I received this book at no cost from the publisher
The Will and the Wilds by Charlie N. HolmbergISBN: 1542005000
Published by 47North on January 21, 2020
Genres: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology, Love & Romance
Pages: 268
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Print Length: 265 pages
Publisher: 47North (January 21, 2020)
Publication Date: January 21, 2020
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
Praise for THE WILL AND THE WILDS
“…An immersive, dangerous fantasy world. Holmberg draws readers in with a fast-moving plot, rich details, and a surprisingly sweet human-monster romance. This is a lovely, memorable fairy tale.” —Publishers Weekly
“Holmberg ably builds her latest fantasy world, and her brisk narrative and the romance at its heart will please fans of her previous magical tales.” —Booklist
A spellbinding story of truce and trickery from the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician series.
Enna knows to fear the mystings that roam the wildwood near her home. When one tries to kill her to obtain an enchanted stone, Enna takes a huge risk: fighting back with a mysting of her own.
Maekallus’s help isn’t free. His price? A kiss. One with the power to steal her soul. But their deal leaves Maekallus bound to the mortal realm, which begins eating him alive. Only Enna’s kiss, given willingly, can save him from immediate destruction. It’s a temporary salvation for Maekallus and a lingering doom for Enna. Part of her soul now burns bright inside Maekallus, making him feel for the first time.
Enna shares Maekallus’s suffering, but her small sacrifice won’t last long. If she and Maekallus can’t break the spell binding him to the mortal realm, Maekallus will be consumed completely—and Enna’s soul with him.
Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie N. Holmberg was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. She is a proud BYU alumna, plays the ukulele, owns too many pairs of glasses, and finally adopted a dog. Her fantasy Paper Magician series, which includes The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician, and The Master Magician, has been optioned by the Walt Disney Company. Her stand-alone novel, Followed by Frost, was nominated for a 2016 RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance, and her novel The Fifth Doll won the 2018 Whitney for Speculative Fiction. She is a board member for Deep Magic Ezine and lives with her family in Utah.
REVIEW
This is not what I was expecting. It was so much better.
This is a fairy tale of the highest degree, filled with a monster who isn’t quite horrific but entirely believable and a girl who is a fighter with all the best elements of a fairy tale heroine. It makes you question what is real. Enna lives on the edge of the forest where all kinds of evil lurk. Following in her late grandmother’s footsteps, she is studying those creatures to learn how to defend herself from them. When she and her father are attacked by a gobler, she summons a different creature to help fight it off.
Maekallus, a mysting trickster, is asked to help track down the gobler and requests a very strange and minimal price from Enna, a small kiss. Of course, Maekallus is a trickster above all and she doesn’t realize what the true cost is until it is too late. That kiss has given a part of her soul to Maekallus. The odd part is, Markallus has lost part of himself to Enna. I didn’t see that little twist coming.
In a way this story reminded me of Beauty and the Beast with a bit of The Shape of Water and the elements of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, it all works and I fell in love with this story. It is a very quick read and very enjoyable. This is a pretty safe romance as well for teens.
