2.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for allowing me to review this book in advance. I wanted to love this book, but I found it too disturbing. Ritual animal sacrifice/ animal death is a huge no.

I appreciated the intelligent writing, lots of words I had to look up though. It did beef up my vocabulary! I liked the folklore and the overall message rallying against religious zealotry, genocide and ethnic cleansing.

The plot line and the two MC’s meander around through the deadly plains and woods on some very high risk/low reward adventures. Obviously it’s meant to throw our two MC’s together and cement them into an enemies to lovers situation because of the forced proximity. I just didn’t get the chemistry between them. Gaspar is so flat and I feel like Evike uses him more than cares about him, I didn’t see much romance, at least not the kind people would kill and die for.

Overall, it just wasn’t for me.

It’s hard for me to even put into words how much I enjoyed this book. The world building was wonderful and dark and twisted. While I am not Jewish I was captivated with the Jewish folklore that was woven into this story. The story itself reads like a horror story with the strange wicked creatures and the hatred inspired by real antisemitic history in Hungary. I really enjoyed the slow burn romance that was also included in the story. It was a wonderful addition to the heavy topics of oppression and ethnic cleansing. Évike and Gáspár has such a beautiful romance it never felt forced and I felt that it was an honest and believably beautifully formed relationship. They were each other’s match and Gáspár kneeling after their love brought him to his knees was swoon worthy. I highly recommend this book.

The Wolf and the Woodsman is a fabulous debut fantasy. Full of everything I love when I’m seeking out a new epic adventure. There is such depth to this world-building and the plot arc is complex- full of sacrifice, past abuse, talk of cultural identity, and scenes of persecution and oppression. I don’t know if I’ll do a good job of it, but I’ll try to hammer out some words in a workable review.

Evike is the only woman in her village who has no power and therefore is the one who is sacrificed when the Woodsmen come to take a seer back to the king. She is angry and indignant and determined to escape. The journey is hellish and full of monsters. It doesn’t take long for Evike to realize that the leader of the group is none other than the dishonored prince, Gaspar Barany. When everyone but the two of them ends up slaughtered, they must carry on with their journey toward the capital city, despite their distrust and outright hatred for each other. But that hatred slowly turns to something like friendship, and trust starts to build until a true affection and devotion is all that’s left.

When the two reach finally reach their destination that’s when readers realize the horror of what the king is actually doing to the women taken from the pagan villages and the details of his extensive plans to consolidate power.

I wish I could dive deep into this plot, but as I mentioned above there is so much going on. And readers really should experience the plot arc unfolding for themselves without any spoilers. This is a story about abuse of power, prejudice, nation-building, and ethnic cleansing. It’s also a book about sacrifice and love and forgiveness. There is a love story amidst all the violence and hatred between two very different, yet connected people. Both Evike and Gaspar are fractured and stuck in survival mode, but they are also both smart, resourceful warriors who see the wrongness of what the kingdom is doing to what it considers its lesser residents and want to do something about it.

This is not an easy read by any means, most epic fantasy isn’t. But it is a compelling, fantastical adventure that will stay with its readers long after they’ve read the last word. It does leave off in a hopeful place, but I would have liked a little more closure in regards to Evike and Gaspar’s relationship. In the end, I was at peace with how this book wrapped up.

I really enjoyed this book. The world building was great and the characters were complex and interesting. I had seen a lot of hype before requesting this on netgalley, and the hype was deserved. It was good.

However I do need to say something. If your book needs a pronunciation guide, PLEASE put it at the beginning. This book had a multiple-page guide at the end, where I learned that I’d been pronouncing nearly everything wrong for the entire time. That was frustrating.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I was hoping for more of a fantasy romance, and there's just not a lot of ROMANCE in the romance plotline - despite a large chunk of the book being Evike and Gaspar traveling together. I wanted an epic enemies to lovers love and it just sort of... fell flat for me.

Also, ALL THE CONTENT WARNINGS. I can't even. Ava Reid says, in a Goodreads review comment of her book, that this has a "'magic system based on body horror,' which is I think apt - and so, naturally, there are a lot of graphic, on-the-page depictions of gore." She also notes that "Religious persecution, cultural genocide, and ethnic cleansing are at the core of this book."

I don't know, I was expecting more romance and more fairy tale, and instead got pages and pages of Evike hating everything and lashing out in pain and hatred because that's all she's known for so long. This was just... really hard to read. I did feel some sympathy for her by the end of the book, and found myself pushing to finish it because I needed to know how it ended, as for much of it Evike is town between her two heritages and her growing love for the enemy. It's like being between a rock and a hard place and a pit full of spikes. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it - it was an okay and often thought-provoking read with the occasional really great moment, but also a lot of slogging through the muck. I don't think I'll be reading anything else by Ava Reid in the near future.

I just know it's a good book when I'm trying really hard to read slowly so I could savor it. Unfortunately, as much as I didn't want it to end, it did. *cries myself to sleep*

I honestly can't decide what I love most about TWATW- the author's evocative and lyrical writing, Évike's strength and character growth, the simmering slow-burn romantic tension of a doomed love or the lush storytelling inspired by Jewish folklore and Hungarian history. I am so utterly in awe of this beautiful, atmospheric, brilliant book.

I don't know what to tell you. From the first moment I heard about TWATW, I just knew I had to read it. This is one of my most anticipated 2021 releases and I'm so happy to say it's pretty effin' BRILLIANT.

I loved being immersed in this brutal, haunting and enchanting world. Ava Reid weaved a story so addictive and captivating in its honesty and rawness. Her heart and passion in telling this story shone through the pages. She created a cast of complex characters that are impossible not to root for. Witnessing Évike go through her journey of finding her identity, self worth and place in the world was nothing short of fascinating. My heart ached for Évike. And Gáspár? This prince with a broken, tortured soul also has my heart.

Needless to say, TWATW is one of the most memorable books I've read this year! Will definitely read this again!

"I am one small star in a huge and brilliant constellation."

"You can’t hoard stories the way you hoard gold, despite what Virág would say. There’s nothing to stop anyone from taking the bits they like, and changing or erasing the rest, like a finger smudging over ink. Like shouts drowning out the sound of a vicious minister’s name."

"This sudden fearlessness is like a song that begs for singing, the words and the melody bubbling up in me boldly, loudly."

I received an ARC to read and review. Quoted excerpt/s may change in the final print.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an electronic advanced reader copy. Everything here is my own opinion.

This book had a lot of fun aspects. I loved the stories and lore that were woven within the story. Our main characters, Évike who is "wolf girl" and Gáspár who is a "woodsman," share lore and stories back and forth; and that is about the extent of their similarities. When Gáspár needs the help of a wolf-girl to save his kingdom and Évike offered up as a sacrifice, things get a little complicated. Both have strong feelings about the other's culture and religion and are not afraid to say it.

What I absolutely loved about this book was the lore woven in, the tension between not only the main characters but some side characters, and just the atmosphere of this book. I feel as if this one would make a great mini-TV show series.

This book was a little slow for me. Not only that, but sometimes I felt the lore woven in, which I adored on its own, took away from the main story being told. The first half of the book I felt like nothing was happening, but I was still interested to see what would happen in the end. It was good for a standalone, but it left me wanting more and feeling as if something was missing.

As a fan of Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden I was captured by the title and description of The Wolf and the Woodsman. It didn't disappoint. Although reminiscent of Spinning Silver and the The Bear and the Nightingale, Ava Reid wove her own compelling tale of fantasy and mystery. I enjoyed her storytelling and found I couldn't put the book down.

3 Stars

The Wolf and the Woodsman was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021. However, it did not live up to expectations.

The writing was beautiful from start to finish. It was very descriptive, and while I appreciated that, I also got overwhelmed by it. The number of descriptions made this book feel so long and took me forever to finish a chapter. In fact, some chapters almost put me to sleep.

Our main character, Évike was not what I was expecting. I expected someone who wouldn't be brave and strong like she turned out to be. And I am so glad I was wrong about that. Évike was brave and stood up for people who didn't deserve her kindness. Gaspar was kind of frustrating, but not too bad. Their relationship from enemies to friends was so torturous. One of the longest slow burns of my life.

The story at first was so inviting, and I was so intrigued about where their story would go. But nothing happened for the first 50% of the story. The plot did not move forward at all. , Évike and Gaspar journeyed to find the answer to their problems. While they did come across some terrible creatures, it did nothing for the overall story. When they did get to the city, I did love those parts. Évike reuniting with her father was one of my favorite moments. I am so glad that aspect was included.

This book had its moments, and while I did not care for most of this story. I am still glad that I read it. I look forward to reading more Ava Reid in the future.

This is the story of Évike, who is a pagan girl from a remote village. Every couple of years, the Woodsmen come from the capital city, and they take one of the magical girls from their village for the king. This time when they come, Évike, who has no magic to speak of, is disguised as one of the magical girls in their wolf cloaks and given to the Woodsmen. Halfway back to the capital, they are attacked by monsters. Only Évike, and Woodsmen’s captain, Gáspár survive. Only Gáspár is more than meets the eye, he is actually the king’s firstborn son, which means per their religion, that he is the heir. Gáspár’s father is trying to collect pagan magic to win a war, and his overly-zealous and cruel half-brother is attempting to undermine him to seize the throne. As they journey together, Gáspár and Évike make a pact to stop his brother from seizing power, and many shenanigans are had along the way.

Reader, I adored this book. I picked it up late one night after finishing another, figuring that I could get a chapter in before having to sleep and then suddenly it was 3am? How did this happen? I have no idea, but I’m pretty sure that I can’t put this book down. It’s so easy to just pick it up and read it for hours and hours.

Évike was a really likeable character, to me. She’s often understandably snippy, to Gáspár or to other people she meets. But she is navigating a world where everyone has been cruel to her, either for being magicless, being pagan, or, as she comes to meet her estranged father, exploring her Yehuli heritage. The book is told from her POV and she told her story very well. I also really liked Gáspár and how the relationship between the two of them changed over time. It was such a torturous slow-burn. So good. Loved it.

This is such an evocative and immersive book that is inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish folklore, and watching Évike, a child of two cultures that the rulers of the kingdom have no love for, try and find her place in the world, was very gripping. Even though it can be quite gory at times, and full of feels, I still read this book in just two sittings, because I could not put it down. What a fantastic debut!

Evike lives in a pagan village as the sole woman without magic. Ostracized and bullied, she has little love for the village seed who raised her and her sister, or so she thinks. One night, the Woodsmen come to take a seer to the King. The King is not a ally of the pagans, rather he and the other people of the land believe in a different god who has no tolerance for the old magic. Evike is dressed as a seer to prevent the ones with real magic from being taken. The Woodsmen, who Evike and her people fear, are much what she has learned. They make blood sacrifices to their god for power and their own kind of magic. But one of the Woodsmen seems different and she learns he is heir to the throne, but is challenged by his younger bastard brother who is prejudiced against not only the pagans but other ethnicities, too. Evike and the prince make a pact to find the turul, a bird of legend that contains the power to see all things.

I enjoyed the story overall. Evike is strong-willed but she quickly moons over the prince and her wondering at his feelings for her the first half of the book was overdone. But once they make it to the Capital city, the writing is more focused and not the adolescent ramblings of a girl with a crush on the first nice guy she meets. The blurb says this story is based on Hungarian history and Jewish folklore. I wish an afterward went more into depth about this background.

Thank you Netgalley for the free ARC.
Adult

Ava Reid’s The Wolf and the Woodsman was so much fun to read. Definitely read this if you’re a fan of Novik’s Uprooted. I saw some similarities with Katherine Arden’s Winternight trilogy (simply because of the paganism-monotheism clash). Even so, Reid’s novel is still very different in terms of graphic detail, complex and multiple systems of magic, as well as pacing. Personally, the ending seemed a bit abrupt to me, like a total deus ex machina, but I didn’t mind so much. Also, the romance in The Wolf and the Woodsman is very much at the forefront.

This book is for you if you like adventure-quests, magic lost and found and lost again, Judeo-Christian-pagan themes/mythology, fantastically creepy monsters (no joke), an underdog heroine, or noble eyeless princes. I appreciated how Reid draws some very obvious and significant parallels between the Yehulis in the novel and the Jewish community. I did find the main character, Evike, a tad whiny, which would make sense if she weren’t twenty-five years old. I also thought the villain, Nandor, fell a little flat—I just wanted to see more of him! Overall, this was a very compelling read—I finished it in a day, if that says anything.

While I had high hopes for this book, it ultimately wasn't for me. An exciting first chapter led into what felt like a long survivalist slog with two characters whose constant bickering didn't endear me to either. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic is a trope that I normally enjoy, but in this instance, my lack of attachment to either Gáspár and Évike as characters made it harder to root for their romantic success.

Where the book does excel is in its writing and dark wildwood setting. The descriptive prose does an excellent job of bringing you into the world, and the world-building raises a lot of questions about the often-fraught relationship between state and religion. I can imagine plenty of readers who will love this book for exactly the reasons it didn't work for me, and I would still be interested in reading another title from this author in the future.

Where do I even begin with this review??? I have been sitting here for a while trying to formulate a proper review, but all my brain is thinking is OH MY GOD THAT WAS SO GOOD WHATTTTT!!!!

I want to start off by saying this is absolutely an adult book. There is a lot of body horror, gore, and violence along with genocide and sex. It is very graphic, so be aware!

The Wolf and the Woodsman is advertised as being inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology. Évike, a twenty-five-year-old pagan lives as an outcast in her village on the outskirts of the Ezer Szem forest. She is the only woman in the village who cannot use magic, and she is half Yehuli- one of the most hated people in all Rágország. All her life, she has been trained to fear the Woodsmen, the king’s Holy Order of ax-bearers who bring a seer to the kingdom as a sacrifice to the King. However, Évike’s village betrays her and offers her as the sacrifice to protect the seers of the village. On her way to the village, the convoy gets attacked by ravenous monsters in the woods, and all that’s left of the party of Woodsmen is the cast-out, true-born heir to the throne, Gáspár Bárány. Together, Évike and Gáspár team up and plan on overthrowing Gáspár’s zealous brother Nándor who intends to take over the crown and destroy all the pagans and Yehuli in Rágország.

Religion and devotion to one’s people are a huge part of this story. The three main ones that we see here are the Patrifaith- the main religion of Rágország, the pagans, and the Yehuli. The Patrifaith are trying to make Rágország free from all pagans and Yehuli. But I did notice that all three of these religions had certain things in common, specifically in their magic and their stories. I loved that throughout TWATW, I could see ties between all three.

This story is enchanting and perfectly captures the fairytale aesthetic of being in a dark forest on a quest filled with magic, monsters, and danger around every turn. The mixture of Jewish folklore and Hungarian history (which I am unfamiliar with) made this book extremely captivating for me. It is so important to have a story with underrepresented people and cultures, and this book perfectly wound together Jewish stories with the fantasy genre. I felt that this story was very personal to the author, and I could tell when reading it how much it meant to her. The vivid imagery and poetic writing made me fall in love with this story, and I can’t wait to see what other books Reid will write!

Hands down, this is one of my favorite books, and I will be recommending it to everyone!!

Slight spoilers (not too much, I knew this going in and did not feel upset):

At first, I was very caught off-guard by all the violence. But, as I kept reading, I slowly got used to it and realized how vital to the story it is. To use magic, the people in this world must give something of themselves away, whether that be energy to heal, or a severed pinky finger to wield fire. I also was expecting a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance, and this did not disappoint!! I really loved Gáspár (he was my favorite) and, even though she made me mad at times, I adored Évike.


MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD:


My favorite part of this book that made me step away for a second and say “OMG this book is just so damn GOOD” was in the very last chapter when Nándor and Gáspár are fighting and Évike, with no more magic from Ördög sends an arrow flying at Nándor. She says “This is a power I’ve always had, one that I’ve earned, one that can’t be taken from me by some capricious god. The wood rough against my palm, the tail of the arrow brushing my cheek. It does not matter whose histories sing in my blood” (Reid). (I read an advanced copy, so this is not a final quote). Throughout the story, each religion had some aspect of another religion tied to their own. Évike especially has gone through her journey using powers, ideals, and tactics from each of the three major religions of Rágország. In the end, she relies on her instinct, the one thing she learned on her own, and the one part of her that has stayed true throughout her entire journey: her prowess with a bow and arrow. It just blew my mind how perfectly the story came full circle and how, despite all the magic Évike came to wield on her journey, she ended it all with her own skills.

I LOVED this book. So much. The nuance! The writing! The complexity! The moral questions! The romance! I don’t know how to fully capture how I felt while reading and what I learned from this book, but I'm going to try. My general review: go preorder this immediately and read it when it comes out June 8. It’s one of the most unique, compelling, thought-provoking, complex, impactful books I’ve read in a while. I couldn’t put it down. I haven't felt like this about a fantasy book in a while, and TWATW is going to stay with me for a long time. It's made me think more deeply about my own moral philosophy as well as my religious philosophy and my view of current global issues. Now, onto the (spoiler-free) specifics.

Like the description implies, this book has a folktale cadence that I just loved. The writing is beautiful and intricate, painting a vivid image in your mind in the way folktales should. The descriptions were unique, and I caught myself rereading passages to really process the meaning behind the metaphors.

Brutality and mutilation and death were salient aspects of the story, weaving together a commentary on how truly bloody building a nation is, how we often have to sacrifice literal pieces of ourselves to hold onto power, and how context and circumstances make our moral judgments/perceptions incredibly subjective. Ava Reid doesn’t shy away from showing us the gory, sometimes disgusting, truth of persecution and abuse of power. The multitude of atrocities felt so real and raw and painful.

The character growth and development is probably my favorite part of the story. The parallel inner conflicts warring within Évike and Gáspár, coupled with their external conflicts with each other and with their mutual enemies, was expertly done. They don’t have unrealistic personality shifts – they continue to grapple with their inner turmoil – but through love, they each learn to widen their limited worldview, judge less, and be more open and understanding with each other. It was, essentially, some enemies-to-lovers excellence, executed in a realistic and special way. Évike’s struggle with her cultural identity really hit home for me. She’s stuck in this limbo of not really belonging anywhere, trying to grapple with where her loyalties lie in order to inform her actions accordingly.

There’s so much more I could say, but I’ll leave you with some of the moral, religious, political, and social questions this book left me with:

Is it cowardice to learn to play the system and make change slowly from within? Instead, is it our duty to resist and fight back loudly? Is it a combination of both?

Is obtaining power worth physical sacrifice (of ourselves or others)?

What makes taking a life in some situations “more okay” than others? Is killing ever justified, or will it always leave a black mark on someone’s soul?

How do I rationalize my faith and participation in organized religion with the atrocities of the past?

Is mercy kind or stupid?

Is a violent dictator worse than a person in power who allows atrocities to occur and takes no action?

What is right and wrong?

How much are we defined by our blood?

What does it mean to truly forgive?

Quotes I loved:
“A bad memory shared between two people carries with it only half the pain.”
“I have spent so many years coaxed out of my own pain, half convinced that I had no right to feel it.”
“A long time ago someone sat down and decided that these etched lines meant something, and then everyone else agreed to it and made it true.”

This book was beautiful, brutal, and utterly enchanting. I was hooked from the first page, and the romance was the best kind of slow-burn angst omg. I LOVED IT.

A shortened, spoiler free version of this review will be posted on Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram on Saturday, June 12, 2021. The complete review will be posted on my blog.

The Wolf and the Woodsman is a fast paced, plot driven fantasy about a hot-headed young pagan woman named Evike. Rival faiths and ideologies are at the core of the story’s conflict as the nation’s dominant religion seeks to extinguish or expel all others, including Evike’s. Devout Woodsmen from the capital come to collect magic-wielding pagan girls from Evike’s village and no one knows what becomes of them. Evike is barren of magic and is forced to trade places with another girl when the Woodsmen come to collect the village’s next seer.

At first, the Hungarian and Jewish inspired fantasy was reminding me a lot of The Bear and the Nightingale, and it does still in a sense, because a lot of the conflict in the book does come from conflicting ideologies and folklore. Some people will find the central conflict really interesting, and others might feel like this isn’t quite the fantasy they thought it was going to be. It is a lot more action packed than The Bear and the Nightingale, so if you liked the elements of folklore and the tension between the Old World and New World but wished it was faster-paced, then try this book out.

If you really like the writing of Sarah J. Maas, this will probably be right up your alley. I did find the writing a bit overwrought. I’m not a huge fan of how many similes the author used, but that’s just my preference. I do feel like I should make it clear that this isn’t necessarily a dark fantasy romance. If your favorite part of A Court of Thorns and Roses was the romance, then this book might not rate very high for you. However, if your favorite part of ACOTAR was the brutal fight scenes against strange monsters, then this book is for you.

To be honest, I wasn’t super thrilled with how this book wrapped up. Nor was I a huge fan of the romance. I’m interested to see what other people say about this, because I can’t tell if I’m being too picky on that front...but Gaspar is just kind of...meh. Oh, also, I can not stand that the main character is 25 years old and referred to as a girl. I seriously thought she and the other wolf-girls were teenagers because at 25 years old, Evike still described herself and others from her village as girls. This might just be my own personal soap box, but “girl” reads as someone less than 18 years old at least.

The story did pull me in right away, but the middle section does slow down quite a bit compared to the first 30% or so. I do think the initial journey from Evike’s village to the capital was too long. They don’t arrive at the capital until almost half way through the novel. The set up of meeting a lone Juuvi woman and her lover had virtually no pay off later in the book, as their presence ultimately provided no real plot significance. They don’t prevent Evike from finding and killing the turul, then they get taken to the capital and imprisoned immediately, so they don’t forward the plot at all there.

The pagan side of Evike wasn’t super compelling for me. I wish we had been able to see more of her getting to know her Yehuli heritage, but in the end it still felt like she had to make a choice between the two identities instead creating some kind of solution that was a combination of both. It would have been interesting to see the two magics work together, but instead the pagan and Yehuli magics felt very separate.

It’s a solid debut, but the writing style really grated against me. I’m not sure if I’ll leap at the chance to read another book by this author, but I might give them a try to see how their writing evolves over the course of another book.

2.5 out of 5 stars (3 stars on Goodreads, etc.)

One of several upcoming books this season that have some connection to the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale, although the connection in this one is fairly tenuous and the folklore focus is much more on myths and legends of Russia/Lapland/Eastern Europe. Also, the In this version, the "wolf" is the girl; born with no magic, which makes her an outcast in her pagan village. When the king (coded as early Russian Orthodox) sends his Woodsmen to take one of the "magical" villages to sacrifice, the village is only too happy to offer up their non-magical outlier as a substitute. What ensues is a journey that explores not only the harsh landscape of the area, but tensions between different religious and political traditions. I enjoyed the in-depth dive into the folklore, but didn't really end up rooting or the main characters and their relationship. I appreciated that the girl, Evike, was prickly and angry, because she had good reason to be. The prince/woodsman was also believably torn about his duties and his own family issues. However, their relationship didn't really have a believable build from "I hate you and everything you stand for" to "OMG I love you madly." They mostly argued and insulted each other and then spent days wandering the wilderness not speaking because of the arguing and insulting, before finding something new to argue and insult about. I didn't really get a sense of believable connection growing between them, other than that forced by close proximity and endless travel and hardship. I would have enjoyed the story more if there was more emotional resonance between the characters.

As a debut novel for Ava Reid, I went into the book with low expectations. However, after finishing it in one sitting, I saw how wrong I was. I am a sucker for enemies to lovers, especially when the enemies in question are forced on a long arduous journey. I also appreciate that The Wolf and the Woods man is a standalone novel. So often it seems that new fantasy books are forced to be a series when one book is enough and breaking it up into multiples dampens the plot. The gore was visceral and gruesome, but with purpose so it wasn't off putting. I would recommend this book for libraries as a much needed addition to fantasy and new adult collections. Phenomenal debut novel. I will be eagerly awaiting more books from Ava Reid.

The Wolf and the Woodsman is a fantastic debut novel by Ava Reid. I enjoyed the magic system and the way real world folklore and cultures were woven into the story. The novel has incredibly compelling characters with very understandable struggles and motivations. While the gore and violence might be too much for some readers, I think it was perfect for the story the author was telling. The ending was a bit rushed in my opinion, but it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. The story is more about the journey than the destination, which is understandable. Ava Reid has a very strong voice as an author and I look forward to reading her next book, assuming she writes one. I’d recommend this book to any fantasy fan who likes books with Eastern European folklore elements, but I would caution them to be aware of the content warnings first.