How well do we really know our loved ones?

And how do we cope when our loved one does the unthinkable?

Take Bean, our 15 year old protagonist and her family.

At the outset, we witness a regular day of the Hanes family’s life, which we see play out into a day that permanently changes her family when Bean’s brother, Sam, appears to have taken his own life.
Martha Hunt Handler captures the surreal aftermath that follows losing a family member with a strong dedication to realism. Bean and her family buckle in on themselves, unable to process how Sam would be driven to take his life—and question how well they knew him at all.

As Bean tries to continue on with her life without Sam, she embarks on a journey of healing and discovery, to uncover more about her brother to possibly understand what could have prompted his loss.

If you’re looking for a story that serves as a distraction from the realities of life, this book is certainly not that. However, if an unflinching look at how to cope with tragedy, and find meaning in spite of it, interests you—this book might be for you.

There were many elements I thought Martha Hunt Handler handled well, but there were a few I felt could have been handled better. The mentions of Inuit culture did not feel fully realized. It was unclear to me whether it was a personal fixation for Sam, or if it had meaning to her family at large. Simply put, it felt disjointed.

Also, Bean seemed more mature than her parents at times in terms of rationalizing her brother’s death. This, in my opinion, was one of the less realistic aspects of the story, and while I understand Handler’s take on Bean’s unfailing faith in her brother, I feel that watching her struggle with that faith at certain points in time would’ve been more compelling.

After setting this book down, I’ve realized that despite any issues I had with aspects of the delivery, I deeply agree with the overarching purpose of this book.

Winter of the Wolf’s most poignant moral is that we are so much more than any one action. We all have purpose—impact that is both seen and unseen—and that cannot be erased, even in death.

Thank you to Netgalley and Greenleaf audio books who gave me a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.

When I first read the blurb (which I must admit, I didn’t look at too closely) I thought this would be a good fit. Once I got into the book I realised it probably wasn’t for me. I then reread the blurb more carefully and I obviously missed the spiritualism part which isn’t usually something I gravitate towards. It isn’t something that I personally connect with, so this made connecting to Bean and Sam’s characters difficult.

I appreciated that this book didn’t turn into the typical teenage romance, happily ever after ending. There was a secondary storyline about Bean’s love interests but it stayed in the background which was an excellent choice, as too often I see the romance take over a story which is meant to be about something else.

Kelly Pruner did a great job narrating this book. She played the role of a 15 year old girl well and provided a clear distinction between the first person narration and the dialogue in the book. The only part I didn’t enjoy was when she was narrating the conversations between Bean and her best friend. I felt a lot of the time she got the tone and expression of the girls wrong, it often felt more light and cheery than I felt it should have been. But other than that, it was easy to listen to and the narration flowed well.

I was really looking forward to diving into a book that incorporated the Inuit culture as this is something that I haven’t read in a book before. I enjoyed the early part of the book where the author started to intertwine small parts of the Inuit culture and beliefs into the main storyline. I soon became quickly disappointed and annoyed. This story ended up being full of cultural appropriation. The incorporation of the culture was so superficial. I was expecting the storyline to be somehow linked with the Inuit people, instead it ended up just being about a teenage boy who was fascinated by the culture and decided to take on their culture as his own in inappropriate ways. There wasn’t even the inclusion of an Inuit character. It feels so inappropriate and makes me feel uncomfortable.

How Bean’s mother was portrayed in the story drove me nuts! Bean’s mother fell into a deep depression with her grief, and the main way this was portrayed in the story was that it was an issue as she stopped cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry and all the other stereotypical domestic jobs that women seemed to be labelled with. I was frustrated about how this was something Bean complained about. She was being consumed by her own grief, yet seemed highly annoyed that her mother wasn’t cleaning the bathroom because of hers. Secondary to that, I hate how all the ‘house chores’ then fell to Bean, the only other female in the household. The father and two brothers seemed to do absolutely nothing.

I was so disappointed with the end. I picked the ending very early on as I’ve seen this concept done before. I don’t mind a predictable ending as long as it is done well, but I felt it just missed the mark this time. It felt rushed and lacked depth and emotion. Also even though the ending was believable, I felt the characters reactions were far from realistic. They basically just said okay, glad we know, what’s on the agenda for tomorrow? I was hoping for a little more emotion. I crave stories that make me feel something and this one just didn’t.

Overall this was a fairly poor read. If I was reading a physical copy of this book I don’t think I would have finished. I appreciate what the author was trying to do but I just think it felt short in so many ways which is a shame, as I think this book could have had some potential.

Winter of the Wolf is a YA book about 15 year old girl, Bean, grappling with the aftermath of her brother Sam’s death. His death is ruled a suicide, but she has trouble believing it, and seeks to find answers. I really enjoyed reading how Bean’s relationships changed with her friends, family, school work, and crushes from before Sam’s death to after his death. I also think this book captures Bean’s frustrations very well, especially with her family.

I also liked seeing a character of this age explore other beliefs and spirituality, you don’t see that a lot. My only real criticism is that there are a few behaviors and reactions from some of the characters that didn’t quite add up to me.

I really tried to get into this book, unfortunately, it’s taken this for me to realise I just don’t gel with audiobooks. Nothing against the story at all, I’m sure it’s brilliant, I just couldn’t get into the format of the book, so I’ve rounded it to 3 stars because I wasn’t able to give it the chance it deserves. But thank you for the opportunity either way!

Trigger warning: suicide.
I really enjoyed this book! The story follows a family in Minnesota from the perspective of the daughter, Bean, following the death of Bean’s brother, Sam. While all signs point to suicide, Bean feels differently based on Sam’s strong connection to Inuit culture and word beliefs. Bean takes the reader along her journey to uncover details and insights into what actually happen the night of Sam’s death. I really enjoyed the character of Bean and her unwavering devotion to the truth.

I received a complimentary copy of the audio version of this book from Net Gallery. This is the story of a teenage girl’s recovery from the suicide of her older brother Sam. The suicide came as a complete shock to the entire family and, for a time, each seemed to retreat to themselves to recover, with the narrator bearing the burden around the house. She has a very difficult time believing that Sam killed himself. As she and her best friend explore possibilities, things slowly begin to resolve. The narrator did a wonderful job. I was really drawn into this sad but hopeful tale.

Name: Of Wicked Blood
Author: Olivia Wildenstein, Katie Hayoz
Genre: Teens and YA, Fantasy, Magic, Mystery, Romance, Drama
Rating: 3.7/5
Review:
Of Wicked Blood is a story of surviving and finding one's balance and discovering their origin.
Slate Ardoin has spent his childhood changing foster homes and parents, learning to survive on streets before anything else. Only three things are important to him, his foster brother, Damien, his cactus and his bank account. He never knew his origin, until a letter arrives which claims to know him, his family and his origin.
Cadence De Morel has lived her whole life in a small town, Broom, full of folklores and witchcraft history. But she never knew that these stories were true, there folklores were true, and the curses as well. A stranger, Slate waltzes into her life, and everything falls apart.
Slate wanted nothing but revenge, from the man who knew his parents, who knew who Slate was, and who knew how painful his childhood was. This man, De Morel knew everything, but he did nothing to protect him. Out of anger, Slate robs De Morel family's crypt and a ring from a corpse. Unbeknownst, he starts a curse, that would not only kill him but will harm all the people in the town.
I first started listening to this book because I liked the cover, and ended up liking alot about this book. The narrators were perfect, they expressed the character's feelings, personality and beliefs with their voice. I liked their voice, and enjoyed listening to the book.
Slate is not a good guy, but he's not a bad guy either, He just did what he had to do to survive, which makes his character much more realistic.
I enjoyed listening to this book. The characters are well developed, the plot is intriguing and there are some good plot twists.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of the opinions are my own and this did not affect my review in any way.

I requested this book without really knowing what this book was about or even what to expect. I was definitely not thinking that I was going to read one of my favorite books of all time.

Winter of the Wolf follows Bean, a fifteen-year-old, who is determined to unravel the mystery of her brother Sam’s death. Though all evidence points to a suicide, her heart and intuition compel her to dig deeper.

Like I said I had no expectations about this book, but by the time I was finished I was blown away. This book was inspired by an event the author experienced, I can’t say what the event is because that would spoil the ending but what I can say is that the fact that this story is inspired in true events makes it so much more realistic, heartfelt and impactful.

The writing style is compelling, lyrical and very beautiful. The characters are very well developed and you can’t help but feel empathy towards their situation.

The main character Bean is a piece of work, I was so frustrated with her at the beginning, but at the same time I had never been in Bean´s situation so it´s unfair of me to judge her actions. However, even though I was frustrated at the beginning, the Bean that we follow at the end of the book is one of my favorite characters, her growth that is seen throughout the book is outstanding. All of the other characters weren’t as developed as Bean but I was still able to connect with them and I was still intrigued to find out more about them.

One of my favorite parts about the book was learning about Inuit culture. When I first started reading the book I have to be honest that I had no idea what Inuit culture was, so being able to learn about other cultures and traditions makes this book so much more valuable.

Overall this is an outstanding book that explores grief, suicide and Inuit culture and I could not put it down. I absolutely recommend that you pick up a copy and support the author.

P.s- all of the money that the author makes out of Winter of the Wolf will go as donation to the Wolf Conservation Center so please support in any way you can.

Thanks so much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me read and review this book.

I think maybe this book just wasn't for me. I really enjoyed listening to it but the topics that the author handled were done very surface level and felt like these big topics should be handled more deeply? The story didn't have depth, it was boring and honestly just kind of random. Bean was obsessed with her brother and tries to solve his suicide and it turns out to be erotic asphyxiation because he wanted to get high. I know that this is a serious issue that should be dealt with but the author didn't deal with it at all. She tried to deal with it as a suicide and honestly I'm pretty confused. I think there needed to be more input from sensitivity readers and probably some inuit readers as well because this felt really weird how obsessed Sam was percieved as. I feel like the author had important topics she wanted to explore about grief, and beliefs but she didn't actually help anyone through? It was really close to being amazing but fell really flat for me.

Winter of the Wolf by Martha Hunt Handler and narrated by Kelly Pruner is the first book I had listened to from start to end via Netgalley. I lost the first book due to the fact that I could not find the time to listen to it in it's entirety.

This book however had me hooked. The story is very well told. The narration is pitch perfect. The narrator made Bean herself come to life right in front of my minds eye. Her timing in reading as well as her diction added a lot to the outcome of my enjoyment of the book.

The subject matter, which at first seems cut and dry turns on a dime and left me going --Whoaaa. What. Do not get me wrong. As teenagers we used to play this same game at parties and we were all as stupid as dirt about it. But somehow I figured this would have died out by now. After I finished the book I did a bit of light research and were shocked to see kids still playing this very dangerous "game".

The clincher for me regarding to book is the fact that all proceeds goes towards wildlife. What more can you possibly want.

The one negative about the book. The cover. I would strongly suggest the author invests in getting a better cover. But even with this cover, I decided to ask for the book and I was so glad to receive it.

Winter of the Wolf more of a young adult readers book, but interesting story of a sister looking into the death of her brother an Inuit tribe, usually found in Lapland Norway very near the artic a very proud people perhaps similar to the American Red Indians and they have their beliefs and are very near to nature. Sams death was ruled a suicide but Bean the sister cannot fathom out why surely it's not the Inuits way. The family are torn apart so she turns to her best friend for help and goes on this journey hoping to get to the truth. Quite sad in places and hardship, not much help from family.
My thanks to Netgalley and Greenleaf Audiobooks for a copy to review.

I really enjoyed listening to this narration of Winter of the Wolf. The story is absolutely wonderful and the narrator even better. Her tone and emotion kept me enthralled. It was easy to follow along. I absolutely loved the voice changes for each character so that you could easily tell them apart. Such an entertaining narration.

The story itself was deep and very emotional. There was a lot that I didn't expect. I won't give details as I don't want to ruin the story for anyone else but it's definitely worth reading.

Great, great, great book!

Winter of the Wolf, grabs you by the hands and pulls you from the first chapter to the last word. Martha Hunt Handler takes you on a journey through a young girl’s journey of grief of confusion and how she learns to understand and let go of things she can’t control.

Kelly Pruner performs in a way that makes you believe you are remembering every single event that happened in Bean’s life.

This will not disappoint Young and Adult readers. A beautiful story of a spiritual journey of self-discovery and letting go. A tear-jerker from beginning to end.

Martha Hunt Handler's Winter of the Wolf narrates a very emotional journey of a teenage girl Bean in turning her grief into gratitude.
Sam, her dear brother, is the one who first pronounced her existence at age two when even their mother did not know that she was pregnant with Bean. He is the one who gave her the name, Bean. Sam’s unexpected death comes as a big shock and she is more shattered when it is pronounced that he has killed himself.

Bean is not willing to accept that he is gone. She sees him in her dream world, which is the only soothing moment she has now. She says, ‘My dream world and real world are light years apart’.
She feels like an empty vessel devoid of compassion. She is the special sister in the whole world (for Sam). He used to write wonderful Birthday letters every year for her. And no birthday notes from Sam on her 15th Birthday which goes unnoticed by her grieving family.

Bean is not convinced that Sam, who believes in Inuit customs and celebrates life can kill himself. Sam’s death is making her doubt her soul wisdom that she gained through his conversations on the Inuit People and their customs.

She attempts to defeat her depression and focus on finding the truth about Sam’s death. Bean takes her best friend Julie into confidence and starts investigating (with her help) to find out what happened on that fatal night.

Scenes like Julie’s reconnecting to Bean as BFF on her 15th birthday and her father taking the family for Thanksgiving dinner at a (ugly cold corrugated) Diner are heart-wrenching.

Bean’s bonding with her mother and intent to protect her are well described as “I want to believe that I am okay so that she should be okay”.
Bean who has thought” We were no longer a whole family”, comes to realize that each one of them is suffering the loss in one’s own way. She finds solace in learning that her elder brothers Adam and Chase loved Sam dearly and they love and want to protect their little sister as well.
She sees her dad evolving into a different person when he says, ‘We all see the world through our unique lenses…. choose to accept our differences’ and does not object her venturing out on a winter night to perform Shamanic ritual.
Julie’s first fishing venture with Sam and Bean and her killing the fish, Sam’s Inuit theory about mingling her blood with that of fish to make peace is an interesting episode.

Bean and Julie performing Shamanic Ritual hoping to connect with Sam, feel his presence and find answers turns out to be triumphant. And finally, truth unfolds exactly when it is supposed to.

You will also learn about several Inuit theories such as ‘Souls are pure vibrational energies’ and they do not die, they transform’; trees are guardian spirits; all animals equally powered.

There is a big reveal at the end which is very important and element of education especially for parents with young and teenage kids.

This book delves deep into loss and grief, spirituality, and the ideas of forgiveness. I am not a very spiritual person, but I found this book's talk about spirituality and the connection between all living things to be fairly interesting. However, I wasn't sure why Bean's brother had to have a fascination with the Inuit culture to be spiritual. I don't know why the author added that element, and I'm not sure if it was portrayed accurately or not. I do have questions about why the author felt it was necessary though. I also do not love the resolution. The great mystery turned out to be...not going to ruin it for anyone, but it was not what I wanted.

In conclusion, I like the discussion about spirituality, grief, forgiveness, love, and loss. I do not think it was necessary to tie it to a culture the author may or may not know everything about. The conclusion was disappointing to me.

I received this audiobook arc from NetGalley. This review is voluntary, honest and spoiler-free.
Winter of the Wolf is a YA mystery written by Martha Hunt Handler. It was published in 2020. The arc that I received was narrated by Kelly Pruner.
The story in this novel is a very emotional and compelling read. I got interested in the book from the very start. It is a story about a very tragic loss to a family. It was a heart wrenching yet happy ending story.
I really loved the narrator’s voice and the way she expressed and delivered the whole story. Her narration style gave weight to the words and also is a reason for a high-rating. The words although are also very nice. The way the story was developed was super amazing. It was a page-turner for sure.
This book kept me hooked from the very start until the very end. I really didn’t want the book to end because I was enjoying every second of it. It was like I was transported to a totally different world. The characters and their personalities were presented in a perfect way. I could imagine and experience the pain of the characters. I felt connected to them.
Apart from that, the cover was also a reason for my requesting this book. The cover is beautiful and it called to me and I had high hopes for the book and I am so happy to say that it stood up to all those expectations. I feel lucky to be able to read and review this amazing piece of work and I sure do want to read more of Martha’s work and also listen to more audiobooks narrated by Kelly.
A work that is beautifully written from start to end and narrated so beautifully and presented to you with a beautiful cover is always temping. A book with everything so good deserves full 5-stars.

This was my first audio book for review from NetGalley. I throughly enjoyed being able to listen on the go.

The story was very serious and emotional.. Some parents may want to be cautious of whatever age they allow to read or listen to it. Very strong emotions, death, suicide, grief, may not be appropriate for all ages. I enjoyed the way the story played out. It was encouraging that hope and some peace was found at the end.

Winter of the Wolf
by Martha Hunt Handler
Written by the author after the death of a friend's child because of auto-erotism asphyxiation (AEA). This book opens the readers eyes to the reality of suicide by asphyxiations may not be a simple thing. Bean is faced with the sudden death of her brother, left with the mystery of how he died, her family, her world is reeling. The grief is overwhelming for all of them in different ways. They are left with unanswered questions, and what information they have is contradictory. Sam's Inuit beliefs color the pages of the book, the spiritual nature of how he sees things is controversial by the nature of his death. It is a struggle that all families face in the situation of suicide. The self doubt, and world imploding nature of the act of suicide is more universal then the writer may know. It is a heart rending story that shows the true nature of belief, and the spiritual nature of the world may help with grief. I hope that parents share this story, even in part with their children reminding them that these games are deadly.

I received an ARC of this audiobook through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

When 15-year-old Bean's closest confidante, her brother Sam, ends up dead by hanging, she refuses to believe that he killed himself, even though all evidence points to a suicide. Bean and her friend Julie look into Sam's Inuit beliefs and their own spiritual beliefs to try to understand what really happened.

This was a great book on dealing with grief and the way everything changes when a loved one dies. I did not see the ending coming. It is a heavy book emotionally due to the subject matter, but it is a very good read. I enjoyed learning about the Inuit's beliefs. Kelly Pruner did a fantastic job narrating the audiobook.

I requested this book because the premise interested me even though I am not a spiritual person myself I thought this might be interesting. Unfortunately this book fell flat in so many places for me. I want to try and explain my issues without spoiling the book.
For starters I want to talk about the main character Bean, yes Bean because the "quirky and unique character" needs wacky name trope isn't over done enough we see it again here cause parents would totally name their child Bean because a two year old suggested it... Thats not even my main issue it just bugged me. Moving on Bean is not likeable at all. I get she just went though a tragedy but she is selfish and rude to her family ignoring two of her brothers for no discernable reason other than they are not Sam. She is mad her mom is feeling feelings because only she can be sad about Sam and how dare her dad ask her to do some chores while her mom is grieving. So yes Bean is for sure one of my biggest problems with this book and its not like she really grows all that much either.
My other biggest problem is the author wants to raise awareness about two very specific things with this book and I don't feel like she did that at all. She mentioned those things only a handful of times and not nearly soon enough for it to feel impactful or make me want to learn more. This book literally fails at the authors main objective.
I am not even going to touch on the culture appropriation that is beyond prevalent in this book as I an not Inuit and thus have no real authority to speak on that.
The only thing I liked in this book was a few of the discussions of the after life and spirituality and I am an atheist! So to simplify the main character is selfish and extremely annoying, the "mystery" of this book had no real build up, the author failed to accomplish her basic goals, and this book was at best mildly offensive. I would not recommend this book to anyone. I try to find something redeeming in every book I read but this one just really and truly missed the mark. Do not waste your time.