The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid (Review by Caitlin Winkler)

Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐

The Wolf and the Woodsman is a debut novel by Ava Reid and all I can say if this is her first book, I cannot wait for all her following books because this was absolutely fantastic! The world building alone in this novel was incredible-something I look for in any truly great fantasy novel. I recommend spending some time reading the pronunciation guide in the back of the book as it really helped me to learn the main terms used throughout as well as how to properly pronounce them so I could focus on getting lost in the story while reading.

Évike is the only woman without any powers in her pagan village of ‘wolf-girls’. Not blessed with the abilities had by those around her, and having lost her mom years earlier, Évike is badly treated by those in the village. As a result of, what they view as her polluted bloodline, they had her over to the king’s Woodsmen as that year’s blood sacrifice without a second thought. On her way to be killed by the king, monsters in the woods attack the Woodsmen killing all but her and the one-eyed Woodsman. Learning that he is the heir, Prince Gáspár, who is trying to prevent his cruel brother from taking over the throne-Évike finds herself allied with someone she never thought would be an ally. Can these two very different people learn to not only trust each other, but perhaps feel more? What happens when Évike suddenly gains magic and questions everything she has known?

Honestly-I don’t think my summary has really done this book justice. There is so much rich detail and incredibly storytelling, that any summary will seem lacking in comparison to just going out and reading this book. While I will admit I found the beginning to be bit slower going, the last 100 pages were absolutely insane and more than made up for the slower start in my eyes! I literally said out loud “I feel like I am watching The Red Wedding scene from Game of Thrones” near the end of this book-each page was more shocking than the one before! If you love the fantasy genre, then you need to read this book!