The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

Liz

Nov 26

6th DNF of 2022

In her forest-veiled pagan village, Évike is the only woman without power, making her an outcast clearly abandoned by the gods. The villagers blame her corrupted bloodline—her father was a Yehuli man, one of the much-loathed servants of the fanatical king. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king's blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered.

But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he's no ordinary Woodsman—he's the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it's like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.

As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they're on, and what they're willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all.

CW: Gore, blood, violence, self harm, animal death, antisemitism, death of parent

Rating

DNF @38%

Review

I'm so disappointed, I wanted to love this book so much, but I sincerely couldn't. It's not because it's a bad book or anything, but it just didn't match with me.

Let's start with the elements I liked. This world is very complex, and the descriptions make it enjoyable to read. The eeriness of the forest where the action takes place is there, especially with the different creatures and the season chosen by the author. You know that anything can happen while you are walking through those woods.

Sadly it's not enough to compensate for the elements I wasn't a fan of. First, I thought of 'I already read this book' while reading, which is very perturbing. In one form or another, it's kinda the basic in fantasy romance, like you have all the tropes and settings that make it one. I already read this book with those characters, and this' tension', which doesn't feel like it as you have only one pov, and you can feel it's not reciprocal. Also, the main character is just a bore, acting like a teenager so imagine my shock when I discovered that she is twenty-five!! I was so fed up with her that I wasn't even interested in learning what would happen to them. Also, I found the book so convenient in its writing. Every event is made to accomplish their quest and be a couple. I know it needs to be like that to unravel the story, but I hate it when it's too visible.

Lastly, I had the feeling with nearly every chapter that it was the end. I don't know how to explain, but every time I felt that it was the end of the forest part and even the end of the book.

I promise, I tried; I even did a soft DNF, but after nearly a month, I didn't pick it up again, and I don't see myself doing it.

Liz.

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