The Wolf and the Woodsman

A Novel

De: Ava Reid

Narrado por: Saskia Maarleveld

In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut— inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant.

In her forest-veiled pagan village, Évike is the only woman without power, making her an outcast clearly abandoned by the gods. The villagers blame her corrupted bloodline—her father was a Yehuli man, one of the much-loathed servants of the fanatical king. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king’s blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered.

But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.

As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all.

amazing!!!

I love how Saskia Maarleveld narrates all her this stories!!! she has becomes one of m6 favorite!!!
the book was amazing as well. I can't wait to read more from this author!!!

Struggled to finish but glad I did.

The narrator sounds like most others. Kind of boring in parts but beautifully written.

Loved the folk lore

I will be honest the opening didn’t have me hooked but I’m glad I stuck it out. The world building and sprinkling of folk lore sucked me in. My mouth was a gape for the last couple chapters, such a good read

Nice folklore, bland character

I personally found this book suffered from going through the motions of the plot for the sake of getting through them more than for the sake of the joy of seeing the action unfold. The characters were more like vague archetypes than vibrant people. The strength of the book was really in the feeling of folklore about it and I think it did deliver on that well.

Captivating!

I am not only the captive audience & listener who is on the outside looking in as this beautifully woven story unfolds! Eva Reid describes her characters & their surroundings in such vivid ways that I feel as though I'm also there in some form throughout every moment of it all! Big thanks to Eva Reid & ofcourse to the Audible book narrator, Saskia Maarlaveld. She has the vocal tone & ability that truly helps bring the story to audio life for me during my rest period & my walks! Sincerely,your fan for life!