The first is for the throne, the second is For the Wolf! What a great debut from Hannah Whitten. I can see that this series will be a fan favorite leaving readers wanting more.

Synopsis:
As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose-to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he'll return the world's captured gods. Red is excited to go, more than her sister Nev thinks. Red has a secret power that she cannot control, With this power, Red knows that once she is in the Wilderwood, she can't hurt her loves ones any more.

On the surface, this book sounds like it has Little Red Riding Hood vibes with characters like Red and Wolf. Red going into the forest to meet the Wolf. But, once I started reading, it felt more like Beauty and the Beast. There are so many similarities in this story with Belle and the Beast.

I have realized that I am not a fan of fantasy, but I know that this is an extremely popular genre. While this book was not for me, I can see how this is going to be a popular series for young adults, adults and fantasy readers in general.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Going in I thought this was a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, but it lends itself more to Beauty and the Beast. There's a bit of magic and mysticism and folklore within this one as well. For me, the middle of the book was a bit slow, and. I wanted a more consistent pacing throughout. Still, I'll look to read more from the author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

The prose of For the Wolf is absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed stepping into the intricate world of this book. The aesthetic and the characters are delightful. But I think I was a little disappointed that there was so much focus on the mechanics of the magic that it left a little to be desired for me. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it and will likely return to the sequel, For the Throne, when it is released.

**Please see content/trigger warnings at the end of this review**

A dark fairy tale where one sister is sacrificed to "The Wolf" and the other is for the throne. For hundreds of years the town has believed that a daughter must be sacrificed to appease the monster in the forest. Legend says he trapped their noble kings of ages past within the wood and won't let them out-but maybe if the sacrifice is good enough he will?

Red is the sister who is offered up to the Wolf and her twin is to become queen. Red has powers she doesn't understand, and is frightened of, so she goes hoping to be killed quickly so she can't hurt anyone (especially her sister) with her lack of control. But once she gets to the woods, she finds "The Wolf" very different than when she expected and the woods not what they seem. Trying to figure out what's really going on and saving her people become her new goal.

This book certainly embodies dark, creepy forest. Red has a few nods to Little Red Riding Hood, but the tale is mostly a Beauty and the Beast re-telling, with a nod at Snow White near the end. I love a dark fairy tale and quite enjoyed this one.

**Content/trigger warnings: body horror, blood letting, violence.**

I thought it was too much like Uprooted, a book that I liked a lot better. It's a bit spicy so I don't think I'll be able to recommend it to my students but I know some of the teachers will like it.

This story started out really strong for me, but somewhere in the second quarter really started to drag. I found myself disinterested in one of the POV's, which ended up messing with the pacing for me, and as a result I struggled to pick the book back up time and time again. Perhaps it would be received better in one sitting, still an interesting premise and I'll still recommend it to my friends to try!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’m so tardy to the party here, but here we are anyhow. I dug this book pretty well! The writing was exciting, and I’m intrigued to see where this author goes from here. I didn’t realize that this was closer to a Beauty and the Beast retelling (I honestly thought it was Little Red Riding Hood), but I wasn’t disappointed. For the Wolf is a title I’ve been recommending before finishing the book, but now I’ll be sure to recommend it even more!

3.5 Stars

This was a solid fantasy debut. I loved both the setting and the magic. It was mysterious, atmospheric, and provided enough fairytale elements to keep me intrigued. While I enjoyed the characters well enough, Red is your typical chosen one and Wolf is the grumpy love interest who refuses to use words to communicate, the plot really started to drag about half way through. There were a good 100 pages in the middle where I felt like the plot and the characters were running in circles, and none of it was really serving a purpose. I feel like had this book been 100 pages shorter, I would have enjoyed it more. Overall, the ending left me with enough questions I want answers to, so I will be continuing the series.

* Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

First off, many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

DNFed at 45%.

I somehow didn't realize that this story is yet another lazy, unnecessary Beauty and the Beast retelling. Had I realized that, I wouldn't have requested it. My bad, honestly. Though the writing itself isn't especially good, either, and I likely would have DNFed it even if it wasn't. It feels very generic and very YA despite being marketed as an adult book. I won't be reading more from this author.

I LOVE this so much!! Atmospheric, darkly romantic, beautiful writing, and such an interesting story. I cannot wait for the sequel because I MUST know what happens. I will say that this book had a few minor inconsistencies that bothered me (Neve mentions wearing a pendant under her dress and in the next chapter she says she so glad she never wore that pendant...) but overall it did not detract from the good time I had!! Also I would love a short story or something about the Edge?! It seems fascinating.

Thank you netgalley for the advanced reader copy -
This was a really good debut novel and I'm excited to see more from this author. It was extremely descriptive and the relationship between the magic and forest and folklore was beautifully written. While the descriptive scenes were beautiful, every now and then Hannah's strength was a slight weakness in that I would find myself getting lost in a few sentences. But definitely a very small price to pay.

One of the best books I’ve read all year! This dark, lyrical retelling of Little Red Riding Hood blew me away! This book has everything I love: a slow-burn romance, a creepy forest, and a touch of horror. I loved Red and her relationships with Eammon and her sister Neve. I’m so excited for For the Throne, and I can’t wait to learn more about the world and experience it from Neve’s perspective.

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten is the first book in an adult fantasy duology inspired by fairytales. In this world the ruling family that has two daughter the first will gain the throne but the second is for the Wolf in the woods. As the Second Daughter, Red is sacrificed to the Wolf in an attempt to save the captured gods that has not returned in centuries. However, the stories and everything she knows are not in fact true and with her sister trying to get her back Red must learn to trust herself and her magic to protect those she loves. I loved the characters and the fairytale feel of this book. It took me a while to finish this book but I'm looking forward to the sequel. I received a copy through NetGalley for review.

The Beauty and the Beast and Red Riding Hood crossover I never knew I wanted. Whitten captures the dark fantasy vibes so well, and For the Wolf is full of angst and I love it. Did I find the world building simplistic? Yes. Was the magical system confusing? Yes. Were there times when I didn't know what was going on? Yes. BUT sometimes you find a story that brings the right vibes at the right time and you just want to go along for the ride. Finishing For the Wolf felt like exiting dense, dark woods and seeing the outside world. You're dazed and confused and don't quite remember what happened, but for some reason, I'm itching to read more.

This is a retelling of Beauty and the beast and red riding hood. I highly recommend this book. The world building was done very well.

This was such a good read! Little red riding hood vibes, but with such a twist that I was not expecting.

This book didn't really hold my interest. It was a DNF. I just couldn't get into it. The pacing was just too slow.

I really, really enjoyed this different
take on Red and the Wolf. It was very
imaginative, with amazing world building,
and character development. The chemistry
between the characters is very apparent from
the beginning, with a slow burn, and I think
that was overall good, especially with the way
things started to unfold. I loved the way the
author went about it, great storytelling.
I'm highly anticipating the next book.

This book was very well written. At first glance it you would think this is a little red riding hood retelling. However it is more of a beauty and the beast retelling. You have a girl who has been raised from birth to leave her family and join the wolf in the woods near her home. This has been going on for generations in her family and no one sees these children ever again.

First - it’s not the fairy tale you’re thinking of for the adaptation, lol. Fairly solid first fantasy book. Love the sister relationship at the core of this, would’ve personally loved a bit more fleshing out of some of our side characters but there’s at least another book for that to happen. Written also steps out beyond the framework of the fairy tale based fantasy towards the end, and that’s where it starts to shine. Definitely interested in the next book when it comes.