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 … 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.
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The story of a girl and a monster who become part of each other piece by piece.
I really enjoyed this book. I love fairy tales and am just starting to get more into the fantasy genre so this was a great book that had aspects of both of those. The characters were fully developed and completely awesome, even the supporting characters. There are hero’s and villains, humans and monsters, magic spells, enchanted stones and all that jazz. What could be better?
This is the story of a girl named Enna who is a bit of an outcast in her village because her papa’s mind is not all there. What most of the villagers don’t know or remember is that her father lost part of his mind in the war against the misting. The miosting are monsters from another world or dimension called “The Deep” they come through portal rings to the wildwoods and at one point an Orjan called Shroud had amassed an army of monsters to go to war with humans.
Enna’s Mother was killed during that time while pregnant and her father had to cut Enna out of her body. He later went into the deep and brought back a telling stone that Enna now wears on her wrist. It warns her when misting are near. Her father warned her never to let anyone see it. Though he sacrificed a lot to get it and he was the only human to ever go into The Deep.
“The mortal realm will devour a misting body. The monster realm will destroy a human’s mind.”
When Enna is attacked by a Gobbler misting and the telling stone warns of another close, she decides to summon a misting that she can bargain with to protect her. That is how she meets Maekallus who is a Narval misting. I won’t give away any spoilers as to his appearance, but to say he is humanoid. Though all mistings do not have a soul.
Enna and Maekallus end up bound and have to work together to save their lives and Enna’s soul. The resulting adventure is truly original and the way the romance built up was very good.
I really just got an epic romance fairytale feeling from this book. At one point I was crying like my dog was dying. Because there are sometimes when the differences between two people are just too big to overcome.
A truly enjoyable and rather unique story. This is the first book I’ve read from Charlie Holmberg, and I am impressed. If you like a mythological-type element to your books, with plenty of romance and action, this is a good one. It’s a slow-burn, which I particularly enjoyed, and I truly didn’t expect the ending to go the way it did. She really had me going.. I’d definitely recommend.
I was surprised how much I liked this book. There are some issues like a “Stockholm syndrome”-ish situation. However, this relationship between a human girl and a creature from The Deep is worthy to read.
This book was very unique. At times it was slow but overall I loved the story and thought it was very unique and interesting.
This was just terrible. Struggled to finish. Was there a plot?
Fantastic characters, couldn’t put it down
I very much enjoyed the Paper Magician series and jumped at the chance to read another of her books.
This is equally intriguing with a fully realized world of magical beings.
The premise is fascinating.
Will Enna manage her seemingly impossible situation (evil beings at her door wanting her, a mysting that is too interesintg, an ill father, etc.) and surivive, soul in[act?
It is an exciting read.
Is there something unique about her?
A dark fairy tale with interesting characters. Hard to put down.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Genre: Fantasy + Romance + Young Adult
Enna lives with her ill father in the wildwood. Many kinds of mystings roam there all the time. They are after something she has. She needs to get rid of them by making a deal with one (Maekallus) but what is the catch? To give up her soul? or give up her heart?
I always wanted to read the Paper Magic series by Charlie N. Holmberg but that has not happened yet. I decided to pick up this standalone fantasy since it is her latest work. First thing, isn’t that a stunning cover? I love how Enna is depicted on that cover. Both cover and title are totally fit for the story. The author’s writing style is lyrical, sometimes I felt she was overdoing it. I would not say it was completely over the top but I felt it needed to be toned down a bit to fit the story more.
I know this is a short book but still when we talk about fantasy one will think about a bigger cast of characters that have significant roles in moving the story forward. This is what The Will and the Wilds lacked. I mean besides the two main protagonists there were two side characters that had no big role in the story. So we are left only with the main protagonists. I expect more than that from a fantasy book.
I felt the romance dosage was way more than the fantasy elements. Although somehow I liked the chemistry between Enna and Maekallus, I still felt that their relationship or romance had a bigger focus than the world-building. I would call this more a romantic story with a fantasy element than a fantasy book with romance. The story is enjoyable but it is forgettable, at least to me.
Available on Kindle Unlimited
**4.5 stars**
CH is always one of my go-to authors. I know that if she had a book out, I will love it She always had such a creative and unique twist with her plots and dynamic world-building. Every story is thought-provoking with concepts meant to drive the reader to take a deeper look into themselves. Characters are complex with emotions and feelings that grip you and pull you into the story and into their lives. She has a beautiful mind comes up with wonderful world full of mysticism and magic, good and evil, love and hate; but at the same time she shows that each is two sides of the same coin and should be treated with care and looked on with eyes of compassion.
This story is no different. Enna lives all alone with her father and at the edge of the wildwood. Her father risked his sanity to travel into the Deep to retrieve a talisman against the mystings that killed her mother. It should protect her, but now the monsters that go bump in the night after hunting her and she needs a champion. She decides to go into the dark wildwood and summon a monster to hunt a monster. But things go horribly wrong when her life gets tied with that of his. Now they must work together before it’s too late for both of them, but can a human and a mysting trust each other? With her soul on the line, Enna must decide to what lengths she will fight to safe her enemy.
** I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. **
I absolutely love when a cover perfectly represents what is inside. This one is so pretty too- I love the colors.
Enna is an endearing character. Her soul is a main source of focus in this story and for good reason. It really does burn brightly and purely. As Enna shares her soul with Maekallus, he begins to feel and realize things long forgotten. I loved the contrast between dark and light in relation to Enna’s soul. The relationship develops slowly between Enna and Maekallus as they work through a common problem that binds them.
The story also progressed slowly but picked up a bit about half way though. I just finished reading a fast paced, high intensity book so maybe the contrast between that book and this one made it feel extra slow to me. This book definitely wasn’t intense and didn’t involve my emotions much. It was however, sweet and gentle with a unique plot and likable heroine. This author does a good job of weaving in the magical to spark imagination. While this wasn’t my favorite book by this author, I did enjoy it and would easily recommend it to teenage (and older) fantasy lovers. The ending really was magical.
This book is on Kindle Unlimited.
Content: kissing, mild peril, mild violence
– I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Will and the Wilds is a magical journey! I was enthralled from the very beginning, and love when an author makes me question falling for certain characters. There were times with the story, that I was afraid things wouldn’t work out, whether it was in the way I wanted or not. This story was bewitching in the best way, and I love that the author even composed a song to help bring it to life! I’ve read The Will and the Wilds twice now, and the audio book was definitely the way to go. The characters are brought to life in vivid detail, and even though I knew what was going to happen, I still found myself gasping or crying at certain parts. It has the perfect mix of fantasy, magic and romance. The story line will stay in your thoughts for days, until you find yourself reading it all over again. A beautifully woven tale, with enchanting characters and a world every reader longs to escape in.
My heart is full right now, this story beating deep within me. I loved this book. I didn’t think I would. I didn’t think Charlie Holmberg could possibly write something I could love more than her Numina trilogy. But, oh, she did! I absolutely devoured this story. Wanted to put life on hold so I could live in this world amongst these characters. And I ache that it’s over. I want it to continue. I want more of Enna and Maekallus. Of the mystings. Of this completely unique and amazing world. I want to know the secrets that Enna had just begun to uncover, and I want to see what becomes of her and her narval. I want more of Maekallus, his past and his future, his secrets and his memories, and what becomes of the Will Stone. This story was amazing and I can’t wait to read it again!
What a pleasurable read. This book is a cozy fantasy rich in monstruous folklore and the value of the soul.
Set in the deep of the woods, against a backdrop of superstition and bigotry, two opposing worlds collide in the form of a bright girl and a wild creature.
I loved it all. I took a liking to Enna right away because she is smart, brave yet cautious, sweet and caring yet driven and hungry for knowledge. She dabbles in herbs, craves to find out the secrets of the monsters lurking in the dangerous forest, and is assertive in the face of threat. Unfortunately for her, that attitude leads her to make a devious pact with a hooved creature intent on trickery and violence. And so the exciting race to live or die begins.
I was mesmerized to learn along with her how to get free from the mess magic had created. And Maekallus is so fascinating with his dark-fairy nature and his netherworld powers. I loved their predicament, how it evolved as well as their complex relationship. It has so much mystery doused in fear, but also tiny seeds of sensuality. I enjoyed learning about the different monsters, the workings of the two worlds.
This paranormal Faustian pact is atmospheric, intimate and metaphysical.
A battle of wills ensues, of faith and trust and forlorn love that left me staggering and breathless. The forest with its primitive beat becomes as much a character as the trapped, red-haired mysting and the valiant girl who never relents in her mission.
This tale may not encompass epic battles, yet it feels trascendental and powerful in its life-or-death pursuit. And the mortal kisses, too!
Enna’s despair and broken heart jumps out of the page, the threat from the monster underworld pulses between realms, and the impossible qualities of a soul bring on unforseen consequences.
For a story about stealing and losing souls, this book is soulful. I loved the sacrifices that were made. They cut the characters deep and my heart went out to them. And I loved how hopeless it seemed to be that they would succeed in liberating the tethered mysting or saving the stolen soul, yet I loved even more the painful, poetic ending that brought a different kind of tears to my eyes.
I’m in love with this fabled fairytale touched by Labyrinth and fae folklore in such enticing ways. I wholly recommend it to the curious and the romantic.
Favourite quotes :
Monsters are only ever fascinating from a far.
I’m too tired to cry, so the rain weeps for me.
I don’t think is deliberately a YA retelling of Beauty and the Beast but I can certainly understand that some readers would consider it so because it’s a book about a girl of good heart entangled in the life of a rather unattractive male. I personally thought it reminded me more of the infamous Loki because I as a reader was tricked as much as the heroine Enna was but then again that’s entirely my own fault because Maekallus never tried to hide his true nature.
Instead we follow this journey and as much as it felt like a traditional dark fairy tale it also completely enamoured me with twists and revelations along the way. This is a romance of sorts, it does feature magic and curses and there is a villain although sadly I thought him underused. I think for me this world the author has created was imaginative and interesting with an unlikely hero who whilst not completely monstrous was capable of being a monster and yet the power of a young woman’s soul taught him that with love anything is possible.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
As with all the other books I have read by this author I’m not surprised that this story was full of magic and placed us in a new unique world.
The fun for me is not knowing all the little details of the world and so it a wonderful journey to discover what surprises await, and in this story, what kind of monsters we are going to learn about.
Enna’s life has not been easy dealing with a mother who has died, a father who has lost his mind, and a village that sees pair as oddballs. When she makes a deal with one of this fantasies monsters she ends up in over her head. With her never give up spirit and a magical stone she may be able to make it out of the deal alive. Or she may lose her soul to a dark beast.