My book reviews for the Wilderwood Duology by Hannah Whitten, including For the Wolf and For the Throne. Please be aware that the review for the second book contains spoilers.

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.

This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

Content Warnings:

Please note
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Let’s just put it this way: it was so good that before I was even halfway done with For the Wolf, I had popped over to NetGalley, found the request for the ARC for book two and requested it.

There were zero doubts in my mind that I would want to read book two.

The praise that For the Wolf gets is 100% deserved. If I could give this book six stars, I would. Whitten has woven a story that is so dark and delicious that reading For the Wolf feels like eating the most delectable cake ever. Her descriptions of the Wilderwood come alive and jump off the page. The emotions that the characters feel flood your own senses. It’s sensory overload, and it’s gorgeous.

The book title, cover and synopsis suggest this is a Red Riding Hood retelling, and it is, and every other fairytale you can name. There are so many subverted fairytale tropes in this book, and it’s fantastic. The characters are wonderful, and you will devour all of them, from the lightest to the darkest.

In this breathtaking sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller For the Wolf, Red's sister Neve struggles to escape a mysterious land of twisted roots, lost gods, and mountains made of bone—and the only clues to her rescue are a magic mirror and a dark prince who wants to bring the whole thing crumbling down.

The First Daughter is for the Throne

The Second Daughter is for the Wolf...

Red and the Wolf have finally contained the threat of the Old Kings but at a steep cost. Red's beloved sister Neve, the First Daughter is lost in the Shadowlands, an inverted kingdom where the vicious gods of legend have been trapped for centuries and the Old Kings have slowly been gaining control. But Neve has an ally, though it's one she'd rather never have to speak to again: the rogue king Solmir.

Solmir wants to bring an end to the Shadowlands and he believes helping Neve may be the key to its destruction. But to do that, they will both have to journey across a dangerous landscape in order to find a mysterious Heart Tree, and finally to claim the gods' dark, twisted powers for themselves.

This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

Content Warnings:

I had already requested the ARC of For the Throne before I was even halfway through the first book of the Wilderwood series, For the Wolf. I devoured this one just as fast as the first book. Read on to find out what I thought about this one.

For the Throne continues directly from where For the Wolf left off, so if you don’t quite remember what happened in that book, it is worth re-reading or catching yourself back up before picking this one up. While there isn’t a direct catch-up written in, it is pretty obvious from the way Whitten writes the narrative what has happened and through the character’s dialogue, you learn what happened. Neve is in the Shadowlands, a choice she consciously made, and Red and Raffe watched her make the decision.

The first book was Red’s story, whereas this one is Neve’s, and likewise, it is an echo of the first book in that this time it’s about saving Neve rather than Red. As with the previous book, the main character’s narration is dominant, and the other sister’s narration runs parallel. While we follow Neve’s journey through the Shadowlands, we also follow Red’s attempts to find a way to get Neve out of the Shadowlands. This time, there’s a third narrator, Raffe, who acts as the reader’s eyes in Valleyda just as Neve did in the previous book. He plays a much larger role in this book, thrown into the position of keeping up the ruse that Queen Neve is ill rather than missing in the Shadowlands. It was great to see more of him as a character, and his narration is a wonderful change of pace for the two sisters.

Neve is the dark to Red’s light, and with much of For the Throne set in the Shadowlands, Whitten was able to delve into a much darker space. While the Wilderwood had its Grimm fairytale elements of horror, the Shadowlands is pure gothic horror. I got some very strong Lovecraftian and H. R. Giger vibes from it. These vibes mixed with Whitten’s luscious style result in some dark and disturbing descriptions that are also just so delicious. It’s like eating delicious ice cream that gives you brain freeze; it tastes so good, but it has that wicked edge to it.

I like Red as a character; however, it’s Neve that I found easier to understand and connect with. The dedication for this book reads “for anyone who grew thorns instead of flowers – you had your reasons,” and that really resonated with me on many levels. This is a book about exploring the decisions we make, the truth of our feelings regarding them and taking ownership of them, especially the darker aspects of ourselves. In For the Throne, Whitten explores how we create our own identity, the one that we are happy with, that we can answer to. Neve has to come to terms with her actions and their consequences, and decide how they are going to let them define her.

Once again, I was blown away by Whitten’s storytelling and visual descriptions in For the Throne. I loved the world-building in both books and how she brought everything full circle to fit together. I don’t think I’ve ever read such a well-written duology, and I’m looking forward to reading Whitten’s next book, The Foxglove King!

Thanks for reading my book review for the Wilderwood duology by Hannah Whitten!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of my reviews if you’re looking for some more book recommendations 🙂 You can also now sign up for my newsletter to get an email each month with a list of my new reviews!

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