This sounded like such an atmospheric, beautiful, intriguing story and Russian fairy tales sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately the writing style didn’t jive with me and I wasn’t able to get far in at all.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this in advance!

Unfortunately this book did not click with me, I was bored from the start and the characters were quite flat. The setting wasn't exactly described so I had a hard time imagining it. The writing style was all right but it failed to bring emotions on the table, so that fell short too.

Pyotra and the Wolf was a fascinating story. Elna Holst stated that "Peter and the Wolf" was the inspiration for the novel. I found a bit of that but mostly I found a Russian werewolf story. The story was original and unpredictable. The main characters, the titular named Pyotra and the Wolf, were complex. The atmosphere, contrasting from the tundra to a small Russian town, was well written. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

Pyotra and the Wolf is very much a book of two halves.
Holst’s writing is rich and evocative, and really shines in the first half. The tense chase through a frozen, isolated landscape was totally immersive and compelling. The setting and characters are vibrant and very well written. Based on the first half, I’ll definitely read more from Holst in the future.
Unfortunately, the second half of the book didn’t feel as strong to me and I had a little bit of an issue with the pacing.
Still, a really interesting and unique book I’ll recommend.
Also, NineStar absolutely nailed this cover.

Wow - this was an unexpectedly beautiful, 5-star read for me. Full disclosure: when I sat down to read this ARC, I forgot the reviews I had read previously and I didn't realize it was going to be a human-werewolf love story. When I got to the part where this aspect of the story was made clear, I became worried, since interspecies romance tends to give me the creeps (even the Disney Beauty and the Beast films - yikes!). Elna Holst absolutely proves herself capable of handling this tricky subject matter, however, and the premise of the book holds up.

There are so many things I loved about this book, but I think I can sum it up best by saying that it was thoughtfully and skillfully crafted. The plot didn't take on more than was necessary, and the pacing was perfect, allowing for some twists and turns while also providing space to delve into the characters' inner journeys with nuance and depth. The way the author explored ideas related to consent, self-determination, found families, responsibility, and self-acceptance was all very thought-provoking, and the love story legitimately made me tear up at times. Though the narrative does not explicitly address mental illness, nor am I calling it a strict allegory, the love story models some healthy attitudes that might resonate with people dealing with mental illness or loving a partner with mental illness. After reading this book, I look forward to seeing more from this author in the future - I trust her craftsmanship and I really am impressed by her unique voice!

3.5 stars
I didn’t expect where this book went. Based on the description, I should’ve probably figured out that this was a werewolf story, but I didn’t, and I certainly didn’t expect it to be set in the present day, and not a few hundred years ago like I’m used to. I debated rating this 3 or 4 stars, but eventually settled on 3.5 because while I read it very quickly and did enjoy it, it was very confusing in many parts of the book.
The characters were all very fun, and I loved that it was a sapphic werewolf book, and full of queer characters, but it was very fast paced, and could’ve slowed down a bit.
The book opens up right at the conflict, with Pyotra’s younger brother being bitten by a wolf, specifically a werewolf, and Pyotra’s flight to hunt and kill the wolf. It shifts with the second part of the book, introducing new characters, and opens up pretty confusingly.
I found the ending was very rushed, and could have been done slower. There wasn’t anything of Pyotra and Volk arriving to where Pyotra’s little brother was, saving him, and leaving. In the perspective of another character, they arrive, the chapter ends, and everyone is out and safe. I would’ve liked a little more in the epilogue showing Volk’s new pack, rather than abruptly ending and letting us infer what would eventually happen.

This was a really interesting take on Peter and the Wolf. The relationship and sex were both well done, but the ending seemed rushed. I could have done without the part with the brother though. I wanted a whole book just about Pyotra and Evane.

the perfect comfort book for me personally! slavic retellings, sapphic characters, a wolf. literally perfect for me. i didn't read it for anything other than that and it delivered precisely the comfort story i needed. not perfect, as it's a bit slow and a bit disjointed. but great nonetheless.

This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. There were parts and concepts that I really liked, and then there were some things I didn’t really care for. I was really excited to read this because the musical tale, Peter and the Wolf, was an important part of my childhood. As a child of the 80’s, my parents imparted on me the importance of vinyl since cassettes had such awful sound. I had an early childhood musical education that taught me things like why the Beatles and Stones were two names everyone knew, and I learned why Stevie Nicks and Debbie Harry were goddesses. While my parents were teaching me this important rock education, I think they realized they needed music that was for children too. That is where Peter and the Wolf came in and I believe it was one of the versions by the Boston Pops Orchestra that my parents got me. The music was incredible, especially on vinyl, and I remember getting so swept up in the fantasy of the story. So to get to read a sapphic version of this tale, that meant so much to me as a kid, well I was really excited. I wish I could say that my expectations met my enjoyment level.

I would have never even thought of someone writing a sapphic version of this tale so I give Holst a lot of credit for that. While this story felt quite different over all, there were a few touches that brought back some memories for me. This book was actually broken up into three parts. The first part was all about Pyotra, the wolf, the small village Pyotra lived in, and the arctic tundra of Siberia. This is where the book really shined for me. The setting was wonderful. I almost had to get up and turn the space heater on since it seemed so deliciously cold. I also loved the relationship between Pyotra and her wolf. I loved watching it evolve and turn into something more. This was a sapphic werewolf tale with a different spin and I was really enjoying it. If there was maybe one or two chapters added to the end of part one, just to tie things up, so the story would end as a novella instead of a full book, I would have loved this and rated it at least 4 stars and probably even higher. The problem I had is when the story changed in part two.

In part two, the story really seemed different. And to be honest, it gets a little weird. If you read my reviews you will know how much I love weird, but this was more like unsettling-weird then different/unique-weird. One of the main issues is we go from being in the POV of two really great and dynamic characters, to being in the POV of a villain and a bunch of secondary characters. For one, some characters actually had 3 different names they could be called, most had at least 2, so I had to stop reading to figure out, or just actually guess, whose head I was in. Anything that stops me from reading, that breaks my flow and makes me backtrack, I very much dislike. I get sucked out of the story and it ruins the whole fantasy of it so it’s a big reading pet peeve of mine. The other big issue is I just didn’t care for any of the secondary characters at all. They all seemed really bland to me, even the duck which was disappointing, so I just wanted to get back to Pyotra and her wolf.

There is a good romance in this book for the most part. Like I mentioned, part one was really great. However, when the romance progresses to just a lot of passionate sex, I started to feel a tad off. I love shifter books, any animal but especially werewolves, but there is a bit of a line to watch between a human having sex with another human, and not an animal. To be clear, I’m not saying this book had animal/human sex, but at times it felt like it went right up to that line and started to put a foot across. I don’t know, maybe it’s me, but instead of the sex scenes always feeling steamy, they felt a tad off as the book went on.

I think in the end this really is the tale of two different books. Part one, is great and just really well written. If the rest of the story had followed in a similar vein, this would have been such a positive and gushing review. The rest of the book just didn’t work for me and I spent more time confused, and bewildered, then I wanted to. Holst really can write, and I give her such props for taking on a retelling of this wonderful tale. I just wish that this would have been a better fit for me. I really wanted to love this.

This book is pure magic and once again Elna Holst has shown that she can weave many spellbinding threads into a tale that is truly enchanting. Saying that Pyotra and the Wolf is based on Prokofiev’s symphonic fairy tale, with ever deeper layers like matryoshka dolls hints at its greatness but doesn't do it justice. The seemingly eternal darkness of the polar midwinter and the Northern Lights, make the barrier between the living and the dead seem thinner in the Taiga than anywhere else.
I cannot recommend this book enough!

I have loved everything I have read of Elna Holst's, from her previous full length novel Lucas, (which I have just decided to re-read!), her novellas, the incredibly hot, sweet and surprising "Tinsel & Spruce" series (please write more!), and her insanely sexy and clever erotic short stories. I was itching to read this latest book and it most definitely did not disappoint. Pyotra is resourceful and spirited, looking after her family and refusing to accept her fate as the future wife of a village boy. When her brother is bitten by a wolf, she sets off to hunt and kill it before it attacks again. What follows is an epic trek across the tundra, where Pyotra discovers more about herself, the wolf, Volk of mythology and the greater world around them.

For fear of spoilers, I won't go into any more detail on the plot but there is so much more than a shapeshifter story here. If you have read any of Elna Holst's books you will know that you are in for a treat - I read this a few weeks back and my brain is still singing at the thought of this book. If you haven't read any of her works, I can highly recommend them all! She slides seamlessly from genre to genre and is one of the most talented writers I have come across in a very long time

This book is pure magic and once again Elna Holst has shown that she can weave many spellbinding threads into a tale that is truly enchanting. Saying that Pyotra and the Wolf is based on Prokofiev’s symphonic fairy tale, with ever deeper layers like matryoshka dolls hints at its greatness but doesn't do it justice. The seemingly eternal darkness of the polar midwinter and the Northern Lights, make the barrier between the living and the dead seem thinner in the Taiga than anywhere else.

I have loved everything I have read of Elna Holst's, from her previous full length novel Lucas, (which I have just decided to re-read!), her novellas, the incredibly hot, sweet and surprising "Tinsel & Spruce" series (please write more!), and her insanely sexy and clever erotic short stories. I was itching to read this latest book and it most definitely did not disappoint. Pyotra is resourceful and spirited, looking after her family and refusing to accept her fate as the future wife of a village boy. When her brother is bitten by a wolf, she sets off to hunt and kill it before it attacks again. What follows is an epic trek across the tundra, where Pyotra discovers more about herself, the wolf, Volk of mythology and the greater world around them.

For fear of spoilers, I won't go into any more detail on the plot but there is so much more than a shapeshifter story here. If you have read any of Elna Holst's books you will know that you are in for a treat - I read this a few weeks back and my brain is still singing at the thought of this book. If you haven't read any of her works, I can highly recommend them all! She slides seamlessly from genre to genre and is one of the most talented writers I have come across in a very long time.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. After Pyotra's brother is bit by a wolf she embarks on a perilous journey into the Siberian wilderness to hunt down and kill the wolf. What follows is a tale of self discovery and adventure. I love queer retellings so was excited to read this. Unfortunately it didn't really work for me, the first half was more what I was expecting, it was very slow and atmospheric and focused on Pyotra and Volk's relationship. The second half is much more of a fast paced action story with mulitple POVs and mustache twirling villains. As a whole I found it a bit disjointed.

3 stars. The first half of the book lead me to believe this would receive a much higher rating. After that, however, the structure of the book changes and the omniscient narrator begins diving into half a dozen secondary characters who we hadn't met up until that point, and it made the novel feel very disjointed and - I'm sorry to say - uncomfortable and bizarre. I did not enjoy ANY of those points of view and while I understood the chosen direction for our two heroines, I wish the narrator had simply stayed with then.

A queer, sapphic retelling of Peter and the Wolf. 4 stars for the first half of the book. I could have stayed on the tundra with Volk and Pyotra forever. It was so atmospheric and beautiful and I'm so happy I read this when it was snowy outside because it was PERFECT. The Russian words and phrases were gorgeous and completely sucked me into this winter world. I was a huge fan of the Shiver series back in the day, and there were echoes of it in this one - a delight for my inner teenager. I enjoyed the chase, the tug back and forth between them, the best that they brought out of each other.

Then... the story just got kind of weird. Volk and Pyotra have to work together to save Pyotra's brother, which was fine, but we should have just stayed in the village and not gone into the head of any weirdos or random people who don't matter.

Still, 3 stars because I did love that first part.

Thank you NetGalley and NineStar Press for the ARC!

CONTENT WARNING: death of a parent, addiction, murder, mention of cancer, sexual content

So let me start this by saying I have no idea what led me to think that this was going to be a YA book, but it most certainly was NOT. It’s a queer retelling of Peter and the Wolf, but the beginning gave me some serious The Bear and the Nightingale vibes. It’s set in Siberia, and it was the perfect winter story to read while sipping a hot cup of tea while wrapped in a fuzzy blanket.

A chance encounter between Pyotra’s little brother and a tundra wolf sets off a chain reaction with massive consequences for the whole family. Pyotra winds up going after the wolf and playing a game of cat and mouse in the first part of the book, except that it isn’t exactly clear who is the cat and who is the mouse. And Volk, the wolf, isn’t what she appears to be either.

I loved how the perspective shifted between Pyotra and Volk. It kept me from getting bored, even though there wasn’t a ton of action. I still found it intriguing and seeing how their characters interacted. There were some graphic sexual scenes in the story, so be prepared! I wasn’t expecting it, but the queer romance was well-developed and slow-burning.

The second part of the story shifts perspective to that of Pyotra’s brother Sergei. I was truly invested in the story by this time, and was super curious about what was going on with him. But in the third (and final) part of the story, there were some additional POVs added. I didn’t get to know these characters as well, so I wasn’t as invested in them. Those characters and the ending itself all felt a bit rushed, but all in all, I enjoyed the story.

Pyotra and the Wolf is an interesting take on queer fairy tale retellings and paranormal romance, giving us interesting characters, especially the titular Wolf who is an amazing example of a woman shapeshifter. It’s also a steamy, sensual love story between two women with graphic sex scenes.

The beginning of the Pyotra and the Wolf is a very atmospheric piece of a hunt. This whole part was very interesting, and had some peaceful moments of solitude in the long Siberian nights, with atmospheric descriptions of the wintery landscape. It also had that vagueness typical for fairy tales, where characters don’t really act rational and the world around them has that dreamy quality. Where love can be very fast, very intense.

The dynamics of Pyotra and Volk were also what made the book easy to read, their relationship portrayed from the starting animosity and distrust, to banter and an energetic and fierce love. However, there were parts that were dragging for me personally, mostly because the author kept going back in the narration, showing the same events first from Pyotra’s, then from Volk’s perspective.

While I’m usually a fan of multiple POVs, this was a very jarring decision. You can show what another character feels and thinks without going back in the plot to show that. This sort of a narrative choice slowed down the already slow pace, and at moments it was hard for me to read.

The second part of the novel slips into a different genre, more of a paranormal romance than fairy tale retelling, completely with bringing in the new cast of characters with their POVs, dynamics, backstories and pacing. While I don't mind the genre switch, the tonality and pacing changes and the late introduction of new characters are definitely an issue, and while I find it interesting when authors play with narration, I think this could’ve been a bit more polished and better balanced.

That said, I absolutely enjoyed the romance. Volk is a fantastic werewolf character—constantly encompassing both wolf traits and human, giving us a dangerous but loving woman. The fact that Pyotra is not shown as a vulnerable, weak human compared to her werewolf lover, but instead a woman that can hold down her own, capable and smart, was what made their relationship even more interesting.

* Thanks to NetGalley and NineStar Press for providing an advance copy for review purposes *

Pyotra lives in the Siberian taiga with her grandfather and her little "duckling" brother. She is not particularly keen on wolves, since her mother passed away after being attacked by a pack of them, so she is intent on revenge when she catches a wolf holding on to her brother on a hole on the edge of a frozen lake. After taking care of her brother wounds, Pyotra follows the wolf into the wilderness with the purpose of killing it. But things are not what they appear in this retelling of Prokofiev's famous musical tale.

I really enjoyed the first part of the book as it brings to life the Siberian winter - you can feel the cold and the perils of the chase. The second half does suffer a little as the romance aspect is over emphasized (* note there are explicit sex scenes *), and a Big Bad Villain that would feel at home in Stieg Larsson's books appears, but does not have enough room to show us his motivations beyond a short nod to Hitchcock. The ending feels rushed, with additional characters and points of view thrown in at the last minute, and not enough time to really flesh them out.

Pyotra and the Wolf is a book that made me so very happy with all of the choices that were made! It is a queer retelling of the Russian fairytale ‘Peter & the Wolf’ except very sapphic, and very sexy.

Pyotra lives in an isolated village on the edge of Siberia and from the first page the atmosphere sinks into you and never leaves (Never for a moment do you not feel the cold in your mind, or the sharpness in the air.) One night Pyotra, spots her younger brother being attacked (she thinks) by a wolf. She tends to her brother’s wounds and then follows the wolf out into the wilderness, intending to kill it. However, Volk is an Oboroten (a turnskin) and not just any ordinary wolf, and Pyotra only discovers this when they are alone, out in the middle of the tundra.

Naturally, this is the perfect set up for a close quarters romance - we get the tropes of ‘there’s only one bed’ and warming each other up with body heat. An intense intimacy sparks between the two women in such isolated conditions. And now, for those interested, the smutty scenes are very, very smutty, and very, very sexy - not only that, but they are also beautiful and sapphic and intimate and intense.

I don’t want to spoil the second half of the book, but I just want to say, I loved all of the secondary characters that were introduced. We get an aroace masseuse, a giant of a hitman with a soft heart, and his lover who just so happens to be his sly, fast talking partner. When the story reached it’s climax, I literally wrote down in my notes “Team Queer Assemble!”

I loved every moment of this story and my only qualm was that I wanted more. Wanted more of Pyotra and Volk, wanted more of all the secondary characters, and I wanted more of their world. It was fascinating and beautiful and I will be thinking about this story for a long while to come!

**Thank you NineStar Press LLC and NetGalley for the ARC**

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book a queer retelling of a fairy tale? Sign me up! But for me this one fell a little short of expectation. It was so slow to start, but I held out because some of the scenery was good and I wanted to see how this particular author handled the wolf reveal. I figured once Pyotra knew the wolf she was hunting was a shifter things would get more interesting - and they did for a while. The sex scene was okay and I think for the situation Volk and Pyotra had pretty good chemistry.

Around the 60% mark this just fell for me. It felt like things slowed down I just wasn't that invested in the characters. All the new perspectives threw me for a loop and made this hard to follow. I mean, I understood bringing the perspective of 'Volk's cub,' but beyond that I could've done without them. So, I ended up DNFing this book 3/4 of the way through. I'm giving it two stars, because I really liked Volk's character.

This was an excellent fairytale-inspired retelling with a prominent queer romance. I loved reading this in winter-- being able to cozy up and read this book while imagining the snowy Siberian landscape was a lovely feeling. The characters feel as though they guide the story; they are each very distinctive and the various narrative tones switch well between each point of view. I wish we had some of Pyotra's brother's perspective prior to the second half of the book, but overall it worked. The plot itself moves along quickly, but the end seems to get a little squished with some new added perspectives that I feel only existed to move the plot along without much further depth. 3.5 rounded up to a 4 stars due to a slight rushed feeling in the second act. Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read, and I'll definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy fairytale retellings, queer romances, and quick adventure reads. I'll be posting a review of this on my instagram page as the publishing date draws a little closer. Some content notes to be aware of: animal death, on-page details of sex, kidnapping, confinement, violence, blood, and gore. A huge thank you to Netgalley and NineStar Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Pyotra Nikolayevna Kulakova's world, which consists only of her grandfather Boris and her brother Sergei, is turned upside down when Sergei is bitten by a strangely intelligent wolf. Plagued by the memories of her wolf-mauled mother, Pyotra sets off to avenge her brother, but instead finds herself in the midst of a fairy tale full of humans turned wolves, love at first sight, and an evil dictator who wishes to wrest power from the supernatural.

This sapphic retelling of Prokofiev’s "Peter and the Wolf" is full of strong family bonds and high adventure. My favorite part about it was the way Elna Holst seamlessly wove together different parts of Pyotra's life to interconnect with the events she experiences through out the book. The twists and turns of the story all work together to keep the reader on their toes and wanting to know what happens next. I give this story four out of five stars. One star is taken off because the ending felt anti-climatic compared to the level of detail given every other part of the story, however I would still say this is a must read for anyone who enjoys sapphic retellings of classic stories!

Content warning: there are detailed descriptions of sex in this story, so I would not recommend it for anyone under eighteen years old.