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ashleethurman's review
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ali_lowery_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
livyagy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
friendofgosig's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
4.75
This is the second time I have read this book, and I was glad that I enjoyed it just as much second time through.
There is a sort of awkwardness at the beginning as the story finds its feet, but the language is beautiful. I love the way that the folktales and stories were woven into the narrative, and the different layers and interpretations of magic are linked to the stories and traditions of conflicting but related people. It is a complex and challenging read, but ultimately very satisfying.
There is a sort of awkwardness at the beginning as the story finds its feet, but the language is beautiful. I love the way that the folktales and stories were woven into the narrative, and the different layers and interpretations of magic are linked to the stories and traditions of conflicting but related people. It is a complex and challenging read, but ultimately very satisfying.
kevinmccarrick's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
tu_anh7's review
5.0
a flawed book
it has different strengths and weaknesses compared to a study in drowning
the plot of this definitely felt much stronger and more thought out
the characters had more depth i think and both mc’s were interesting to read about
however,
despite me saying the plot of this was more thought out,
i feel like it struggled a bit with pacing (especially the difference in pacing throughout the book)
and also with handling the about of plot lines we go through
in the 2nd half the plot felt like it had gotten too big to fit within the realms of the actual book
it wasn’t that bad
but it made me personally feel a bit panicked about how it would end and how everything woukd be wrapped up in a secure way
and honestly,
ava reid does do a pretty good job of wrapping up her story
but again,
that’s definitely because she sacrifices the slow burn, gentle and lowkey realistic pacing of the rest of the book to make way for a fast paced action-adventure style story
and because of that the last few chapters feel a bit disjointed and kinda like a fever dream
*spoilers*
another example of my issue with the plot is:
when our characters first journey north to find the turul, it takes them chapters on chapters of time
and we as the reader can definitely feel the length of this 7-ish day trek
but later when they go again wjth katalin, it probably only takes them a chapter’s worth of time
i can understand somewhat the differences because for each time they emerge travelling from different places, but from a reader’s pov it just feel rlly weird
back to my issue with the plot getting too bit for the book:
i feel like this could have been a duology with each book being like 250-300ish pages
i applaud ava reid for committing to standalone so far in her career because fantasy authors rarely do nowadays
but i just don’t think this book was given enough length to actually hold the story
maybe an even longer standalone such as 700+ pages would be more suitable
because the 400-500pg of this book (despite technically being a mid-long book) do not satisfy what the plot demands
now, the ending.
once we started getting to know the world outside of khezi more, i began to get worried about the consequences of our characters actions
ava reid paints such a realistic world in that the prejudices and issues feel so similar to in real life
which i do rlly admire
but this sort of ends up working against reid once the plot starts picking up
i knew they were going to kill nandor and gaspar would be king
but because this would feel so real and throughout the book it’s evident that all of our characters’ actions will have consequences for themselves or others,
it just drastically unrealistic that everyone was just kind of chill about gaspar
also the fact that when the armies came back they were like “ok cool.”
i think reid cheated a bit by ending the story straight after the battle is won and then jumping to an epilogue years later
it feels like the ending was cut out from a different book by a different author who doesn’t rlly delve into real world concepts and issues
the ending isn’t bad
but it’s not good enough for the standard of writing and storytelling ava reid has built up for us throughout the book
a lot of complaints but i can assure you that i did enjoy reading this
it has different strengths and weaknesses compared to a study in drowning
the plot of this definitely felt much stronger and more thought out
the characters had more depth i think and both mc’s were interesting to read about
however,
despite me saying the plot of this was more thought out,
i feel like it struggled a bit with pacing (especially the difference in pacing throughout the book)
and also with handling the about of plot lines we go through
in the 2nd half the plot felt like it had gotten too big to fit within the realms of the actual book
it wasn’t that bad
but it made me personally feel a bit panicked about how it would end and how everything woukd be wrapped up in a secure way
and honestly,
ava reid does do a pretty good job of wrapping up her story
but again,
that’s definitely because she sacrifices the slow burn, gentle and lowkey realistic pacing of the rest of the book to make way for a fast paced action-adventure style story
and because of that the last few chapters feel a bit disjointed and kinda like a fever dream
*spoilers*
another example of my issue with the plot is:
when our characters first journey north to find the turul, it takes them chapters on chapters of time
and we as the reader can definitely feel the length of this 7-ish day trek
but later when they go again wjth katalin, it probably only takes them a chapter’s worth of time
i can understand somewhat the differences because for each time they emerge travelling from different places, but from a reader’s pov it just feel rlly weird
back to my issue with the plot getting too bit for the book:
i feel like this could have been a duology with each book being like 250-300ish pages
i applaud ava reid for committing to standalone so far in her career because fantasy authors rarely do nowadays
but i just don’t think this book was given enough length to actually hold the story
maybe an even longer standalone such as 700+ pages would be more suitable
because the 400-500pg of this book (despite technically being a mid-long book) do not satisfy what the plot demands
now, the ending.
once we started getting to know the world outside of khezi more, i began to get worried about the consequences of our characters actions
ava reid paints such a realistic world in that the prejudices and issues feel so similar to in real life
which i do rlly admire
but this sort of ends up working against reid once the plot starts picking up
i knew they were going to kill nandor and gaspar would be king
but because this would feel so real and throughout the book it’s evident that all of our characters’ actions will have consequences for themselves or others,
it just drastically unrealistic that everyone was just kind of chill about gaspar
also the fact that when the armies came back they were like “ok cool.”
i think reid cheated a bit by ending the story straight after the battle is won and then jumping to an epilogue years later
it feels like the ending was cut out from a different book by a different author who doesn’t rlly delve into real world concepts and issues
the ending isn’t bad
but it’s not good enough for the standard of writing and storytelling ava reid has built up for us throughout the book
a lot of complaints but i can assure you that i did enjoy reading this
studiouspencil's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I’ve always had such an obsession with fairy tales and growing up I had to come to the hard realization that a lot of them are laced with hate towards my people, woven through with antisemitic stereotypes.
The Wolf and the Woodsman is about the stories we tell collectively, and how those stories are weaponized towards the creation of worlds we want to see. It’s very much my type of story.
Every page is dripping with the sort of rage that comes from scraping and hiding and running to survive.
I even actually liked (!!) (huge for me I know) the enemies to lovers romance, which I usually dread (particularly when it’s in the configuration of oppressed girl x oppressor boy). I did think the lust developed a little quickly, but all in all their interactions were quite realistic to me.
The angry women in this one were 10/10 too. Tuula, Virag, Katalin, Szabin, I had a great time watching them all struggle with their beliefs and their g-ds and the defense of them
The Wolf and the Woodsman is about the stories we tell collectively, and how those stories are weaponized towards the creation of worlds we want to see. It’s very much my type of story.
Every page is dripping with the sort of rage that comes from scraping and hiding and running to survive.
I even actually liked (!!) (huge for me I know) the enemies to lovers romance, which I usually dread (particularly when it’s in the configuration of oppressed girl x oppressor boy). I did think the lust developed a little quickly, but all in all their interactions were quite realistic to me.
The angry women in this one were 10/10 too. Tuula, Virag, Katalin, Szabin, I had a great time watching them all struggle with their beliefs and their g-ds and the defense of them
silverluna's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
kotrarast's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5