A wolf, a dark woods, and a sacrifice…  Whitten has reimagined a twisty combination of Little Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast (heavy on the Beauty and the Beast).  

 

Redaris’ future is based on hundreds of years’ worth of legend that has been fused with fear and assumption.  Her sister, firstborn Neverah, will be queen.  But Redaris is secondborn, and her value to Wilderwood is in the sacrifice she must become.  The sacrifice has worked throughout history.  The monsters have been kept at bay.  Or have they?  Sometimes evil can look good.  Sometimes good can look evil.  

 

The overall plot for this fairy tale isn’t new or ingenious.  I found the storyline to follow all of the traditional tropes of the genre.  Much like the trees in the story, some healthy and some infested with shadow rot, the writing wanes between lyrical and clichéd.  Beautiful prose often became overwrought and overused.  And unfortunately, the magical system and world building vacillated between workable and muddled.  

 

While I was left wanting overall, I do think this story will hit the mark and be wildly successful with the YA audience.   

 

Thank you Hannah Whitten, Orbit Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.