Author: Hannah Whitten
Series: Wilderwood #1
Publication: June 3rd 2021 by Orbit
Genre: Fantasy
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Rating: 3.5/5★
The first daughter is for the Throne.
The second daughter is for the Wolf.As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose – to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he’ll return the world’s captured gods.
Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can’t control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can’t hurt those she loves. Again.
But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn’t learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood – and her world – whole.
The story is about Redarys a.k.a. Red who, as a second daughter, has been promised as a sacrifice for the Wolf. It’s been like this for centuries in the hope that he’ll let the gods he supposedly once captured be returned. So now it’s time for Red to be send to the Wilderwood and meet her destiny. Her only regret is that she’s forced to leave her sister Neve. But once Red is in the Wilderwood and gets to know the Wolf it isn’t all quite like she had imagined her sacrifice would go.
Now once I read more beyond the beginning and started nearing the middle of it, maybe a little before that the story started to slow down a whole lot and just drag. I don’t usually mind a more slow moving story but it took me quite a while to get over this and reach a point where I enjoyed the story more so that was really too bad.
Also I should say that I hoped for it to have been more of a Little Red Riding Hood retelling than it was. The only thing that was like the fairy tale was that Red has a cape, like you can see on the cover. Minor spoiler alert but the Wolf wasn’t even a wolf. In fact, I was really disappointed with the Wolf. He wasn’t quite as dark as I hoped he would be in something that’s being called a dark fantasy.
However, I did absolutely love Red. I thought she was just amazing to read about and she was the kind of character that I couldn’t help but like and root for. I also enjoyed reading about her sister Neve who got her own chapters interspersed with Red’s. It was nice to know what was happening outside the Wilderwood and things got pretty heavy quickly there.
For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten started out highly promising. The writing was exquisite, really super gorgoeus. It was easily my favorite thing about the whole book along with the world building, that was also really well-written. I enjoyed the first part of the book getting to know the characters and the whole dark setting. The middle part wasn’t my favorite but nearing the end the story started grabbing my attention again and getting really exciting. Even though there were some things that I didn’t completely enjoy, I do plan on reading the next book because I really want to know what will happen with all the characters.
About the author:
Hannah Whitten has been writing to amuse herself since she could hold a pen, and sometime in high school, figured out that what amused her might also amuse others. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, making music, or attempting to bake. She lives in Tennessee with her husband and children in a house ruled by two temperamental cats and a dog who has never done anything wrong in her life. Hang out with her on Instagram and Twitter at @hwhittenwrites and online at hannahfwhitten.com.
Even though the story dragged a little, it’s great that it rebounded at the end!
Yes, not a total loss in the end haha
The Wolf was too Broody for me, and not in a fun way! And I completely agree about the pacing. I wonder how they decided this was a Little Red Riding Hood retelling?
Yeah it being a retelling confused me
I feel the same way, I thought this was very slow in the middle, but I am curious to see what happens in the next book?
A lot of the same things seemed to keep happening.
I’ve seen this book around and am super intrigued. I’m sorry to hear it dragged a bit in the middle, but glad it was still good overall and the writing was gorgeous.
I hope the next one is a better read for you!
That’s all I can hope for haha
I am glad that it still ended up being enjoyable for you despite the slow part. I would have definitely expected this to be a Red Riding Hood retelling as well. It does have a stunning cover, though.
Maybe the next book will be a little better. I’m intrigued at least to find out what’ll happen next.
My thoughts exactly. With a book cover like that, I had very high expecations of this one. But it turned out to more of YA angsty fanfiction for Naomi Novik’s Uprooted. (And if you haven’t read Novik’s Uprooted before, I highly highly recommend it.)
Yes, I have read Uprooted and loved it 😀