I don’t know why, but I thought this book was supposed to be related to that Red Riding Hood movie that came out a decade ago. I remember hearing that there was a book that would make that movie make sense, and for whatever reason I thought this was that book. It is not.
This book follows Red, the Second Daughter1 who has to be given to the Wolf when she comes of age, leaving behind her sister to take over rule on her own when their mother dies. In this fantasy world, the wolf lives in the very dangerous Wilderwood, a forest that appears to be alive and with a motive of its own. Deep inside the forest, Red meets the Wolf and finds that much of what she’s been told about him and the history of their world has been a lie, but also that the Wilderwood is slowly dying and he is the only one keeping it alive so that it can continue to hold back the return of great evil.
So, first thing to mention here. Despite the title and cover, this is a Beauty and the Beast story. The Wolf2 is a cursed man living alone in a castle and Red is a young bookworm who realizes that he’s not as terrifying as the stories she’s heard all of her life. Instead, he’s cursed, lonely, and only means well.
I will note that I didn’t pick up on the romance aspect of the story until quite late in the narrative, which I like. Red has a whole lot happening, between figuring out her own ties to the Wilderwood, to understanding the truth behind the version of history she was told, to trying to see her sister again, that I just never picked up on it until the relationship was consummated. They got married and I didn’t pick up on the romance. I’m so good at this.
It is also full of very intricate world building. There were times when I wondered if this was a third or fourth book in a series. There’s a lot of elements in it that I really enjoy, such as the contrast between the history told and the actual history that gets uncovered, but there is just a lot of context revealed throughout the story as if it were common knowledge. I’m generally okay with this, but it does make it a lot harder for me to talk about the story because there’s parts of the lore that I’m more interested in than others.
Overall, I did enjoy it! It was an interesting read, and I haven’t done high fantasy in a while. It does some interesting things with the worldbuilding and the romance doesn’t overwhelm the narrative. If it sounds interesting, I’d say check it out.