BOOK REVIEW: FOR THE WOLF BY HANNAH WHITTEN

• STAR RATING:  3 stars
• PAGE LENGTH: 437 pages
• DATE PUBLISHED: June 1, 2021
• PUBLISHER: Orbit Books
• WHAT SERIES? Wilderwood
• WHAT BOOK DO I START WITH? For the Wolf
• HOW MANY BOOKS IN THE SERIES? Two
• CONTENT WARNINGS: Self harm, Emotional abuse (parental), Death of parent, Gore, Religious bigotry
• IF YOU LIKED THIS, TRY: Honestly, not sure. Perhaps Curse of the Wolf King by Tessonja Odette?

SYNOPSIS

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.

Reader, I am sad. You all know how much I flat out adored The Foxglove King. I went into Hannah Whitten’s debut novel with high hopes after reading her third book. It did not live up to the hype or my hopes. Ultimately, your opinions my differ from mine, but I thought For the Wolf was kind of a mess. Upon first glance at the book, you might think that it’s a Little Red Riding Hood retelling, but you’d be completely wrong. There is absolutely nothing of that story here, which makes the cover choice almost baffling. Instead, For the Wolf is almost a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but not really. Sure, the main romantic lead has a sort-of curse on him, but that’s about where that comparison ends. There are no roses, no enchanted castles, nothing else familiar from that tale. For the Wolf wants to be a fairy tale quite badly, but there was just too much going on for that feel to really sink in.

I will give you this, though, I really enjoyed the parts of the novel where we were focused on Red and Eammon. They were so much fun to watch together. Red was stubborn, protective, and wanted to be helpful so badly. Eammon was more stubborn, and determined to do everything by himself. Of course, they clash because of this, but ultimately end up falling in love. I mean, what’s not to love about that story? It’s great. When it came to literally everything else I lost focus, and interest. There was too much happening. The forest was weakening, magic was becoming harder to use, Red and Eammon were falling in love, the priestesses were maybe evil maybe not, the queen was dying, the gods might be real, and Neve wanted her sister back. Too much. I think if some of this had been pared down, if we had had the bare basics of this plot, perhaps things would have been able to breathe more. As it is, things feel rushed and confusing. (My biggest questions that I’m not sure we got answers for — where did the wildwood come from? Why is it there? Where does magic come from?)

I am so disappointed that For the Wolf did not work for me. I don’t think I’ll be picking up For the Throne, because I don’t see the point if it’s going to continue to be like this book. Despite everything about For the Wolf, I still really love Whitten’s writing. I’ll still be eagerly awaiting The Foxglove King‘s sequel. Overall, I’d give this one barely three stars.

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