Back of Book: 

The first daughter is for the Throne.

The second daughter is for the Wolf.

As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose—to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he'll return the world's captured gods.

Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can't control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can't hurt those she loves. Again.

But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn't learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood—and her world—whole. 

Book Number: One

Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Romance | Retelling

Review: 🌟🌟 

A reimagining of "Beauty and the Beast" mashed together with the iconic tale of "Little Red Riding Hood" that come together in a dark romantasy tale. 

In the kingdom of Valleydan, the people are ruled by the Wilderwood. In order to keep the woods at bay, a princess is sacrificed every hundred years to try to appease them. This year, it is Red's turn to be given to the Wolf that resides inside of the Wilderwood in the hope that he will return the world's gods that have been held captive for centuries. Red has known from the day of her birth that this would be her fate, so she decides that she won't fight her destiny. Upon entering the woods, Red realizes that the stories that her kingdom has raised her on are all lies. The Wolf isn't a monster, but a man who is doing everything in his power to control the woods and keep them from overtaking Valleydan. Now that her world has been turned on its side, Red must adjust what she believes and try to help the Wolf save her kingdom from the evils that hide in the woods. 

Honestly, I see the potential in this book. It is a fairy tale mash-up with a decent premise and plenty of romantic elements. However, this book was so long, and it often had me completely zoning out. I may have even enjoyed this book if it would have been a hundred and fifty pages shorter. 

I thought the story line that followed Red in the Wilderwood was solid enough, but Neve's entire side of the tale was so boring. This book also didn't seem that original; I've read several other "Beauty and the Beast" retellings that were pretty similar to it. I did like the characters that lived in the Wolf's keep though. Unfortunately, there was nothing in this book that made me want to keep reading it, but I did make it to the end without it being too painful to consume.

Overall, I was not a huge fan of "For the Wolf." In my opinion, this book was just way too long, and many sections of this book felt repetitive and pointless. I am slightly intrigued to see how this duology ends, so I'll probably finish the series one day. The latter half of this book was pretty decent, so I have hopes that the second installment could be much better than this book was. By no means will I be rushing to read the next one, but I'm sure I'll get to it sometime in the future. 

Back of Book: 

The First Daughter is for the Throne

The Second Daughter is for the Wolf...

Red and the Wolf have finally contained the threat of the Old Kings but at a steep cost. Red's beloved sister Neve, the First Daughter is lost in the Shadowlands, an inverted kingdom where the vicious gods of legend have been trapped for centuries and the Old Kings have slowly been gaining control. But Neve has an ally— though it's one she'd rather never have to speak to again—the rogue king Solmir.

Solmir wants to bring an end to the Shadowlands and he believes helping Neve may be the key to its destruction. But to do that, they will both have to journey across a dangerous landscape in order to find a mysterious Heart Tree, and finally to claim the gods' dark, twisted powers for themselves. 

Book Number: Two (Last Book) 

Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Romance | Retelling

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

The final book in the "Wilderwood" duology that pushes the twins to new limits and forces them to decide just how much they are willing to sacrifice. 

Red and Eammon have managed to keep the Old Kings at bay, but Neve has been trapped in the Shadowlands. Red is desperate to bring her sister back, but Neve must fulfill her destiny down below. Solmir is convinced that Neve must harness the power of the Shadowland’s gods in the hopes that she can take down the Kings once and for all. The sisters could never have imagined just how important they are as they may just determine the fate of the world. 

It took quite some time to convince myself to read this sequel, and once I finally did, it took me months to get through it. Much like the first, I found the beginning to be quite boring, but I must admit that the last two hundred pages were actually quite interesting. Either way, I can finally return this series to my friend. *awkward laughter* 

In this book, I'd say that Neve's perspective is leagues more interesting than Red's. I couldn't care less about Neve's story in book one, but I actually felt that way towards Red in this one, which I found interesting. Red is mostly just trying to bring Neve back, wheras Neve is hiking through a dangerous kingdom killing gods. It's no shock that Neve's was the more interesting part of this book. 

The last two hundred pages of this book made me feel as though this series was actually worth reading. Neve and Red have such an interesting connection to the magic of the world and each other. I thought it was really cool that Red is the guardian of the Wilderwood where Neve is connected to the Shadowlands. I'm not going to spoil the epic scenes at the end, but I found it to be quite fascinating how everything went down with these two sisters. The magic is quite dark and unique in this world, so I'm glad we got to see more of it in action towards the end here. 

The romance between Neve and Solmir is quite different than that of Red and Eammon. Those two are soft and squishy, whereas Neve and Solmir are vicious and passionate. I thought it was fun to see these two soften, because these two are crushed by the guilt from the decisions they've made in their lives. These two both have their own motivations, and I honestly found it crazy how their relationship develops. 

Overall, I can't say that "For the Throne" is my favorite book, but I'm glad it redeemed itself a bit. I feared that this book was going to be awful, but I found the Shadowlands to be really interesting and it was nice to finally care about what Neve was doing. The magical scenes toward the end actually drew me in, but it stinks that the beginning of this book was quite boring. I definitely have mixed feelings about this series, but I finally understand the appeal, at least.