Title: The Wolf and the Water

Author: Josie Jaffrey

Year of Publication: 2020

Genre: Retelling

Number of Pages: 269

Summary: From Goodreads: “Some secrets are worth killing for

The ancient city of Kepos sits in an isolated valley, cut off from the outside world by a towering wall. Behind it, the souls of the dead clamour for release. Or so the priesthood says.

 Kala has never had any reason to doubt their word – until her father dies in suspicious circumstances that implicate the city’s high priest. She’s determined to investigate, but she has a more immediate problem: the laws of the city require her mother to remarry straight away.

 Kala’s new stepfather is a monster, but his son Leon is something altogether more dangerous: kind.

With her family fractured and the investigation putting her life in danger, the last thing Kala needs is romance. She would rather ignore Leon entirely, however difficult he makes it. But when she learns the truth of what really clamours behind the wall at the end of the valley, she faces a choice: share what she knows and jeopardise her escape, or abandon him to his fate along with the rest of the city.

If she doesn’t move fast, then no one will make it out of the valley alive.”

Review: Thank you, Dave, at The Write Reads for organizing and inviting me to be part of this blog tour. Thank you, to the author, Josie Jaffrey, for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Wolf and The Water is the second book by Josie Jaffrey that I’ve read, and I’m happy to say that she’s quickly becoming a favourite of mine.

It’s difficult to fit The Wolf and The Water into a specific genre because it has a lot of things going for it. It’s a bit historical in that it takes place in the past, and it’s inspired by mythology and Atlantis. It’s a bit of a mystery because the main character, Kala, is trying to find out what happened to her father and other questions keep popping up for her to work out. It’s a bit of a romance, though the romance is just a small side-plot, not the story’s focus. According to Goodreads, it’s a bit of a fantasy, even though I wouldn’t classify it as one. This book has something in it for fans of all kinds of genres, and I think it’s worth checking out.

What I found most enjoyable about this book was the characters, especially Leon. I’m not sure why, but I found Leon to be very lovable. It might be because he was so kind to Kala, or because he was determined to woo her, or because he was determined to be his own man, but I found him to be incredibly charming. I thought Kala, the main character, was awesome, and I pretty much loved everything about her. I liked how stubborn and determined she was, and I liked that she didn’t let her disability stop her. On another note, I liked the disability representation in this book. Kala walks with a cane, and though I’m not in a position to comment on the accuracy of the representation, it was nice to see because I haven’t read very many books with that type of representation in it.

I had mixed feelings about the storyline of this book. Some parts of the book dragged on a bit too long for my taste, and other parts where I found it a bit difficult to follow. Overall though, once I figured out who all of the side characters were and the system in Kepos, the story started to make a lot more sense, and I was drawn in. I also thought that the last third of the book was fantastic, and I love how everything lined up for Kala, Leon, Eulalia, and Ariston.

I want to take a quick moment to discuss some of the trigger warnings in this book. This book features slavery, violence, death, ableism, misogyny, parental abuse, and attempted sexual assault. Some of the violent scenes were difficult to read, and I found myself skimming past them. I also want to shout out to the author for including a list of trigger warnings at the back of the book, and I think this is something that all authors should do to make reading safer for everyone.

Overall, I enjoyed The Wolf and The Water, and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens in the next book. I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed May Day, and this book is different from what Josie Jaffrey usually writes, but I still found it very enjoyable.

Rating: 3.5 Stars!