The Wolf and the Woodsman: A Novel

by Ava Reid

Saskia Maarleveld (Narrator)

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

In her forest-veiled pagan village, Evike 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, Evike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered. 

But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Evike 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, Gaspar Barany, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gaspar 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, Gaspar understands what it's like to be an outcast, and he and Evike 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 Evike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gaspar 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.

• ISBN10: 0062973150
• ISBN13: 9780062973153
• Publish Date: 8 June 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperAudio
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook (MP3)
• Duration: 13 hours and 10 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[riv @dearrivarie]

I received a copy from the publisher for review - all thoughts are 100% my own

The Wolf and the Woodsman is a book that pushes both its characters and readers on how far they're willing to go and how much they're willing to sacrifice for their faith. Set amidst Hungarian history and Jewish folklore, this story is absolutely captivating with an atmosphere and cast that slowly grabs its reader and pulls them into a cold and cruel world. Évike is a wolf-girl who has been shunned her entire life for her mixed blood and lack of gifts. When the king's Woodsmen come to claim a seer, Évike is disguised and sent into the forest as tribute, betrayed by her people, and forced to the same fate as her mother.

Right from the get-go, this story was immersive with so much atmospheric tension both from the danger of the woods and from the unknown that comes with being taken by the Woodsmen. Évike is one of those characters who embraces her status as the outcast and literally survives this book through sheer determination and will. Her strength is astounding and that's what makes her so admirable and impactful as the main character.

Both Évike and Gáspár are tested beyond their capabilities throughout this book on different fronts and it was both fascinating and rewarding to see them work through their differences. I loved how (for the first time in what feels like forever) we have two characters who don't seek to change their beliefs and personalities to fit someone else but continously challenge each other to become better human beings. The discussion of religion and of ethnic and cultural cleansing also delved deeper into the horrible acts committed throughout history and opens up this space for conversation for both the characters and the readers to examine personal biases and why the fear of someone else plays such a huge role in hatred.

There are honestly so many thoughts I have for this book and all I want to do is dive back in because I know there's so much I can still learn from Évike's story. For a debut, Ava Reid absolutely blew me away and I'm waiting eagerly for her future works.

Originally posted on dearrivarie