A Far Wilder Magic: Allison Saft

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Like this she looks like more wolf than girl- like some magic far wilder than alchemy runs through her."

Vilinsky offers mesmerizing performances of two odd young folks who are proving their worth to the world and each other. Vilinsky’s narration ranges from the bitter disputes between the heroes to the tenderness of their developing love.” — AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award Winner While the plot was interesting, this, for me personally, felt like much more a character exploration. The hunt itself for the hala only really occurred around the 90% mark, so while I would liked to have read more about it, I did enjoy following the characters along their journeys.Over time, Wes and Maggie became more drawn to each another and I loved seeing their relationship develop. From Maggie helping Wes to read, to him teasing her about the smutty books she reads, their friendship blossomed into the sweetest slow burn romance, and it felt perfect to me. Also bonus points for the “he falls first and is infatuated” trope too! As the taxi lurches out of a divot in the road, the sputter of its engine sounds suspiciously like laughter. He swears under his breath, rubbing away the ache blooming in his skull—and then, with the very edge of his sleeve, dabs gingerly at the drool gathered in the corner of his mouth. Innovative, romantic, and intoxicating. A Far Wilder Magic is a diamond of the YA fantasy genre, with a fresh and artfully layered world and extraordinary characters to match." —Amanda Foody, author of Ace of Shades But the high tension, dangerous hunt in the woods may result with unleashing dark magic! Whether they survive from the merciless conditions of nature, could they defeat the dangerous effects of dark magic which will risk their lives?

An utterly transportive read, unfolding into a world of crumbling manors and ancient forests. Allison Saft crafts a deliberate, intricate romance that will have you as unmoored as the characters." —Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights I liked the development of the relationship between Wes and Maggie. Maggie has a hard exterior and comes across unapproachable and at times abrasive. Wes comes across overly confident and charming while hiding all of his insecurities underneath it all. Maggie has a way of seeing Wes for who he really is and all of his posturing. Wes sees how Maggie is truly hurting and how alone she has been all this time. As the two of them work together to win the hunt, they are also slowly healing themselves and recognizing who they are and what they want. Hohn is a middle-aged man with a kind, wind-chapped face and a blond mustache that spirals neatly at its ends. It cost Wes nearly everything he’d saved to pay him for the ride. If all goes to plan, his return trip to the city won’t be for a good long while. Margaret’s character is tragic and closed, but so full. She is a closet full of emotions. Wes is awkward and charming and sometimes a bit doofy, but in a lost puppy kind of way that I found endearing. I loved his sisters, especially Mad and Colleen.

The thought sobers her. Trouble is a brilliant hunting dog, but he’s not young anymore. Risking his safety for some foolish notion like joining the hunt isn’t something she’s willing to do. She’s got no time to prepare, hardly enough money to pay the entry fee, and no connections to any alchemists she can trust, not that any of them can be trusted. Only two-person teams—one marksman and one alchemist—can participate. Weston Winters isn’t an alchemist--yet. Fired from every apprenticeship he's landed, his last chance hinges on Master Welty taking him in. But when Wes arrives at Welty Manor, he finds only Margaret and her bloodhound Trouble. Margaret begrudgingly allows him to stay, but on one condition: he must join the hunt with her. Wes and Margaret’s unfolding romance is subtle and satisfying, and Saft’s prose is vivid and dryly humorous. Fans of Leigh Bardugo’s original Shadow & Bone trilogy will likely enjoy this honest, evocative romance.” — Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books

trigger/content warnings: animal death and injury, antisemitism, nationalism and xenophobia, PTSD, neglect and emotional abuse by a parent, mentions of parental death, mentions of death of a child, graphic descriptions of blood and wounds.

An utterly transportive read, unfolding into a world of crumbling manors and ancient forests. Allison Saft crafts a deliberate, intricate romance that will have you as unmoored as the characters." — Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights Violence against animals and animal death. Situations of peril. Some reference to racist slurs. Two boys get into a fight more than once. Some animals are injured and killed by a magical creature. A boy is also pretty severely injured by the creature. Weston Winters isn’t an alchemist–yet. Fired from every apprenticeship he’s landed, his last chance hinges on Master Welty taking him in. But when Wes arrives at Welty Manor, he finds only Margaret and her bloodhound Trouble. Margaret begrudgingly allows him to stay, but on one condition: he must join the hunt with her.

I meant it when I said there's a life for us-a good one. A country where we don't have to be afraid. A house in the countryside. A whole library full of smutty books and a huge kitchen and seven kids- or no kids- and five hounds just like Trouble. Whatever you want. I swear I'll make it happen. I swear I'll make you happy."😭 Then he will give her something solid to hold on to. If he can convince her of one thing in his life, let it be this: A life beyond that house, beyond all the ghosts that haunt it, is a dream worth believing in. One worth trying for.” He has a quiet powerful effect on people. When he speaks people always listen. He’s not alchemist yet. He doesn’t come from wealthy family and he’s undereducated but he is talented enough to fight for his last chance even though Margaret is too stubborn let him pass the mansion’s threshold.It’s too cold for mid-autumn—the kind of cold that catches even the trees out. Just yesterday morning, the leaves outside her window burned in the sunlight, red as blood and gold as honey. Now, half of them have gone brittle and dropped like stones, and all she sees are the hours and hours of work ahead of her. A sea of dead things. As you can imagine, when two young people living, and working, together under the same roof, sparks are most likely going to fly. It's not immediate and certainly not discussed between them, but as Margaret and Wes learn more about each other, they discover they may be more alike than they initially thought. i think the concept of this story is cool. alchemy is always interesting and i think the different religions and how they play into the tradition of the hunt is done well. the characters are also great. both maggie and wes are strong, solid leads who have good characterisation and development. Drama abounds as the event nears and I had no idea where it was going or what was going to happen. I was completely head over heels for this team by that point though, I was ready to cut down the competition myself!