For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND TIKTOK SENSATION!

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

An instant NYT bestseller and word-of-mouth sensation, this dark, romantic debut fantasy weaves the unforgettable tale of 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.

"If you ever wished Beauty and the Beast had more eldritch forest monsters and political machinations, this is the romance for you."―Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January

"A brilliant dark fantasy debut!" —Jodi Picoult, NYT bestselling author

I was approved for For the Wolf on NetGalley before the book even came out. But however many times I tried to read it, I just couldn’t do it. So I told NetGalley I couldn’t finish it and wouldn’t be giving feedback. Then I bought it on Kindle, along with For the Throne, thinking maybe if I had the whole duology, I’d read it. It took me a year to actually read For the Wolf, but when I did, I read it in 2 or 3 days. Holy cow, I don’t know why it took me so long to actually get into this book and read it.

I love Red, Neve, Arick, Raffe, Lyra, Fife, and Eammon. I absolutely can’t stand Kiri. I seriously wanted to throttle her the entire book. As for Neve and Arick, they were misguided in their actions but they did what they thought was right. I loved that Eammon was nothing like what he was supposed to be. The fact that Red just wanted to protect her sister from her “dangerous” magic made me sad.

The writing is beautiful in this book. I can’t wait to read more of Hannah Whitten’s writing. In fact, I started For the Throne immediately after finishing For the Wolf because I wanted to keep going with the story.

I loved this plot. It seemed almost like a mixture of Rumpelstiltskin and Beauty & the Beast. You have to read the book to understand how these two things come in to play and some might say that Rumpelstiltskin isn’t there, but I assure you, elements of it is.

The ending was interesting and left the opening to For the Throne in a perfect manner. I enjoyed the ending thoroughly and can’t wait to see what happens in For the Throne.

I gave this 4.5 stars because it’s an amazing book and I highly recommend it for those looking for adult fantasy (as per Hannah Whitten herself, her books are not YA).