Review: Tiger and the Wolf

The Tiger and The Wolf 
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Tor

In the bleak northern crown of the world, war is coming

Maniye’s father is the Wolf clan’s chieftain, but she’s an outcast. Her mother was queen of the Tiger and these tribes have been enemies for generations. Maniye also hides a deadly secret. All can shift into their clan’s animal form, but Maniye can take on tiger and wolf shapes. She can’t disown half her soul, so escapes – with the killer Broken Axe in pursuit.

Maniye’s father plots to rule the north, and controlling his daughter is crucial to his schemes. However, other tribes also prepare for strife. It’s a season for omens as priests foresee danger, a time of testing and broken laws. Some say a great war is coming, overshadowing even Wolf ambitions. But what spark will set the world ablaze?

Oh wow you guys, this book really is something else! I'm still half stuck in the world of the book as I write this review! This book blew me away with it's world building and mythology and completely sucked me in to the story! 

The world of the book is harsh and bleak, but it still manages to suck you in and spring up around you as you read. I thought it was original and richly created and I enjoyed learning about the world of the book as well as the rich mythology that went along with it. It was just completely fascinating and original and I loved it and wanted more of it! 

I loved watching Maniye grow and change as the book went on, watching her go on this journey and it really had a coming of age feel to it. I was rooting for her, she was a fantastic character and I felt all the feels at the end of the book! I completely hated her father, like he was kind of crazy because he just couldn't make like Elsa and let it go. He kept coming and coming and it was like dude...relax. He felt he needed her in order to use her to get what he's always wanted and there was a really nice plot twist that I didn't see coming that thwarted that a little bit! He still resents her though and the rest of her tribe aren't exactly nice to her either because of what she is. I also really liked Hesprec the prisoner Maniye takes with her when she flees, and oh my God, my heart broke at one point because of his character but then there was this awesome plot twist and I was cheering and everything! I'm so fascinated to learn more about his clan as well as Loud Thunder! I wasn't sure of him either in the beginning but I ended up loving his character. Honestly there are so many great characters in the book, both good and bad and even the bad ones you kind of like because they're just such GOOD bad guys you know? 

Oh and I liked Broken Axe, like in the beginning I didn't, but it turns out there's more to him than meets the eye, I kinda got Snow White vibes from his story, sort of. You'll see what I mean when you read the book! But I liked him and even before I started to like him, he was intriguing because he didn't always do what you thought he was going to do and you wanted to know more about him, I was gutted about the ending he got! 

Maniye was the main focus of the book, obviously, but we still kept up to date with what was going on with her father and a few other characters, as well as a group comprised of Asmander, a champion from the South, his slave Venateer and Shyri, who completely fascinated me because again...more clans, with more different things to lean about. The switches between the different groups where very well done, and I loved reading what each was up to, but I'd end up reading one chapter then being desperate to know what was happening with the group we just left and then it was like a cycle repeating itself! 

Each clan has different beliefs to them, and I loved learning about them, although as there where so many you only really got tidbits and I was left with a burning desire to know more and learn more about the different clans. I'm really hoping to see and learn more about them in the rest of the books of the trilogy because it would be a shame to not get to explore them all! I was enthralled with the clans and how different each was! 

That was one little problem I had with the book, another was that I found the book a bit slow going in the beginning. Everything was being set up, and I was intrigued, but my attention hadn't been grabbed so I was glued to the book at that point. So I found it slightly difficult to get in to in the beginning, and while I loved the plot, I did feel like things where a bit repetitive with the constant battles between clans and her running away and so on. But then, there was so much more about the book that I loved that makes up for these few little things. 

The Tiger and The Wolf may have gotten off to a slow start, but there's a hell of a lot of information in the book that needs to be gotten across in order to make the story and world work and I was fascinated with all the mythology to the book and the clans. It was original, once you became invested in what was going on it was hard to put down, and it leaves you wanting to know so much more about the other clans that make an appearance that you don't get to learn as much about as you'd like! The book was complex, and intricate and fantastically written. The atmosphere is something you can feel, along with the characters emotion, the sense of despair some of them had and so on. I got such a vibe from the book and I loved it. I'm intrigued to see what's going to happen in the next book, and hoping to learn about some more of the clans!