by Tabitha Caplinger
Publisher’s Synopsis
Ylva was raised by wolves. That is the story her clan tells of their Wolf Queen. The truth is far more miraculous. Her Gift, bestowed by the Light, enables her to see deep inside the hearts of men.
Prince Rohan considers the Light mere superstition and only believes in what he can see with his own eyes.
But a great evil is infecting the Four Realms. The battle between the Light and the Darkness is no longer bound to human hearts, and words Ylva and Rohan thought were just legend are being whispered again. The dragon is rising.
What I Liked:
-The Viking-esq setting. I feel like the Viking era is a setting/time period that’s overlooked a lot in fantasy, so it was fun to read something different. As a worldbuilding fan though, I would have liked the worldbuilding to be fleshed out a little more. I felt like I had to sketch in some of the world on my own.
-Ylva’s wolves. Animal characters and sidekicks are always fun.
-The plot has the classic “good vs. evil” at its core. While I love complex plots, sometimes it’s nice to read ones that just boil down to good vs. evil.
-There was some fun character banter sprinkled throughout.
What I Struggled With:
-I had a harder time connecting to Ylva than I did Rohan, which I think had to do with their character arcs. Rohan struggles with believing in the Light and the unseen, which shapes his character arc. Ylva, in my opinion, had a flat character arc (meaning that she didn’t have a lie to overcome or a truth to learn). I think that her flat arc made her harder to resonate with.
-While I like allegories and faith-based stories, there were some theological points in The Wolf Queen that I’m not sure I agree with. Because The Wolf Queen is fiction, it’s hard to know whether I’m reading into things too much or whether the author and I differ theologically.
What I Didn’t Like:
-I personally could have some with less graphic descriptions. While not gory, there were some descriptions of actions, mainly done by the villain, that maybe could have been toned down. But violence and descriptions affect everyone differently.
Final Thoughts:
If you like faith-based stories, a fresh fantasy setting, and don’t mind some violence, The Wolf Queen might be a good pick for you.
Cautions: semi-graphic descriptions; semi-graphic moderate/heavy violence; four kisses; light/moderate romance
Hailey Huntington 