For the Wolf

The first daughter is for the Throne.
The second daughter is for the Wolf.

For fans of Uprooted and The Bear and the Nightingale comes a dark fantasy novel about a young woman who must be sacrificed to the legendary Wolf of the Wood to save her kingdom. But not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn't the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood.

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.

Title: For the Wolf

Series: Wilderwood

Author: Hannah Whitten

Genre: Fantasy

Hardcover:  437 pages

Publication Date: 06/01/2021

Publisher: Orbit

Language: English

ISBN: 0316592781

My Review

“Red stood, and watched and waited, dread roiling beneath her ribs.

Her blood touched the white trunk hesitated. then the tree absorbed, took it in like water to parched soil.

Tripping over leaves, Red backed away from the tree until she collided with another, this one also thin and pale, also twisted with black rot. Underbrush tangled in her skirts, and Red ore herself away, the rip unnaturally loud in the silent forest.

The sound again, reverberating up from the forest floor, rustling leaves and stretching vines and clattering twigs cobbling themselves into something like a voice, something she didn’t so much hear as feel. It boiled up from the center, from the shard of magic she kept lashed down through white-knuckled effort. “

There is something magical and frightening we experience in the woods. Since childhood, I have had this love and hate relationship with the voice canceling and reverberating noises of the forest. Something so ancient and secret held in them, something magical, it causes my heart to be utterly scared and enchanted at times simultaneously. Whitten’s For the Wolf is the dark tale of secrets kept, souls lost and portals possible. Everything unknown, everything dark, and everything light.

Promises forged in blood, willingly given sacrifices and bonds made, it is in the Wilderwood, that the established offers have to continue long after everyone fled the far reaches to escape the will of the Kings. A second daughter is for the wolf, and Red knew all her life, that her fate will be to be sacrificed, while her sister is to gain the throne.

When Red meets the wolf and the living forest, she learns of her dangerous gifts, and a friendship, albeit reluctant with misunderstandings, gives way to the truth behind the myth, the wolf’s real presence, and the darkness within Wilderwood. Away from her family, locked in the entanglement, she cannot be reached by her sister who is desperately looking for her. With the storyline dived to what is happening within and outside the Wilderwood, the story rolls on with mysterious vibes, tender and tragic moments, and three young people trying to escape their fates.

This was such a fun read, but I’m a sucker for fairytale-like settings. Some moments were easily foreshadowed but overall still enjoyable. As YA novels are not in my age range, I tend to lose patience with too much angst in characters, but given the intended readership it certainly holds its value and it wasn’t something overly stated in here.

I did enjoy pretty much every character in this novel and the premise of the powerful woods was rather fascinating and well thought out to me. The writing was sharp and crisp, a bit edgy, perfect for the story and I enjoyed it.

Any fans of fairytales or retellings, give this a shot. You may like to too!

Happy reading!

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

All opinions are my own.

Thank you!