the listen or the story. We were thrown straight into the action where Évike has been betrayed by her pagan village and offered to the Woodsman as a seer.

From the start it was clear that Évike would not be a pushover. She had a fire in her belly that made her more terrifying then the others in her village. She also had nothing to lose so she was prepared to take risks and stand up for herself. I had complete admiration for her choices and wanted to see her survive and succeed. There were moments when we saw her softer side, with her father and the heartache she had endured from losing her mother. All of imperfections and insecurities made her a brilliant protagonist.

Gaspar was an entirely different character. Not worthy of the crown he had been forced to do the King’s bidding and it made him stubborn, moody and full of honour. Gaspar has been hurt too, the resentment and torture etched on his face but that is what bonds him an Évike together. Two people not wanted by their own kind find themselves drawn to each other and their slow burning romance was my favourite part of the story. You could feel the tension after the attack, at the start, and as they were together it only grew stronger. The early banter between the two made me smile because you could see where this was heading. It might of helped that I could visualise Chris Hemsworth as Gaspar which made the read even more enjoyable 😉

Aside from the romance we have factions at war, power hungry brothers, a quest and a brilliant final battle. This story is beautiful and brutal at the same time, filled with tender moments and gore that are not for the faint hearted. Top it off with a magic that brings to life the mythological stories and you have a read like no other. The ending was done in such a way that I hope there is a sequel, not because we are left with a cliff hanger but I need to have more!!!