Review: 'For the Wolf' (Wilderwood #1) by Hannah Whitten

 For the Wolf recently took Booktwitter by storm and I could see pretty quickly that it might have everything I was looking for in a Fantasy book: sisters, destiny, magic, a sentient Forest, potential enemies-to-lovers, Gods Gone Wild. So when I saw it in a bookstore in Germany I grabbed it immediately. And Whitten gave me everything I asked for and more. When's For the Throne coming out?

Pub. Date: 6/1/2021
Publisher: Orbit Books

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.

I have a sister, so when sisters feature in in Fantasy novels in any shape, way or form, I adore it. There is something about the relationship between sisters, how we grow up together yet are separate, sharing similar experiences but receiving them in different ways, that makes for fascinating material. Red and Neve's relationship is at the heart of For the Wolf. As the Second Daughter, the second twin, Red has lived for years with the knowledge that she will be sacrificed and she knows her anger and resentment can only do so much. As the First Daughter, Neve knows she will become queen and knows she will have to lose her sister. They move through the stages of grief differently, with anger consistently nipping at their heels. The way these two young women deal with their knowledge, their differing roles in this single, sacrificial event, is heartbreakingly described by Whitten. The tension and love between them, the constant push and pull of that sister-bond, is what elevates the tension in For the Wolf because as a reader you can feel the tearing of it. The two sisters rooted in my heart immediately.

Red is to be sacrificed to the Wolf. That is an unshakeable fact, even if her sister Neve, her friend Raffe and her kind-of lover Arick want her to run. But Red knows that a dangerous magic has settled in her already and to protect everyone she loves she enters the Wilderwood. Once there, however, everything gets turned upside down because nothing is as she expects it. The mythology, nay religion, she grew up in may have in fact gotten some things wrong. As Red gets to know the Wolf, the Wilderwood, and the power within her, Neve is left rudderless with only one thing on her mind: getting Red back. For the Wolf stays mainly with Red and her experiences, with the occasional 'Interlude' from home, showing us Neve's thoughts and actions. I adored this back and forth because it continued to build on the relationship between the two, even if they were so far apart. The contrasts between their two journeys is also beautifully worked out; the way they reach understanding, find companionship or gain skills is echoed in both their narratives. It means that while the majority of For the Wolf focuses on Red, Neve is hardly a secondary character. I also enjoyed the characterization of the Wolf, the way his character was slowly revealed. The Wilderwood is a whole character on its own and my love of trees and forests meant I couldn't help but adore it. 

For the Wolf is a beautiful book. It is, really, quite that simple. Hannah Whitten's prose is lush but never over the top. Her descriptions of the Wilderwood, of characteristics and emotions, consistently hits the spot to the point that I had very vivid images of the novel in my head. What really stood out to me, however, was the slow way in which Whitten reveals her wider worldbuilding during these chapters. The way her world is set up and how it works, but also how her continent's mythology functions and develops, comes to the reader in a natural way that pulls them in deeper and deeper. The lore of the Wilderwood and the Five Kings had me gripped and the efficacy and logic of it, the way in which religion affects trade and vice versa, was incredibly well done. Whitten takes the Red Riding Hood fairy tale and runs with it, building it into a mature fantasy that quite simply won't let you go. I have been solidly stalking her Twitter and Instagram for updated on For the Throne, the second part of the Wilderwood duology, because I cannot wait.

I give this novel...

5 Universes!

For the Wolf is a beautiful and heartbreaking novel that grabbed me by the throat and didn't let go. With memorable characters and beautiful world-building, this is a definite highlight.