I loved this and cannot wait to read more. Horo the wolf-god was just amazing. She is feisty and strong. You are drawn to Lawrence and just want him to not be lonely anymore. You want him to succeed. I am a fan of slow burn romance so that does not bother me at all. It was very sweet. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

(Author’s note: BIG thank you to NetGalley and Yen Audio for providing me an arc of this audiobook)

Spice and Wolf! Now that’s a title that takes me back! This anime came out in 2008 and was a pretty big deal across the anime community. The series featured older characters than the typical teenage centric fair, which was rare, especially in the 2000s. It was considered a more mature story than the typical anime fare of the day and featured memorable characters–namely one named Holo the Wise Wolf.

Supposedly that’s true! I never watched it! I meant to though. 2012 was a strange year for me, and I discovered this anime exists in large part having a crush on a boy who was obsessed with it. The romance went nowhere, and I dunno what happened to him! Such is youth! Thanks to my crush though, I ended up reading the first light novel about ten years ago, and quite enjoyed it.

And that was that. Flash forward, it’s the year 2022, and what’s ten years old is new again! As of last year, Yen Press started branching off into audiobooks. I had no idea until I saw that a Spice and Wolf audiobook was being released on 03/15/2022. I was initially excited that it exists, and then nervous that the end product would be half-baked and lazy. Luckily Yen Audio was kind enough to let me have an arc of the audiobook! So what did I think?

First off, there will no spoilers. So if you’ve never read it before, rest assured, you will still be able to enjoy this review!


Spice and Wolf Volume 1 Audiobook:

Isuna Hasekura (Author), J. Michael Tatum (Narrator), Yen Audio (Publisher)

Synopsis from Amazon: The life of a traveling merchant is a lonely one, a fact with which Kraft Lawrence is well acquainted. Wandering from town to town with just his horse, cart, and whatever wares have come his way, the peddler has pretty well settled into his routine – that is, until the night Lawrence finds a wolf goddess asleep in his cart. Taking the form of a fetching girl with wolf ears and a tail, Holo has wearied of tending to harvests in the countryside and strikes up a bargain with the merchant to lend him the cunning of “Holo the Wisewolf” to increase his profits in exchange for taking her along on his travels. What kind of businessman could turn down such an offer? Lawrence soon learns, though, that having an ancient goddess as a traveling companion can be a bit of a mixed blessing. Will this wolf girl turn out to be too wild to tame?:

I’m not super familiar with anime dubs in general but his voice of J.Michael Tatum is a perfect choice. Spice and Wolf is one of those series that makes boring things (economics) more accessible to the average person. It does those thanks to interesting set pieces and characters. Thus it’s probably no surprise that Spice and Wolf can be a little dry in places. With the right voice, this ceases to be a problem in an audiobook. And his voice is the right voice! It’s a calm voice, yet it conveys a lot of life and personality, and I personally found it soothing. I would probably listen to this person read a phone book.

He’s also very good at giving different characters distinctive voices. I particularly liked the voice for Holo as it perfectly portrayed her larger-than-life character, yet never broke off the soothing chill thing the audiobook had going for it.

Nailing the voices is important as this is the story of a friendship forming first and foremost. Yes, there are lucrative deals and dangers, but what kept me coming back was the relationship between the main characters, Holo and Lawrence. They’re both fleshed-out and likable characters. They talk, joke, argue, learn, and grow as people(or whatever Holo is) against the backdrop of a lush European renaissance fantasy-inspired world. And it works! The banter between the two is so much fun. This serves the story well, as it functions as a slice of life that works to set up what will be the rest of the series–though despite that, this still delivers an exciting finale.

My only problem with the book is unfortunately a problem I have with a lot of anime. And I don’t want to talk about it, but we have to. The Spice and Wolf story has a wee bit of sexism where it inherently views women as much weaker and less capable than men. While there are not outright ecchi hijinks (thank god) it still was uncomfortable. To the story’s credit, Holo proves more than once capable of holding and one-upping Lawerence. Still, it’s there, and it’s an unfortunate bias that serves as a shadow on an otherwise good time.

The audiobook was a quick listen for me, clocking in at 4 hours and 53 minutes. I think it’s a marvelous audiobook and will be keeping an eye for future Yen Audio releases. And right now really is the perfect time to revisit the series, what with a new anime dropping and all…

Spice and Wolf is probably one of the first light novels I read, after I discovered what they were! So when I learned that they were coming out in Audiobook form and read by one of my favourite voice actors, J. Michael Tatum I became interested and I am so glad I did.

We follow Kraft Lawrence, a traveling merchant who knows how lonely that life can be. Wandering from town to town with just his horse, cart and whatever wares have come his way, the peddler has pretty well settled into his routine-that is, until one night when Lawrence finds a wolf goddess asleep in his cart. Bored and wearied of tending to the harvests in the countryside Holo, who takes the form of a fetching girl with wolf ears and a tail, offers Lawrence a bargain he can hardly turn down. In exchange for letting her travel with him she will bestow upon him the cunning of ‘Holo the Wisewolf’ which will increase his profits. Well Lawrence would be mad to turn down such an offer, but he soon learns that having an ancient goddess traveling with you can be a bit of a mixed blessing.

The story itself is fun, entertaining and enjoyable. Yes some elements might not be the best, for example the economic sections of the trading sometimes leave a bit to be desired but when you are in a world of ancient wolf goddesses you cannot always apply real-life ideals to the world. Even if this world bears a vague resemblance to medieval Europe. The pacing and story keep you engaged but the real thing that I enjoyed with the narrator.

As I have already said J. Michael Tatum is one of my favourite voice actors from Sir Hammerlock in Borderlands to Sebastian in Black Butler and more I have always enjoyed the range he can bring to a role. His narration of Spice and Wolf volume one is no expectation. Each character is brought to life and given a voice of their own. The tone and clarity is lovely. It honestly was a joy to listen to.

A would definitely recommend it to fans of the series. It’s lovely to be able to listen while doing other things, be that working or just travel etc. I really hope the rest of the novels get the same treatment. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the audio ARC of this.