The Wolf and the Woodsman
#8403.49 adjusted 3.50 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2021 Reading commitment Low Ava Reid Last reviewed 2026-08-25
Overview
The Wolf and the Woodsman is a 2021 standalone dark fantasy by Ava Reid, drawing on Hungarian folklore and history to build a divided kingdom torn between an official monotheistic faith and the older pagan traditions it has suppressed. Evike, a pagan girl born without the magical gift her village expects of her, is handed over as tribute to the kingdom's religious soldiers, the Woodsmen, only to end up allied with one of them, Gaspar, against a shared threat to both their peoples. Their journey toward the capital exposes them to the kingdom's court intrigues, its persecution of pagans and a Jewish-coded minority, and a monstrous power tied to the crown itself. Reid weaves Hungarian myth, including tales of taltos shamans and the turul bird, together with real historical antisemitism and religious conflict, giving the novel's fantastical elements a grounding in specific, researched folklore rather than a generic medieval-European backdrop.
Historical fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Wolf and the Woodsman Ava Reid
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Wolf and the Woodsman | 2021 | core | 3.49 (33,435 ratings) |
A single, self-contained novel drawing on Hungarian folklore and history; the author's other novels are separate, unconnected stories, not sequels in this world.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Wolf and the Woodsman? The Wolf and the Woodsman's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Wolf and the Woodsman finished? Complete (2021).
- How much reading does The Wolf and the Woodsman take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is The Wolf and the Woodsman ranked? #840 in this site's official ranking, based on 33,435 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #840?
Ranked #840 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.49 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (33,435 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.01 behind #839, The Wicked Years.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 1 book · Complete · 33k ratings · Ranks #840 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment historical fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- A 2021 reader-favorites award finalist; no confirmed major juried award found after a genuine search.
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- The Melancholy of Untold History Mythic fantasy / Historical fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.59
- A Scattering of Jades Historical fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.58
- The Secret Market of the Dead Historical fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.58
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.49 across 33,435 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: The Wolf and the Woodsman admitted (Ava Reid) accepted 2026-08-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ava_Reid
- https://www.harpervoyagerbooks.com/book/9780062973122/the-wolf-and-the-woodsman-2/
Last reviewed: 2026-08-25
Rule: Core Canon = the single, self-contained 2021 novel. The author's later novels (Juniper & Thorn, Lady Macbeth, A Study in Drowning) are confirmed separate, unconnected stories and are out of scope.