Cover Image: For the Wolf

For the Wolf

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Member Reviews

For the Wolf follows Red, the Second Daughter, who is sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wilderwood. The people of Valleyda are hoping that in return, the Wolf will release the Kings. The problem? The Wolf is just a man, and there's more going on in the wood than anyone suspects.

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This was an unexpectedly dark and twisted story, which I really appreciated. I thought that the magic from the Wilderwood was really interesting and I enjoyed the interactions between Red and Eammon. I particularly liked the interludes from Neve's perspective and it was fascinating to see how she was manipulated by those around her. The prose was compelling and lyrical and the pacing was good. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book as it was far more dark in tone and content than I anticipated and I will definitely be picking up the sequel.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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For the Wolf is such a beautifully written fantasy. The world-building is outstanding. The story is well written with an enchanting storyline and well-developed characters that engage from start to finish. The world is atmospheric and feels real with vivid descriptions and rich imagery. Hannah Whitten has earned herself a spot on my auto-buy authors list. I cannot get enough. Highly recommended. Be sure to check out For the Wolf today.

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Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

For the Wolf starts off slow, predictable and frankly eye-rollingly cliche, but somehow I have to admit that the second half was really compelling and went in new directions. The main crux is a typical YA romance (and, honestly, the first half is the same scene of the Wolf reluctantly saving Red six times over); it's the outside threads that make it worthwhile. And the sickly unfaltering dedication from certain characters remains, but the plot finally grows into something really quite interesting, beckoning whatever's ahead while still resolving this novel's story well enough to be satisfying for now.

A bit more time spent at the novel's beginning establishing three-dimensional characters could've also turned around the opening acts. I ended up liking many of them by the final act, and I want to know what happens to them next, but they were paper archetypes at the start more from a desire for the angst than an initial equilibrium. I wonder if the desire to echo the fairy tale (which seems more Beauty and the Beast/Snow White and Rose Red than Red Riding Hood) was a bit distracting to begin with, before the story took its own roots.

I'm actually really looking forward to this novel's follow-up (which is already in my library), as I trust the story has come into its own now and can continue in this new and exciting direction, fleshing out the side characters even more as they become more integral to the story.

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What an amazing debut! This is the fantasy I’ve been waiting for to get me back into the genre. So gripping, the characters and the legends they become are incredible.

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A beautiful cover but a story that didn't quite live up to it. For The Wolf was way too complicated for complicated sake, confusing and just a bit too long. I'll read the sequel because I have a copy and then stop there.

2.5 rounded up.

Thanks to Netgalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK and Whitten for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

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I absolutely adored this book!

The relationship between Red and Eamonn went at a perfect pace, even though I was frustrated and wanted them to get together sooner.

I loved the atmosphere Witten created in this book, you felt as though you were in the WilderWood with the characters.

This is one of my favourite books of the year, and I cannot wait to read the next one!

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2.5 stars

All her life Red has known that she will be sacrificed to the Wolf of the Wilderwood.
As the Second Daughter of the Queen, it is hoped that Red's sacrifice will result in the return of the Five Kings who saved the world from monsters centuries ago, something that didn't happen when the past Second Daughters went to the Wilderwood.
Red loves her sister Neve, the First Daughter and heir to the throne, but part of Red wants to go to the Wilderwood - she has a strange power, one she struggles to control and is worried will hurt Neve.
But when Red goes to the Wilderwood, she discovers that the Wolf is not a monster, but a man struggling to save the Wilderwood and prevent the evil threatening to escape and destroy everything Red knows and loves.
Can Red learn to control her power?
Can she work together with the Wolf to save the Wilderwood?

The blurb for this book really intrigued me, as did the cover, but I ended up with mixed feelings, unfortunately.
Red was an okay protagonist, and I understood why she didn't try to fight against being sent to the Wilderwood. However, I'm left feeling that I didn't really get to know her and I wasn't invested in what became of her.
I liked that Neve, Red's sister, wanted to bring Red back home so much, but I did think she was maybe a little naive.
My favourite characters were Lyra and Fife, who I would like to find out more about.
The setting of the Wilderwood was interesting, as was the concept of it being sentient.
The plot was interesting to begin with, but I did find the pacing to be off, which I think was partly due to the length of the novel - at over 450 pages I felt that this book could have been at least 100 pages shorter.
The writing style was easy to follow.
While I enjoyed the concepts in the book, I did lose interest in what was happening and nothing particularly shocked me.

Overall, this was a mixed read.

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For the Wolf appealed to me in every way, it seemed like it would be right up my alley, and it absolutely was! But it did let me down in a few ways (though none were completely irredemable), for example, I wasn't particularly fond of the way Eammon (the titular Wolf) took Red's (our heroine) options away from her, in a self-sacrifical heroic way. Like, I understand that it was supposed to be swoon-worthy heroism that added to the romantic tension, but for me it actually pulled away from it - having him determine what Red could and could not decide for herself because of his opinion's didn't sit well with me.

On the other hand, I did absolutely adore the worldbuilding, I loved Red and Neve's bond throughout, and I was definitely invested in the plot, and the ending surpassed what I could imagine!

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Sadly I had to DNF this one 40% of the way through because the pacing was incredibly slow. Most of the book up until that point is just our main character following the Wolf around and watching him do his thing. Usually I'd be totally fine with that, as I'm not opposed to a character driven story, but sadly the characters were quite flat too. I wasn't rooting for any of them and found that I didn't really care what happened to them. Really sad about this one. It might be worth a read if you're interested in the premise and you don't mind a slower build up in your fantasy books.

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A beautiful retelling with sumptuous prose and an engaging plot. The characters were complex and, after a slow start, I was soon fully invested in them.. Looking forward to the sequel.

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Unfortunately I had to give up on reading this one 50% of the way in. The pacing is really slow, nothing was happening and I couldn't connect with any of the characters. What I did read also felt very generic and not particularly unique. I also found the world building to be scattered and patchy at best. The woods are atmospheric but I have no idea what they are. I just found that I wasn't reaching to pick this up.

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This unfortunately wasn't for me. The writing was beautiful and the fairy tale feel is stunning its just a case of, its not you its me

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This was such an immersive read, it nestled in my heart and it's become a quick favourite. The dark atmosphere, the characters, all of it was amazing.

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I absolutely loved this book. Everything about it was perfection!

I fell head over heels in love with the characters, they were so interesting and flawed and I really enjoyed reading about them so much. The writing style was so immersive and the pacing was spot on. I really loved the worldbuilding and honestly, I could not put For the Wolf down!

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Read in June 2021

For the Wolf was a book I was fairly excited to read. I didn’t wait eagerly for its release but when I found out about it I was certainly interested. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book from the incredibly generous publishers. So, a huge thank you to them.

I would say that the synopsis for this books is somewhat misleading not in any major way but I don’t think this is a Red Riding hood retelling. It felt more like beauty and the beast to be honest. Again not a bad thing, just a fair warning.

For the Wolf was a solid read and I did enjoy it for the most part, I will however say that something didn’t quite connect too. Thinking back in what parts irritated me, for lack of a better word, we’re that the pace of the romance was uneven and I didn’t really gel with Red much. In fact she kind of annoyed me more often than not with her attitude and self entitled self.

Now all of the above said, I do know this book will be a fab favourite for so many people and it does deserve to be because Whitten’s writing is particularly lovely and she has included so many fantastical and enjoyable elements and tropes.

You can tell Whitten put a lot of thought into this world. The lord and the world itself is enchanting and ticks a lot of boxes.

Whitten also writes some beautiful scenes between sisters and they were a joy to read. While I said the romance was uneven that isn’t to say it was fun to read. Plenty of the scenes were very good.

Overall I did enjoy this book while feeling it had its issues. I almost feel like a reread of this would smooth over some of my issues a little because my expectations will be in line. Plus, I still want to read book two so 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

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For the Wolf was a beautifully woven tale, full of lore and magic. It was reminiscent of reading fairy tales when I was younger and would regularly get lost in the worlds.

I loved the dynamics between Red and Neve, sisterly love and devotion was beautifully expressed along with the lengths that one would go to in order to make sure their loved one was safe.

The characters we meet in the Wilderwood are wonderful, and Eammon is a great Wolf. The relationship dynamics between the two felt authentic and having a natural progression. There was a massive separation between the character depictions in the Wilderwood and back in Valleyda, which I found really helped delineate the two as separate entities. I really enjoyed the interludes and seeing Neve's character develop, setting it up for book 2.

The magic was really interesting to me and the connection with the earth, I felt like this was really well fleshed out and I thought the horrors we were exposed to were really interesting. I'm definitely looking forward to book 2.

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While not necessarily my type of story unfortunately, this was a very good introduction to this new series. I loved the main characters and their interactions and would like to see where the story will lead us.
I hope I enjoy the sequel better.

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On paper, Hannah Whitten's fairytale and folklore inspired novel sounded exactly up my street. I've long been a fan of retellings of classic tales and devoured books like Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy.

In reality, less so. The book was beautifully written overall but it took me a long time to get through. I felt like the spark was just missing for me and I couldn't find the romance and adventure in the story. It may be because I'm such a fan of retellings and this Beauty and the Beast reimagining just didn't have the power to stand up over the titles I already know and love.

I found Red's story to be the stronger of the two narratives, but it still didn't grab me as much as I would like.

The plus point is that the writing was very beautiful and evocative and so I look forward to reading more from Whitten.

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I really enjoyed this book, the synopsis really intriguing me and did not let me down. I loved the world building and how the two main character came together to work through everything that faced them. I cannot wait for the next book to see where we go next.

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