Review: The Wolf and the Woodsman

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

“The Woodsmen,” she gasps. “They're coming for you.” 

When the Woodsmen came for Evike's mother, the seer Virag took her in, now fifteen years later, Virag is facing her mother's fate. Evike is “barren” she has no ability for the three skills, forge metal; flame; and healing, blessed from their god Isten, so in order to save Katalin, the young seer, Evike is being sacrificed to the Woodsmen. Evike's village and people are called pagans, since they believe in the old and many gods, while most of the four regions of Regorszag have become followers of the Patrifaith and believe in only the Godfather of life and Godfather of death. A bargain was struck that every couple years, a wolf-girl (named for the wolf capes they wear to denote they can do magic or one of the three skills) must be given to the Woodsmen and brought back to the capital city of Kiraly Szek and the King. This assures that the pagans can live in peace without fear of attack. Even though Katalin has bullied Evike her entire life, Evike still goes to the Woodsmen to save her village. 

The women and girls all have two faces---the wolf's and their own. 

Using and incorporating Hungarian and Jewish folklore, The Wolf and the Woodsman, was a fantasy that suffered from some pacing problems in the first half but had an ending that will lock readers into the world. This is told all from Evike's point-of-view, she's twenty-five years old but aside from the, very, macabre folklore told throughout the story, a talk of her sexual past, and a short sex scene, I thought she and the Woodsman captain, that turns out to be the protagonist with her, Barany Gaspar, and the story overall, read like a young adult fantasy. I know this is being marketed as adult because of the all the content warnings (the author has listed them all) but I was a little disappointed that I don't think these twenty-five year old characters felt older than seventeen. 

“Te nem vagy taltos,” he manages, eye wide as he takes in the sight of me, chestnut-haired, unmasked. You are not a seer. 

“Te nem vagy harcos,” I shoot back between ragged breaths. You are not a warrior. 

The beginning ushers you into the world with heavy utilizing of the folklore and generally worked to set the world but then the first half has Evike and Gaspar going on a journey to capture a turul, a magical bird, that Gaspar thinks will help his father retain his power in the face of Gaspar's half-brother Nandor, who is trying to take the throne from the father and the true born prince, Gaspar. This journey worked to bond Evike and Gaspar together but the outcome ended up making the whole journey feel mostly pointless and it really slowed the pace down. If you can make it to the second half, especially the last 20%, the pace picks up as we spend time in the capital city and the political intrigue and religious allegory give the story more promise. 

If I cannot be Vilmotten, my belly bright with Isten's star, perched in the highest tree branch, perhaps I can be something else. Perhaps I can be the favored of another god. 

Antisemitism, ethnic cleansing, and religious zealots and warning against them becomes the clear message that this story is trying to warn against. The way even “good” people's actions can help and hinder these movements and the question of sacrificing one for the greater good, gave the second half greater weight for me. Evike and Gaspar on their own, along with a handful of other secondary characters, were never fully flushed out for me, the folklore and outside messaging eclipsed them, making the parts of the story adequate but the overall story greater to me. I would tell adults to read this for the fantasy aspect but I don't think I would say read this for the romance, there's a developing romance between Evike and Gaspar, but, except for that one quick sex scene, their emotional connection read more young adult to me and the most important point, they get a more ambiguous happy for now. 

For all that I railed against her, she loved us all more than she loved any one of us, and much more than she loved herself. 

The first half was slow for me but I found this to have some invoking macabre scenes, fantastical folklore, and allegory that made the second half more appealing in it's messaging.

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