For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

|Synopsis|

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.

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|Review|

Whenever a book comes along and completely blows me away, I feel like I have a hard time aptly expressing just how amazing it is. For the Wolf was everything I wanted and more. It is a character driven book that is very dark and atmospheric with a tension filled slow-burn romance.

There were so many things I loved about the book. Whitten does a great job of being descriptive yet whimsical with her writing without it ever being too much. I have quite the list of quotes from the book that just were so beautifully written or hit home for me. I really enjoyed the world she created for us and her characters to live in. To me, good world building means you don’t even know it’s happening. It’s not dropped at your feet but slowly built up in your mind which Whitten definitely accomplished.

The relationship between Red and Neve is at the heart of this book. Two sisters, one for the throne and one for the Wolf, who are willing to sacrifice anything to keep the other safe. While this seems straightforward at first, each sister is lead down a twisted path, different from what either initially expected. We do get a few chapters here and there from Neves’ POV. They added that extra air of mystery to the whole thing while still essentially kept us the dark about what Neve is up to.

Now for my favorite part of the whole book; the romance. Eammon was *SWOON* worthy. The big bad Wolf of our story who is a self deprecating martyr. The tension between him and Red almost drove me insane. Almost. Whitten delivers on all the kissing she promised us though (If she wants to drop some more in depth scenes in the future, I would not complain). Red and Eammon are adorable. There are lots of blushes, hand brushes and honorable intentions. There also might be some one bed scenes tossed in for those that love that scenario.

For the Wolf is not your mom’s typical Red Riding retelling. It’s a new and fresh take on the classic story, stealing only the barest bones from the classic and adding some other elements in from some well known fairytales. The story is far from over though and I’m very curious to see what’s next for our characters in For the Throne!