Book Review

Moon Reads: For the Wolf

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Series: Wilderwood

Ownership: Proof provided by Orbit but also preordered since like last year.

Spoilers: No, however, may allude to some events in the book.

As per usual, disclaimer that a book provided by the publisher doesn’t influence my opinion or review of it, and normally I only ask for books I know I will read which is why the rating is usually high for those.

For the Wolf is a very interesting book, but it may not be for everyone. For starters, the premise was initially a little misleading to me, as it felt like it was aiming more for a Red Riding Hood vibe and overall the story is more about an empowering take on Beauty on the Beast with influences from other tales and folklore.

Once you come to it with the understanding of what tale it focuses more on, then you can immerse yourself in the world of the Wilderwood and enjoy the ride. It does have a good interesting start, then a bit of a slow post start where it tries hard to set the character of the twins and their lives, and particularly how Redarys is leaving things behind and Neve doesn’t want her to be sacrificed and she is her world. This is key long term to the story, but initially, it is a bit too full on your face and I think there would’ve been subtler ways to make it click.

The lore of the Wilderwood and why Red has to be sacrificed, alongside how the world functions and what each region provides and why the religion is predominant is fascinating and I enjoyed some of the magic systems and learning more about it all.

The romance is a very slow burn and this is definitely adult fantasy rather than a young adult, and therefore completely shows that side of itself with the development of plot and subplots and it is delightful in doing so.

Overall the curses, sentient woods, and everything in the Wilderwood were what won me.

The not so fun parts for me were the Neve chapters and the views into the religion and what was happening you could see what it was and wanted to stop it but knew it would not stop and it just was frustrating to know where things were going on Neve’s side. This almost made me stop reading a few times but I basically raced through those chapters and returned to the Wilderwood wanting to understand it better and know more about it.

The main cast of characters is relatively small for each twin sister and therefore it relies a lot on the characters and what they bring to the story and how they help move it forward, and definitely, my favourite character was the Wilderoowd, as it was seeing Red develop some agency in her own life. That was probably the best part, the change from “I am doomed to this” to more of a “I can do this and more”.

Recommending it to fans of fairytale retellings in the style of Naomi Novik or Robin McKinley, and for those that like botanical/forest curses and magic systems, as that was a huge win for me and part of what made me enjoy it a lot, alongside the mix fo a good slow-burn romance.

Subscription Boxes

Moon Hauls: Growing Wild Owlcrate

Subscription box: Owlcrate

Theme/Month: Growing Wild, November 2020

Ownership: Subscribed on their 6 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing an Owlcrate subscription, you can do it on their website.

Owlcrate was my first ever subscription box way back in 2015, and usually feautures young adult books in a variety of genres alongside a few bookish items.

I have to admit that given Brexit, I had to cancel my subscription with reluctance as it has made it a lot more expensive and it was already quite high cost due to shipping if I was in the US itd be fine). However, I’ll be getting two more boxes before my subscription runs out.

Meanwhile let’s see what was inside, starting on the top left and going clockwise:

  • Promotional print.
  • A flower press kit, this is an unusual but pleasant surprise to find in a book box and one of the reasons why I enjoy their boxes so much, they find quirky items that fit with the book and theme and include them.
  • Middle Earth plants postcards
  • A dandelion seed in glass necklace. I have a similar one from another book box from way back when and I love it, I think it is quite cute.
  • Stickers! They are really cute botanical ones and I am super happy.
  • Theme spoiler card
  • Enamel pin, they send one monthly and it is inspired by the main book in the box.
  • The yearly reading planner, I like they send it in November as it gives time for the box to arrive around the world so you can start it right in January. I am not huge on reading planners or any kind of planner but I still think it is cool, just sad it wasn’t exactly botanical themed.
  • A gorgeous edition of Among the Beasts and Briars which I’m hyped to read and have been for ages since I read about it.

Overall a well themed and thoughtful box with a good variety of items. My only not so keen part was that the planner felt out of the theme and everything but I do understand it is the usual month it is included in so wish it had been more in topic, but otherwise I liked it quite a bit and can’t wait to use the flower press at some point.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Taproot

Taproot by Keezy Young

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

I have a soft spot for botanical graphic novels, and if it involves ghosts, or grief, I am extra into it. I got this as a gift fromt he wonderful Lauren (aka The Bookihs Fairy) who is a bundle of sunlight.

Taproot is a story about a gardener, Hamal, who can see ghosts. This makes him a bit of a weirdo, as he may look like he’s talking to himself (to others) and also, the ghosts affect his reality a little, particularly Blue, who just can’t seem to go away.

That is until things start working a little weird wonky in the ghost world and the ghosts reach out to Hamal. Blue notices that maybe he needs to figure this out as he doesn’t want to move on and also, Hamal may be in trouble.

I loved the artwork as it made me want to live in a botanical garden type of home (I do wish I had a wonderful green thumb, which sadly I do not have), and the fact that it touches on death, grief, and hope is all up to my street and made this book even mroe precious. Plus there is some romance, some fun investigative work done by Hamal, and Blue’s story that we slowly discover (plus a few other ghosts make a story appearance too).

I kinda wanted the story to be longer, not because it was lacking but rather because I enjoyed reading it too much and wanted to hold on to it for longer. Highly recommended as soft gentle read if you’re okay with grief/death as part of a normal story.