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laurentined's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The story itself is good, it just doesn't feel told well. I think this book hasn't really decided whether it's a folklore/fable story or it's a character driven fantasy. I really want to enjoy Ameenah and Nasir and her pirate friend and Ameenah's development from being a reclusive craftsman to involved in the fate of her people. But the narrative is constantly jumping between the thoughts and minds of characters in a scene. It's both too close and too far away from each character, somehow. Events just sort of chain together in a way that doesn't feel driven by causality. I really like what this story is, I just didn't enjoy reading it at all.
laylavreads's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
thenisaurus's review
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
decembermagpie's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Blood, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Torture and Death of parent
jlynnelseauthor's review
4.0
The narrative is a bit heavy on the telling side to start but its a rich world to dive into. Intriguing adventure with an independent female lead and a secret power. I look forward to the next book.
lanternsjourney's review
5.0
"There is never just one road, just one way, just one person. That is not how problems start; it is never how they end."
The Wolf Queen is a fantasy with emmersive world building and beautiful magic. Ameenah is a strong protagonist who is orphaned at a small age and hides herself away on a faraway farm next to a forbidden forest. She uses her many skills passed down from her mother to endure, until a secret is discovered and her peaceful life gets upended.
I wanted so badly to be Ameenah's friend and live in this world with her. I loved all of the characters, the writing, and the ending. It was all so magical and fierce! I will definitely be buying the sequel because I HAVE to know what happens!
The Wolf Queen is a fantasy with emmersive world building and beautiful magic. Ameenah is a strong protagonist who is orphaned at a small age and hides herself away on a faraway farm next to a forbidden forest. She uses her many skills passed down from her mother to endure, until a secret is discovered and her peaceful life gets upended.
I wanted so badly to be Ameenah's friend and live in this world with her. I loved all of the characters, the writing, and the ending. It was all so magical and fierce! I will definitely be buying the sequel because I HAVE to know what happens!
mystiereads's review
4.0
Instinctively a wonderful voice inside my head told me to not start Book 1 until I had Book 2 in hand. Thankfully it was not a long wait for me and it was the BEST decision ever. Not only will this book steal you away, and make you forget everything else going on, but it gives you an ending that will leave you instantly craving more!
I finished this in a day around my job, it was just that good.
It is a beautiful coming of age story, with a new world filled with strong characters that create a place made to keep your imagination swirling in happiness. The world building is incredible, and you meet a young woman who is already stronger than she knows, but who also has this secret life hidden away waiting for the right time to just come out.
The backstories also give you just enough context to make you keep wondering and reading, all into the night. Strong female characters, surrounded by men who support without stifling them, and a villain who keeps things interesting.
I have no regrets reading this one, other than I wish I could go back in time and give it to a younger me.
Very much recommend this one and trust me...get book 2 the same time you get book 1.
I finished this in a day around my job, it was just that good.
It is a beautiful coming of age story, with a new world filled with strong characters that create a place made to keep your imagination swirling in happiness. The world building is incredible, and you meet a young woman who is already stronger than she knows, but who also has this secret life hidden away waiting for the right time to just come out.
The backstories also give you just enough context to make you keep wondering and reading, all into the night. Strong female characters, surrounded by men who support without stifling them, and a villain who keeps things interesting.
I have no regrets reading this one, other than I wish I could go back in time and give it to a younger me.
Very much recommend this one and trust me...get book 2 the same time you get book 1.
hccummings's review
4.0
There is much to enjoy with this novel: the world building, the protagonist, the pacing. It's well done and enjoyable. I was invested in Ameenah's story and enjoyed her as a protagonist. We don't often see fantasy fiction that's not based on a strictly western European frame of reference and that was very refreshing.
I did have one issue with the novel thought that I found jarring, and I don't know if it was a deliberate choice or a failure of editing: the point-of-view switching. This novel has point of view switches in the middle of sections, sometimes for just a paragraph. Yet, it is not written in a third-person omniscient point of view, so it's very jarring to suddenly be in another character's head when just a sentence before you were following along Ameenah's 3rd-person limited point-of-view. Unlike just about every other novel I can think of, there were no section breaks or any sort of indication that this was going to happen, leaving me confused the first several times it happened.
There are many ways to write a novel. There are many ways to tell a story. Perhaps, this particular technique is simply unfamiliar to me. It is different than anything else I've read and I'm not certain that I particularly like the technique. However, once I figured out that I needed to watch for it, it did not impede my enjoyment of the story too much; it's still a solid fantasy novel with vivid descriptions, an intriguing plot with good worldbuilding, relatable and believable characters, and a great pace.
I did have one issue with the novel thought that I found jarring, and I don't know if it was a deliberate choice or a failure of editing: the point-of-view switching. This novel has point of view switches in the middle of sections, sometimes for just a paragraph. Yet, it is not written in a third-person omniscient point of view, so it's very jarring to suddenly be in another character's head when just a sentence before you were following along Ameenah's 3rd-person limited point-of-view. Unlike just about every other novel I can think of, there were no section breaks or any sort of indication that this was going to happen, leaving me confused the first several times it happened.
There are many ways to write a novel. There are many ways to tell a story. Perhaps, this particular technique is simply unfamiliar to me. It is different than anything else I've read and I'm not certain that I particularly like the technique. However, once I figured out that I needed to watch for it, it did not impede my enjoyment of the story too much; it's still a solid fantasy novel with vivid descriptions, an intriguing plot with good worldbuilding, relatable and believable characters, and a great pace.