Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Wolf Light by Yaba Badoe was a very interesting story that reminded me a little of three dark crowns with the sister aspect but the magic system was very unique.

Zula, Adoma and Linet are sisters yet they live on opposite ends of the world to each other. Zula guards her beloved mountain in Mongolia, Adoma cares for the River Goddess in Ghana and Linet's soul is one with the drowning pool in Cornwall. Though not bound by blood, the sisters live with each other in a world beyond our own and learn how to use their gifts for the good of the world. But when evil and greed threatens to destroy nature, the sisters must rise up and fight with everything they have.

This is a beautifully told story that really echoes the fight humankind are having today with the current climate emergency, and the wall of corporate greed and cruelty that seems intent on destroying our beautiful world. Wolf Light really emphasises the importance of caring for nature, and how in turn, nature cares for us as well. This book has a wonderful bond of sisterhood in it as well, and it's very much three girls rising up to face down whoever tries to break them apart and they're always there for each other through thick and thin.

The writing in this is very melodious and flowery, which suited the spiritual nature of the book in my opinion. I think this story bordered between middle grade and YA and because of that I feel like some parts of the story missed out on further development which could have made it stronger. I would have liked more back story about the guardians - how they knew of their powers, how they met each other in the spirit world and knew the girls would be the most powerful. It was alluded to that there was a wider group but we only saw Nana Merrimore's friends. Linet's story also felt a little bit unfinished and it felt like she didn't really get her 'rising up' story the way the others did. The villains were very black and white in this book too, and I think they got their comeuppance too suddenly and easily as well. I would have liked a bit more of a fight between them all I think, as the suddenness of everything near the end felt rushed.

Overall, a really enjoyable story though!

This is a beautiful coming of age story about three girls, magic and sacred roles of protection. Though it was little too character based for me, being more about the girls developing and growing into their roles and powers, I really enjoyed the premise of the book. I loved the fact that these were three different girls, from three very different cultures and places, with three different forms of power.

I really liked how much power was connected to nature. How the girls were protecting their particular environment from the people who don't respect it and want to use it for their own gain. I liked the way that each girl's personal bond with the land they were tasked to protect was so seeped in their culture and traditions.

The other thing that I found really good about this book was how distinct each girl's perspective was. How you could tell which girl was which before they were identified.

If you like very character driven coming of age stories full of magic, culture and respect for the environment.

The Details:

- YA
- Fantasy
- Easily Read

While this book is easily read and shows insight into diverse cultures with shamanic magic thrown in, for me, personally, I didn't find the book very enjoyable as the chapters and very short and switch between different character viewpoints too often.
I found it very difficult to connect emotionally with the characters, so I wasn't as invested in the story as I could have been.
This book also ends extremely suddenly, leaving the reader with the sense that the book has been left undone or something is missing.

Definitely worth a read, if only to form your own opinion but it isn't a book that I will be reading again.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of Wolf Light by Yaba Badoe. I've voluntarily read and reviewed this copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wolf Light is a beautiful and poetic story that follows Zula, Adoma and Linet, gifted with elemental powers and shapeshifting abilities, who are tasked with protecting sacred sites around their homes in Ghana, Mongolia and Cornwall. When their sacred sites are being threatened, Zula, Adoma and Linet must work together to protect their home from being destroyed.

The writing is absolutely stunning. Poetic and immensed with feeling. You are immediately drawn into the connection these sisters share. While the beginning is a bit confusing and the characters don't have a lot of background story, you can't help but feel connected to these girls and their protected sites.

I would love to read more stories by Yaba Badoe. Her writing is very captivating and lyrical. The mythical and magical aspects were incredibly well written. I highly recommend this to book.

A wonderful YA fantasy which the author creates such beautiful imagery, the descriptions are so poetic and beautiful. The story is wonderful and keeps you interested, the only criticism I would say is the characters could have been explored a bit more, don’t feel like I knows them that well, or rather I still had questions. But I really enjoyed this.

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

I saw Yaba Badoe speak at YALC last year, and thought she was absolutely fantastic to listen to. I could just tell that her books would be full of lyrical imagery and spectacular magic. So when I saw that Wolf Light was on NetGalley, I instantly requested it.
I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting from Wolf Light, but what I got was a really beautiful, lyrical discussion of climate change, family, and the family you choose for yourself, mixed with elemental magic and myth, and coming of age.
Three main characters, scattered around the world in Mongolia, Ghana, and Cornwall, Zula, Adoma, and Linet are tasked with protecting sites of spiritual importance, and gifted with elemental powers to do that. When each of their homes is threatened by progress, the girls need to work together to protect their homes and sacred sites.
There is so much going on in this book, and it feels like there is intense depth to this world that we have only just scraped the surface of. That's both a positive and a negative for this book. It's clear that there is a rich seam of storytelling here which underpins the narrative we experience, but it also feels like our experience of these three girls is shallower than it could be. I was left a tiny bit disappointed at the end of this book that, despite having three wonderful main characters, it didn't feel like we really knew any of them. Perhaps it's because the book spends a lot of time on descriptions of the eerie, twilight-based magical system, or because there are beautifully lyrical descriptions of their sacred sites, but I was left somewhat unfulfilled by the depths of character that we plumbed.
But that's not to say that this book doesn't have absolute stacks of wonderful imagery and great breadth of stories. Three diverse and different main characters, some fabulous scene-setting, and a variety of family situations was great - presenting these different arrangements as nothing lesser, nothing other, but these three girls' normal. I also really loved the friendship and sisterhood between the three girls. Friends are the family you choose for yourself, and the supportive and loving nature of their relationship is something that I would love to see more of in YA books - too often we see the toxic side of female close friendships, but we need more of the wonderful support that these sisters give to each other.

This was a unique and enjoyable YA fantasy book. It follows three young girls, Zula, Adomat and Linet, who are guardians of the sacred sites of their respective homelands (Mongolia, Ghana and Cornwall). While I enjoyed reading this book, I didn't love it as much as I wanted to. The world is an interesting one, the characters are well written and I enjoyed the plot. Overall this is a good YA fantasy book and I would recommend checking it out, especially if you enjoy YA fantasy.