Book: Heart of the Wolf Queen by Sarah Gallego
Reviewed by Michelles_Cosy_Booknook
Rating: 5/5
WHY did I leave this book sitting on my shelf for so long?!
The Heart of the Wolf Queen is the first book in the Star-Crossed Gods duology and gives us second-chance, friends-to-lovers fantasy with fake marriage, forced proximity, hidden powers, corruption, lies, loss, yearning... and one big ol' wolf with HEAPS of attitude.
Basically, there was a lot here for me to love.
One of the things that particularly stood out was the disability and diversity representation. It was written with empathy, nuance and subtlety, and there were aspects of Sorrow's experiences that I found incredibly relatable.
Then we have Sorrow and Matthias.
The Yearning.
That constant emotional tug-of-war. The will they, won't they? The history between them. The things that desperately need to be said but apparently absolutely will not be said.
I was completely invested.
There's also a wonderfully thought-out cast of characters who feel naturally connected to one another, but my favourite?
Pablo.
Sorrow's wolf companion, who is never far from her side and helps her navigate the world as her eyesight fails. He's loyal, full of personality and attitude, and I would now like it formally recorded that I would protect Pablo with my life.
As the first book in a fantasy duology, there's naturally quite a lot of history and world-building to establish, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It never felt like an information dump because there's enough plot, character development and punchy writing to keep everything moving at an enjoyable pace.
I did have a couple of small niggles. I would have loved a little more detail about the individual kingdoms and their respective rulers, although I'm hoping we'll explore those further in book two.
And the miscommunication between Sorrow and Matthias occasionally had me wanting to reach into the book, sit them both down and say:
FOR THE LOVE OF PABLO, PLEASE JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER.
But neither took away from how much I enjoyed this.
There are shocks, twists, moments that may have you shedding a tear and — consider yourself warned — a cliffhanger.
This was such a fabulous read, and if you enjoyed books such as Dire Bound, I think The Heart of the Wolf Queen is definitely one to have on your radar.
Now please excuse me while I immediately question all the other unread books currently sitting on my shelves...