Review - The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

 

 

 Title: The Wolf and the Woodsman

Author: Ava Reid

Pages: 427

Publisher: Cornerstone

 Release Date: 8th June 2021

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

Stories don't have to be true to be real...

In her forest-veiled pagan village, Évike is the only woman without power, making her an outcast clearly abandoned by the gods. 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.

 

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My Review:

 *I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley*

 

 

Évike lives in a village in the middle of the forest, where the women all have magical powers. All, that is, apart from Évike who is treated as an outcast.

The cruel king takes a girl from the village for their powers, and this time Évike is taken away by the king's Woodsmen.

When Évike and the Woodsmen are attacked on their journey, only Évike and one of the Woodsmen survive - Gáspár, the disgraced prince whose fanatical half-brother is scheming to take over the throne.

The duo reluctantly agree to work together, and will encounter many dangers on their journey.

 

The blurb for this really intrigued me and I was looking forward to reading it. However, I ended up disappointed.

Évike was an OK protagonist - I liked her but I didn't connect with her or feel invested in what happened to her.

None of the characters particularly stood out to me, but Évike did have some interesting relationships with other characters.

The concepts of the magic and the different gods/religions were interesting.

The plot was enjoyable to begin with, but after a while I started to lose interest and I did consider stopping reading.

I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more, but I can see other people enjoying this more.

 

Overall, this was a mixed read.