Early last week I asked for recommendations for YA fantasy romance books that would have me feral. A Far Wilder Magic was a popular pick, so I had to immediately jump into it after taking one look at the cover. And friends!!!!!!! I savored and devoured the book because it gave me just the kind of romance I wanted.

You know I love a good slow-burn romance and boy, did this book deliver or what! Margaret and West had me SCREAMING into my pillow and at one point, I looked like a feral cat because I was simply obsessed with them. This pairing gave me that I-WILL-GO-DOWN-WITH-THIS-SHIP energy that I feel like I have been missing from my reads lately. What really works with this romance is the balance of their personalities.

Margaret is a grumpy, mostly quiet recluse on the outside, but on the inside, she’s just a girl who is craving love and safety. Wes, on the other hand, is flirty and chirpy on the outside, but on the inside, he is grappling with grief and his desire to want to see his family out of poverty. When they come together, these seemingly opposite characters interlock perfectly together. Allison Saft does a convincing job at making their relationship feel realistic. There’s obviously a lot of antagonistic banter between the two at first which is, of course, DELIGHTFUL. The cherry on the cake for me is when they allow themselves to be vulnerable around each other. It’s then that feral-Nick started to come out because omg, it was all so tender and soft and gave me all the butterflies. The tension that builds and builds and builds throughout A Far Wilder Magic is a well-layered work of art. I simply couldn’t get enough! I loved everything that Allison Saft did with this romance and it’s easily made her a favorite author with just. a single book.

The characters themselves are a standout. Margaret and Wes both have an arc outside of their romance and the author takes her time with unveiling the different facets of their characters. Typically, when there are two main characters, it’s natural for me to like one character more than the other, but not here! They both had good qualities and were good people. Margaret is very stoic, but all of that stems from being abandoned by her mother. All she wants is to feel loved by her mother so everything she does is in pursuit of her love.

Wes, while happier on the outside, is dealing with a whole bunch of insecurities. He wants to be an alchemist and pursue a career in politics because he wants to give his mother and sisters a better life. He’s also still grieving the loss of his father and that remains a strong thread throughout. With both of their fragmented and lonely parts, when the two unite, it makes for a beautifully tender relationship full of love, trust, and hope.

The plot in A Far Wilder Magic is straightforward, just how I like my fantasy books. The main storyline revolves around the Hunt, an annual hunting event to find and kill a mythical creature known as the Hala. Margaret and Wes team up to join the hunt because if they are successful, Margaret has another chance with her mother and Wes has a chance for fame and money.

Fair warning, A Far Wilder Magic is not the most action-packed story. Much of this book is a build-up to that hunt and an exploration of the characters. Allison Saft’s writing creates this atmospheric experience where it almost feels like you are right there. She certainly has a way with words because she managed to lure me in with her prose. She also weaves themes of discrimination and xenophobia into the story as a mirror of the real world we live in.

I seriously can’t stop thinking about A Far Wilder Magic. It’s one of the most engrossing stories I’ve read this year, and it’s one that will stay with me for a while. I took my time reading this book because I wanted to savor every word. Let me tell you, this is a rarity for me because most of the time, I’m speeding through books. But the slow approach was because I loving every second of it and did not want it to end. Thankfully for me, I do have Allison Saft’s debut novel to read. 🙂

If you love character-driven fantasy books with lonely characters and the swooniest of romances, don’t miss this one.

Margaret Welty lives on the outskirts of town, isolated from her community in more ways than one. Her mother is an incredible alchemist, but far more invested in her work and in resurrecting an ideal of what once was than in being present for her family. Once Margaret's brother died and her father left, Margaret was all but left to fend for herself while her mother regularly took off on business. As such, Margaret has grown into quite a self-sufficient force to be reckoned with. But it isn't until Weston Winters shows up that she realizes just how lonely she has been.

Wes is a city boy on a last ditch mission to find a mentor so he can become an alchemist. Only alchemists have a realistic shot at getting elected to office, and Wes wants nothing more than to become a politician so he can help those around him. Coming from a large, poor family, his community is everything to him, and his sense of duty to those who brought him up is strong and unshakeable. He and Margaret could not have had more different upbringings and what they learn from each other will only make their lives better.

My biggest gripe with this book is the worldbuilding. If you want to talk about religious oppression and stigma in a fantasy context, I am ALL FOR THAT. But what happened here was simply ascribing Catholicism and Judaism to the two main characters, giving them different names, and then having zero explication of that faith/ethnicity/culture outside of the judgment and prejudice of those around them. It felt very bizarre, completely pointless, and honestly a little prejudicial of its own. As if these cultures are empty constructs thrust on people by society. There are weird turns of phrase and cultural references thrown in that are never explained and just seem out of place. I couldn't tell what time this was set in, except that it seemed to be pretty long ago when there wasn't much in the way of technology and $75 was an insane amount of money. I don't know, that aspect needed some serious work still, in my opinion.

Aside from that, the plot is pretty minimal. This is a very character-driven book, and I can see how the characters will appeal to a lot of people. Personally, they were not for me. There is a lot of work to develop the characters, but they still just fell kind of flat to me. I think it was the lack of introspection, but honestly I think a lot of readers will like them. I never really got into the romance and did think that Margaret's mom made some points about their relationship at the end, particularly around Margaret falling for the first boy who was kind to her. Which Margaret then agrees with....and the book just moves on as if that is like healthy and normal? Not that I think their relationship was inherently bad, just that they could use some more life experience before basically getting married.

I jumped from one Allison Saft book directly into the next, and I’ve loved every minute of this wild ride. As much as I related to Wren, the MC from Allison’s debut novel, I found that I related to Margaret even more. Her fear of being forsaken and unloved hit me like a hammer. Full disclosure, the last twenty percent or so of this book made me feel so many different emotions. Tears were shed.

Allison writes in a way that can only be described as utterly atmospheric. She gives ample details, but never drowns you in them. On every page, the scenes come alive before your very eyes. And the weaving of delicate, swoon-worthy moments of intimacy throughout this story was so well done that I’m still not, and may never be, over it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Allison Saft for an ARC of this book.

There is a lot of religious talk throughout this book. I did my best to remember that it is a fantasy world and these are fantasy religions, but it was so obvious what religion they were based off of; therefore, I don't believe I can give this book a proper review.

I do think this book had some nice things, but the religion put me off so much that that is all I can think about.

As for the story, I loved the beginning of this novel. We’re set in an isolated mansion with a grumpy female main character and a full-of-hope, charming and flirty boy who shows up at her door wanting to be an apprentice alchemist to her mother.. but her mother isn’t there. There’s a magical competition to hunt a magical fox, alchemy and guns, action and angst, so much flirting and tension! Honestly, this has it all.

I was really enjoying it at the beginning like I said but it started to go flat towards the middle. I thought the magical competition aspect would come into play way earlier but it didn’t until almost the end so there was a lot of buildup and bits of nothing for awhile. Allison’s writing and prose is gorgeous so I was definitely still engaged in the story, it just didn’t end up being a top favourite for me.

I still highly recommend this one though! I know this slower built style of story is a lot of people’s cup of tea.

3.5/5⭐️

A Far Wilder Magic is a beautifully written book, it's almosy lyrical. I thought the storyline was good and I enjoyed how the characters were written.

I will be purchasing a copy of this book for my library.

Let me just say I loved this book!!! The beginning was a little slow, but once it picked up it had me hooked. I loved the grumpy/sunshine romance, where Maggie was the grumpy one. At times it was hilarious. Maggie’s struggle with love and acceptance throughout the novel gave this story so much depth and relatability. Not to mention the commentary on our society and how it refuses to give equal opportunities to those who weren’t born on its soil. Lastly, the animals!!! I absolutely loved reading about trouble and Maggie, their bond was so adorable. I definitely recommend this book to those who want a feel-good read.

I absolutely loved Saft's debut novel, Down Comes the Night. It was romantic, had a cast of characters I loved and beautiful prose descriptions throughout it; so I had been really excited for her sophomore novel, A Far Wilder Magic. Unfortunately it didn't hold up to my expectations, in fact, I ended up skipping ahead to the ending which is something I NEVER do. After reading to 32% of my e-arc, I almost DNFed. I just wasn't meshing with the prose, something about it just made my brain want to skim over the text, just to find a pretty sentence here or there. That's not to say it was poorly written - I just couldn't get into it. The third person almost felt clunky to me, which is odd since I usually don't mind reading in it. Because of that, it made liking the characters I already wasn't particularly attached to even less appealing since I couldn't really get to know them, let alone root for their relationship. I was also unsure of the world building, and couldn't tell if this was simply a fantasy world or a historical setting (or both). That might have gotten cleared up at a later time, but from the reviews I read I don't think it did.

After reading some of those reviews, I also chose to skip to where the hunt begins (only 5 brief chapters before the novel ends), just to see if Evelyn returned or not because that was the part I was most interested in. I'm not going to say if she did (there's no real point in spoiling), but I'm glad I skipped because if I felt like the plot was dragging by a third of the way through I'd have been upset to spend so much time only to get like 2 chapters of the actual hunt. Which, I'm still not 100% sure why it had to happen or the details of things despite it being explained at length in the first 3rd of the book. Honestly, it almost felt like a plot point of convenience to make the characters meet, between the way it was so vague and then didn't actually occur until the very end. If you don't mind slow paced books you'll probably really enjoy A Far Wilder Magic, but I'm honestly surprised it's got as many raving reviews as it does.

A fun, wild romp that was deeply satisfying in many ways, but left off in others that kept me wanting to turn pages until the end. An excellent trip from Saft.

I always have a hard time with fantasy books (the worldbuilding can be intimidating) so I was hesitant to start this one. A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft is a standalone novel that transported me to a magical version of the Pacific Northwest. I was completely absorbed by the atmosphere: the dull grey skies, the foggy coastline, and the thick, lush forest brimming with magic. It stole me away, and I never wanted it to end.

In this book we meet Weston Winters, an aspiring alchemist who’s failed out of all his apprenticeships so far. His last opportunity to further himself and help his family is with a famed alchemist who hasn’t taken a new student in a very long time. After traveling to her house, he doesn’t find her: instead, he finds her daughter, Margaret, who is stubborn and independent and wants absolutely nothing to do with Wes.

That is, until the legendary hala is spotted and the Halfmoon Hunt is set to start. Teams of hunters and alchemists must work together to kill the god-like, magical creature, and Margaret knows that if she’s successful her mother will come home and love her once more. She teams up with Wes and although the two make an unlikely pair and are hated by most people in town, they’re both driven by their desire to prove others wrong and better themselves and their families.

I absolutely loved the setting and atmosphere of this book. I know some people would find the descriptions to be too much and drag on, but I thought it was perfect. I was able to picture everything in my mind, and the cold, foggy daylight warmed my heart because I want nothing more than for it to be Fall year-round.

The characters were passionate, complicated, and the slow-burn enemies to lovers gave me L I F E 🖤 I was cheering for them both separately and as a couple. The pining, the yearning, the attempt to push feelings away only to be overcome with emotions. It was perfection.

This book was an easy 5 stars for me, and I highly recommend it for those looking for a standalone, atmospheric fantasy read with a bit of romance.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me a digital ARC via NetGalley. A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft came out on March 8, 2022, and can be purchased wherever books are sold.

I read Allison Saft’s previous book, Down Come the Night, and really enjoyed it, so I was really looking forward to reading another book from her. I am so glad to say that it did not disappoint. There was so much to love about this book. Most of all, I absolutely loved the characters in this story. Margaret and Wes were so compelling on their own, but I also loved them together. They are both pretty lonely people that have been ridiculed or ostracized by society, and the way they come together to help each other was beautiful. I think readers interested in fantasy romance will really enjoy their story.

*eARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Positives: This has a fantastic slowburn romance! I fell in love with the characters.

Negatives: confusing worldbuilding. Uninteresting plot.

I found it better than Down Comes the Night.

3.8 stars

I really enjoyed my time with this book. It has tons of atmosphere, angst, acceptance, all the things. The characters and world building were great, and the writing just sucks you in to all the emotions immediately. There was a good amount of suspense and action with a dash of creepiness, but those aspects were offset so well with the quiet, sweet moments that balanced the story so well.

I enthusiastically recommend this book to fans of The Scorpio Races. It has an old-timey small-town setting, some dangerous magic, a perfectly balanced double-narrator romance, a daring traditional competition, and is beautifully written without being overly flowery.

Here is my full video review of this book: https://youtu.be/QsG0bWsA6AM

This is a story of Margaret and Wes, two young people who get tangled up in the world of alchemy, a demon foxhunt, and each other's emotional vulnerabilities.

I appreciate the way that this book so delicately explores a cultural/religious identity. Both of the protagonists are part of marginalized religious ethnic groups, and this fact both brings them together and provides higher stakes to the plot of the book. I also appreciated that their identities were Irish-Catholic & Jewish coded, because it felt like an extension of our own world (and history). Without spending a long time explaining why these groups were discriminated against, I could understand the big picture of it.

Additionally, the main characters are layered in their flaws and mental struggles. They find it difficult to open up to anyone, and so their romance is driven by their character growth. They (between them) have PTSD, dyslexia, ADHD (at least, that’s how I would armchair diagnose them). And while sometimes this is a thing for them to work through, most of the time it is just how they are, with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Honestly, I can’t think of a single thing I didn’t like in this book. It’s flawless.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

CW: heavy discussions of religion, hate crimes based on religion, abusive/neglectful parent, familial (parent and sibling) death (off page but discussed). Author included CWs: animal death and injury (the dog lives!) antisemitism, nationalism and xenophobia, PTSD, neglect and emotional abuse by a parent, mentions of parental death, graphic descriptions of blood and wounds
I didn’t read Saft’s debut, so I was surprised when I started this and found the style of prose to flow better than many “new to me” authors do. I found that there are parts where there is a lot of page dedicated to saying very little, but the language used is lovely.
I am not a religious person, and that probably colored my reading a fair bit – to give this book as much credit aside from my personal gripes with religion, I did like the themes discussed with religious freedom and making our own choices away from those of our parents.
The familial relationships were probably my favorite. I loved how in-depth those were and how Saft doesn’t pull any punches when talking about what happens to a family after loss. There are different paths people can go on, and Saft uses Margaret and Wes to illustrate how those choices can impact more than just the person who makes them.
I would have liked more actual descriptions and examples of alchemy; for Wes being a POV character I felt like it was just talked about and not illustrated that much. It’s the most fantastical part of this book, aside from that Hala (which I pictured as a Halla from Dragon Age for longer than I’d care to admit), and I kept wanting more of it and less of some of the side characters.
An aside, but I do feel like this book felt like a romance book first, which is not a criticism at all, and I feel like it might find an audience there. The relationship between the two leads is well developed and pulled at my heartstrings, and I loved their loyalty to each other.
Overall, while I didn’t love this book (mostly due to my own hang ups), I’m intrigued by the characters and prose Saft writes, and I’d be very interested to read her work going forward.

Allison Saft’s debut novel, Down Comes The Night, snuck up on me. At first glance, it was a gothic horror fantasy about a desperate partnership between sworn enemies. I’m not generally a horror reader but I do love atmospheric novels and when a romance–especially one doomed from the start–appears to be involved, I can’t avoid it. With that in mind, I was clamoring for her next book before even finishing her debut. And when I finally got my hands on it, A Far Wilder Magic didn’t disappoint.

Building Atmosphere

A Far Wilder Magic is set in an isolated manor in the densely packed woods on the edge of town. Margaret Welty has been keeping house, waiting for her alchemist mother to return so that they can be a family again. Margaret is content to fill her lonely days with chores, hunting in the woods with her hound, Trouble, and avoiding most of the bigoted townspeople who ostracize her for her Yu’adir heritage. It isn’t until she spots the legendary Hala and the Halfmoon Hunt begins and the arrival of an amateur alchemist at her door, that she gets a chance to prove herself and dream of something more than being left behind.

If you like novels with a palpable atmosphere, a world so tightly drawn that it’s hard to imagine lives existing outside of the ones in the pages, you will love an Allison Saft novel. Like Down Comes The Night, A Far Wilder Magic‘s setting is so fitting because of the dark, eerie descriptions and isolating nature of the town and its traditional hunt. Even though our main characters travel to a city at one point, it’s hard to imagine the scope of the world beyond the town, its woods, and the sea beyond. Because of that, this book makes you crave quiet spring afternoons or cold fall days, when the mood outside meets the mood in the book.

The Underdogs
In addition to creating a rich setting, Allison Saft’s strengths are definitely in making you stick with characters too. Though Margaret Welty is hard around the edges, more used to being alone with her hound than people, you instantly feel for her and are ready to follow her. You can forgive her abrasiveness, her passiveness, and her isolation because of her hurt and loneliness. Margaret Welty has been abandoned by her mother, relentlessly tormented and made to feel different because of her father’s religion. She finds kinship, even though at first she despises him, for Wes, who is also ostracized because of his Banvish-Sumic immigrant parents.

When she realizes that his untapped alchemy might be the key to winning the Halfmoon Hunt, a goal she could never have imagined for herself, they form an unlikely alliance that grows into an understanding. Wes is charismatic and desperate to help his family. This hunt may be his last chance to use alchemy to provide a better life for his mother and sisters and step out from the prejudice most in New Albion have for Sumic immigrants. The underdog pairing will always be an enticing read, but now that they have more to prove due to the prejudices of the mostly Kathartic neighbors.

Slowest of Burns
Because I was captivated by the relationship Allison Saft wrote into Down Comes The Night, I was similarly hoping for another romance in her sophomore novel. This was a bit slower of a burn than I like my romance but I also loved reading the way they built their trust and respect for one another. I’ve read many reviews of the book that described the relationship between Wes and Margaret to be tender and I agree. It is sweet and earned and doesn’t feel rushed. Even though I wish we got more of their relationship, it felt real as it unfolded.

Unexpected and Anachronistic
Though I loved this book very much, there were a few things that took some getting used to as I read. I went into the book believing this to be more of a fantasy, with a slight horror edge but was thrown off by the religious analogues in the book–Yu’adir reads as Jewish, Katharist reads as Protestant, and Sumic as Catholic. I know that the basis of alchemy is very spiritual but I suppose I expected more original worldbuilding outside of three Western religions. Or maybe it is just because I’m not very religious and didn’t quite connect with that aspect of the book, I’m willing to accept that.

I suppose I was so angry on Margaret’s behalf for how her neighbors treated her and for the prejudices Wes and his family faced and it reminded me so much of the prejudices of the real world that it took me out of the story for a bit. Once I acclimated to that part of the story, I was fully enmeshed in the world. The only other thing that took me out of reading it was the moments when I had a hard time placing what time this was supposed to be. The telephones and cars felt anachronistic at times. It doesn’t detract from my love of the story and the characters; it was just a quirk of the book.

Hopeful and Otherworldly
One of the most beautiful things that I took away from the book, aside from the stunning writing and setting, was the way that Margaret and Wes found each other. Margaret and Wes are both forces of nature in their own way and together their strength and determination was lovely to read. They’ve both been broken by the past and they’re tethered to the responsibility to family. For Wes, this galvanizes him, and makes him persist even when everyone tells him to give up. For Margaret, her ties to her mother and the hope that her mother’s single-minded pursuit of alchemy will wain, hold her back. Wes may be the first person to see Margaret outside of her mother’s shadow, to care for her and get to know her as a person. And when he accepts her, knowing her trauma and invites her to create a life with him outside of Wickdon, it’s hopeful and beautiful, just like the rest of the book.

A Far Wilder Magic may not be the most edge-of-your seat, fast-paced reads. But it’s a slow, steady magical novel that deserves to be savored. If I wasn’t already a faithful reader of Allison Saft’s, this novel would cement my love for her words for sure. Don’t miss out on this one, you won’t regret picking it up.

Margaret lives alone in her family manor on the outskirts of town. She keeps to herself and hopes that one day her alchemist mother will return. One day she spots the legendary hala, the last of the magical creatures and knows that the Halfmoon Hunt will soon begin. Margaret hopes that if she wins the hunt it will bring her mother back home. However, only teams of two can register for the hunt and Maragret needs an alchemist partner. Enter Wes, who isn’t yet an alchemist but looking to train under Margaret’s mother. Since Margaret’s mother isn’t home she allows him to stay and wait, as long as he enters the hunt with her.

This book has such a great atmosphere, I really enjoyed it! It was a bit slow paced, especially in the beginning, but I really liked Wes and Margaret and wanted to see where their relationship went. They both have to overcome prejudices and even though people don’t accept them for who they are they accept each other.

I do wish the hunt was a bit longer. All the buildup to it was exciting and the hunt was exciting as well, I just wished it was a tad bit longer.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked lots of this, but the hala hunt happened too close to the end. I feel a bit confused about why this book took so much time to create an alternate world that so exactly mirrors our own.

3.5/5

I've been meaning to check out Allison Saft's writing for quite some time. Naturally, that meant I jumped at the chance to read her latest novel, A Far Wilder Magic. It's the best kind of young adult fantasy, and I just can't get enough of it.

Margaret Welty was lucky enough to see something that most people would only ever dream of the legendary hala. Unfortunately, she knows that the hunt will soon follow in the hala's wake. That is what happens.

Thus, Margaret decides to hunt the hala herself, for succeeding would change her life forever. It would give her family the money they need, buy a home, and so much more. There's just one catch – she needs an alchemist to help. Enter Weston Winters. While he isn't a fully-fledged alchemist, he is Margaret's best chance at success.

“The more dangerous the monster, the more glorious the hero who slays it.”

A Far Wilder Magic is a truly stunning read. I had so much trouble picking a favorite quote to highlight from this novel, as there are so many that I will cherish. The writing itself is beautiful, and the words powerful – especially when backed by a story such as this.

The thing that hit me the hardest about A Far Wilder Magic is well – the emotional side of it. It's weighted and isn't willing to pull punches, creating a compelling story that tugs on the reader's heartstrings. It's a lot – and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The novel is split into two perspectives, Maggie and Wes. Switching back and forth between the two not only gave us a solid idea of the world – but a view of their budding relationship. Either perspective could have carried the story and made it enjoyable, but together they took it to a whole new level.

If you're looking for a fantasy read with an emotional plot and characters that feel like they could walk right out of the pages, then please consider reading A Far Wilder Magic.

Unfortunately received the approval for this arc about 18 hours before it published, so my review is delayed.

The book is a YA fantasy. Tough for me to get through because I am not a fan of insta love tropes. Overall good atmosphere. I think there is a good audience for this book that will love it. Unfortunately wasn't for me.