Challenge Corner discussion

The first daughter is for the Throne.
The second daughter is for the Wolf.

For fans of Uprooted and The Bear and the Nightingale comes a dark fantasy novel about a young woman who must be sacrificed to the legendary Wolf of the Wood to save her kingdom. But not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn't the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood.

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.

The author has provided a list of content warnings here.

I started today!

On Valleydan Interlude I

(view spoiler)[
So far, it's reminding me of Red Riding hood yes but also a bit of beauty and the beast and some From Blood and Ash vibes as well with her being "set apart from birth" for a special purpose etc

I'm interested in why the wolf is there and has been stuck there and also about the trees hungering for her blood (hide spoiler)]

It also reminds me of

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The Cursebreakers series (A Curse so Dark and Lonely) etc (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 13

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And now Legolas nod! With the humans with silver hair intricate braids and rings in their hair.

Usually, with all this mixture of nods or similar vibes of other books, I get frustrated and annoyed but I'm not hating it this time! (hide spoiler)]

I'm almost done with it! I love it! I keep getting upset when I get interrupted or have to pause it and don't want to.

Starting now!

Just finished chapter one! (view spoiler)[Wow, this is really interesting so far. Also, I’m loving the writing style! (hide spoiler)]

Ruthie wrote: "I started today!

On Valleydan Interlude I"

(view spoiler)[Ooh, I haven’t read FBAA but based on what I’ve heard about it I can see that! I have read A Curse So Dark and Lonely and yeah, similar vibes for sure. (hide spoiler)]

Yay I'm glad you've started it! can't wait to hear what you think as you read! I've finished it

Chapter 29
(view spoiler)[This whole chapter was just…WOW. And seeing Red’s power was so cool! (hide spoiler)]

I finished last night! Omg, what a book.. I really loved it! Can’t believe we have to wait another year for the sequel!

akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "I finished last night! Omg, what a book.. I really loved it! Can’t believe we have to wait another year for the sequel!"

Yes I know! It was super good and same here, waiting for the sequel sucks

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So like I said it reminded me of A Curse so dark and lonely-but better & FBAA but better as well! (hide spoiler)]

Ruthie wrote: "akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "I finished last night! Omg, what a book.. I really loved it! Can’t believe we have to wait another year for the sequel!"

Yes I know! It was super good and same here, waiting f..."

Hopefully the time will fly by :)

(view spoiler)[I’ll have to finish reading the Cursebreakers trilogy, and start the Blood and Ash series! (hide spoiler)]

akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "Ruthie wrote: "akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "I finished last night! Omg, what a book.. I really loved it! Can’t believe we have to wait another year for the sequel!"

Yes I know! It was super good and same ..."

Yes, I hope the time will fly by too! Thanks for reading with me!

Of course! I’m glad we got to read this together!!

akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "Of course! I’m glad we got to read this together!!"

Me too!

I just compared our books and saw that we both have Bone Crier's Moon and Gods of Jade and Shadow. Would you be interested in BR one of those either before July ends or at the beginning of Aug?

I can start both immediately because Bone Crier's I have on Audible and Gods of Jade and Shadow I have a hold from the library and I actually delayed the hold so if we decide to read it I can mark as "deliver asap" and I usually get it within a few days once I do that.

I’d be down to read both with you! We can do Bone Crier’s first, let’s start in August. You can pick the day :)

akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "I’d be down to read both with you! We can do Bone Crier’s first, let’s start in August. You can pick the day :)"

Nice! Thanks so much! I'll go request the threads

I'm excited

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RESTARTING OCTOBER 21ST 2021

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Have started this and read the first couple of chapters. Seems promising so far!
Ch 2 (view spoiler)[ I wonder what this magic shard that Red has got in her heart from her visit to the woods years ago, can make her do? Did she kill the people who followed them there? (hide spoiler)]

Ch 5
(view spoiler)[ why would t she go home if given the choice?
Where are these 5 kings and who are they?
I wonder if Eammon is a prisoner of the woods too:
“ “The benefits of being bound to the Wilderwood are few.”
Why does she still think of him as the wolf if he clearly isn’t one? (hide spoiler)]

Ch 6
(view spoiler)[ hmm..that red haired priestess is more than she pretends to be..
How does she know that the woods have weakened in the past century and what does she mean:
“ “The forest is only as strong as we let it be.”? (hide spoiler)]

Ch 8
(view spoiler)[ finally they start to work together and trust each other! (hide spoiler)]

Ch 14
(view spoiler)[ I’m not sure I really understand what’s going on! I *think* Kiri cannot be trusted and is leading Neve astray- she is against the Witherwoods. Red and Eammon regard the witherwoods as a force to help them defeat the creatures of the shadowlands. The 5 kings are imprisoned in the shadowlands. That’s my understanding but I could well be wrong! (hide spoiler)]

Ch Valleydan VI
(view spoiler)[ “The strange, terrible synchronicity of it all still left her reeling. The High Priestess, then the Queen, sick then gone, making way for her plans even when she thought they’d gone awry.”
This must be Kiri and possibly Arick’s scheming? Maybe? If I’ve understood what’s happening correctly? 🤨 (hide spoiler)]

Ch 23 (view spoiler)[ Eammon isn’t considered the fact that he never had an actual physical relationship with the others- he and Red together COULD keep the forest in health. But he loves her and doesn’t want her die too. I don’t think she would though. She just needs to stop her sister. (hide spoiler)]

Finished!

A little late but I'm starting this now!

Interesting so far.

Start-Chapter 7
(view spoiler)[
Red's magic is interesting and I'm curious to learn more about it. It seems the Wilderwood makes it stronger so I doubt she'll be able to keep it contained for long.

Eammon being the son of the original Wolf and Second Daughter was unexpected. How old does that mean he is?

I'm interested to see what the monsters they're talking about are like.
(hide spoiler)]

A lot of secrets thus far.

Chapters 8-14
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I do not trust Kiri at all. I wonder if she's somehow connected to the Shadowlands using dark magic or something like that? Neve is just so desperate to get Red back that I feel like she's missing the fact she's dealing with someone untrustworthy.

Red and Eammon marrying was a bit unexpected. Red's magic seems to be getting stronger which should be interesting. It's nice to see these two slowly start to work together.
(hide spoiler)]

This is getting really good.

Chapters 15-21
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So I definitely think Kiri had something to do with the Queen's death. She has such a tight hold on Neve, I'm not sure she'll be able to get out from under it.

It's crazy that whatever Neve and Kiri, et all are doing is what's causing so many problems for Red in the Wilderwood. I hope Red is able to stop them now that she's figure out what's going on.

Also, I'm enjoying the connection between Red and Eammon. The romance that's developing is fantastic.
(hide spoiler)]

Wow, a lot of unexpected developments.

Chapters 22-28
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Wow ok so Kiri is behind everything. I knew it. That scene in the shrine was crazy. I loved how Red stood up to Kiri and tried to talk Neve out of the darkness. Being away from the Wilderwood has definitely lowered her magic, which I'm wondering if that's just a mental block on Red's end.

Red and Eammon's connection is just fantastic and I just want them to be able to be together and be happy.
(hide spoiler)]

I really enjoyed this one despite fantasy not really being my thing. I'm going with 4 stars.

Chapters 29-End
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Ok so a lot happened in the last 8 chapters. When Red accepted the roots, the Wilderwood was beautiful. It was terrible the way it was hurt by Kiri and Solmir's doing.

It's so interesting that the Wilderwood now lives in Red and Eammon. That has so many potential repercussions and I definitely hope to see more about that in book two.
(hide spoiler)]

Melanie wrote: "I really enjoyed this one despite fantasy not really being my thing. I'm going with 4 stars.

Chapters 29-End

Ok so a lot happened in the last 8 chapters. When Red accepted the roots, the Wilderwo..."

I’m looking forward to book 2 as well. It sounds like you enjoyed it as much as I did!

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RESTARTING NOVEMBER 4th, 2021

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Starting this one today

4%

(view spoiler)[The relationship that Red has with Eric seems a little odd. She clearly cares about him but not in exactly the same way that he cares for her. And he got a little aggressive when she refused to run away with him, but I guess I can't blame him when the woman that he loves is about to be sacrificed. His emotions are no doubt running high.

And her mother was really cold. Not motherly at all. (hide spoiler)]

27%

(view spoiler)[What is the mark that the girls are supposed to get after they turn 19? What is its significane and why doesn't Red have one?

I'm honestly not quite sure I understand exactly what happened in the past.

I guess she has a mark now.

Does her power come from the Wilderwood? And what the heck is it?

So Eammon is the son of the Wolf? Kieran and Gaia were his parents? Wow, this is super confusing.

Does the Priestess that Neve talked to know more than she's letting on?

What in the hell were the Priestess, Kiri, and Arrick talking about? Have the priestesses been leaving offerings to the Wilderwood or something? She spoke of blood and fingernails, which seems gross to me. I think that Arrick is going to go into the Wilderwood to look for Red. He said he would be gone for a while and wouldn't elaborate.

Lira said that she and Fife have marks and that anyone that bargains with the Wilderwood has one.

I was right! Arrick went into the Wilderwood to find Red! (hide spoiler)]

40%

(view spoiler)[So it was a shadow creature and not Arick?

Why is Eammon so determined that she not bleed? And I am still kind of confused why the forest wants her so badly.

I really don't like Neve and Red's mother. She's just awful.

I don't know if I trust these weird priestesses or not. It all seems odd and creepy. Kiri was working with Arick but I have a weird feeling about it all.

Eammon wants to form a thread bond with her, which is a binding ceremony, a folk marriage where you don't need a witness or a blessing. I was amused when Eammon's ears turned red when Red asked him if it was a proposal. So cute. Apparently, the Wilderwood is trying to recreate what it had before with Eammon's parents, a binding. So she accepts.

So there are people in the Wilderwood? People that were inside before the forest closed up around them and now they are stuck inside it looking for a way out? I'm not sure what to make of that. I wonder why the Wilderwood doesn't affect them like the others unless they fall in one of the breaches?

The villager, or whatever they are called, referred to Red as new blood and Eammon shot that down and told him that it was "Lady Wolf" and not "New Blood". The villager and Fife seemed a little shocked by this and then the villager congratulated Eammon. It was a curious exchange.

The infected villager telling Eammon that Solmir says hello was kind of creepy. Apparently, Solmir was one of the five kings. Eammon certainly didn't react well to that. I am still curious and kind of confused about the five kings and the bargain with the Wilderwood. Are the five kings bad? Hadn't Eammon's parents bargained with the Wilderwood to be protected from the kings?

I wonder why Eammon is so determined to protect Red and for her not to bleed when she can contribute more. I had wondered if perhaps he had a relationship with one of the previous second daughters but he told Red that their marriage was his first. I guess he could have always had a relationship with one of them even though he didn't marry any of them though. And if he had had a relationship with one of them then wouldn't Red be related to them? And for that matter, wouldn't Red be related to him anyway, even if through many generations? Because Gaia was her ancestor, right? Or the sibling of her ancestor? And Gaia was Eammon's mother so that would mean that they are related? I honestly hope I'm wrong about that. It's too weird for me since they are married now and are clearly love interests in the story.

So Gaia had been supposed to marry Solmir? This is getting so weird.

Eammon said that the five king are in the Shadowlands. That the Shadowlands imprison shadow creatures and mythic beasts and old ones, which were more like gods than monsters. The five kings bargained with the Wilderwood for a place to hold the monsters but it needed an immense amount of power so it took all the magic from the land to do so and created the sentinals and the shadowlands beneath. And they needed wardens to sustain their new prison. Then the kings wanted magic back and tried to cut down the sentinal where they made their deal but instead it opened a hole to the shadowlands and bound the kings there. And then the Wilderwood closed up the borders. (hide spoiler)]

66%

(view spoiler)[I don't trust Kiri at all. There is just something about her that rubs me the wrong way. The way that she orchestrated everything in that meeting was suspish. And what the heck is wrong with the queen? Is she sick? Poisoned?

Aww, poor Eammon. He had been with a girl named Thira before the Wilderwood closed up. After it closed he couldn't get out and she couldn't get in. So sad. And he hasn't been with anyone since then so I guess I was half right about him caring about someone. He did, it just wasn't one of the second daughters.

I wonder why Red is different than the other second daughters? Why does she have more power? And how did the other second daughters die? Did they just not have enough of the Wilderwood in them and the Wilderwood took all they had and they died?

Eammon blushes an awful lot. It's adorable.

Eammon rescuing Red's books and giving her the mirror to see her sister was so romantic and beautiful.

So the Queen died. Her sudden sickness is so suspish! I bet that Kiri slowly poisoned her. Didn't Neve think she saw Kiri in the hallway that one night?

Oh wow, Eammon said that Solmir killed his parents. But he didn't really. He said that before his mother was betrothed to Solmir they were friends. That she didn't think he was complicit in the other kings' machinations. She wanted to try and free him from the shadowlands but Kieran didn't. She tried and died. Then he died a year later and the monsters were released. That was when Eammon cut his hand and sealed them back in and became the Wolf. But I don't see how Solmir would be bitter about that. What the shadow creatures keep saying about Solmir makes no sense.

They kissed! It was almost perfect but then Eammon pulled away and said no. And when she asked why he just told her to trust him. That was just so ominous. Like maybe them being together like that would bring about something bad in the forest or something? I don't know. Or maybe it was more about his lonliness and not wanting to get hurt? Or maybe it is in regards to his comment about giving so much to the Wilderwood that he doesn't have much left to give to anyone else.

I had wondered if what Neve and the priestesses were doing is why the Wilderwood had been acting so strangely. The missing sentinals makes sense. Red saw Neve in the mirror and now she is going to go and see if she can talk with her sister. It was so sad when she told Eammon that she wouldn't stay there and he told her that maybe she should. (hide spoiler)]

81%

(view spoiler)[I guess Eammon's insistence that Red doesn't need to come back and that nothing can work between them makes more sense now. He blames himself for the deaths of the other second daughters. He wasn't able to keep the Wilderwood back and it claimed their lives so he blames himself. As if he were the one to kill them. Poor Eammon. I hope that he can see that he doesn't have to be alone and that he doesn't have to be afraid.

So Kiri did kill the Queen and the High Priestess. I knew I was right about her. I don't like her one bit. I think that Neve is creeping into a dark place right now. And the way that Kiri treated Red was all the proof I needed that she is rotten to the core. She has a hidden agenda and I am not sure Neve knows the extent of it. I am also concerned about Arrik. He has changed so much since Red left and his actions have been creepy. I wonder if he has fully sided with Kiri, if he has been brainwashed, or something different. (hide spoiler)]

Finished!

(view spoiler)[Holy shit. So Arick made a deal with the Wilderwood, or maybe the shadowlands? Solomir became his shadow and has been standing in for him. Kiri is still as awful as ever. They are trying to return the five kings. Poor Arick. Red finally realizes that she has to make a choice and what that means and so she does it. She is able to escaope but she has to leave Arick behind and she didn't get to say goodbye to Neve. I hope that Kiri and Solomir don't do anything bad to her. It kind of seemed like Solomir had a thing for her, which is creepy. Though he said that he hadn't touched her when Red had threatened him.

That ending was crazy. Eammon gave himself up to the Wilderwood and basically became possessed by the Wilderwood. Fife made a bargain with the Eammon/Wilderwood to save Lira, who was injured. Lira's bargain mark is gone and she isn't tied to the Wilderwood anymore. Red made a bargain with Eammon/Wilderwood to save Eammon. So now the Wilderwood exists within the two of them. The forest isn't magic anymore since the Wilderwood exists within Red and Eammon now so the villagers that have been trapped within it can now leave. I am not sure what exactly was happening with Neve in the coffin but she was sucked into the Shadowlands. I was so sad when Red had to kill Arick. He really loved her so much and would have done anything to save Red from the Wilderwood. He was even understanding when Red told him that she loved him but not the same way that he loved her and that she loved Eammon. He just wanted her to be happy and loved and told her that she deserves it. He really did know her deep down which just makes is sadder to me. So now Neve is lost in the Shadowlands and they don't know how to get her back. And I am guessing that the person that spoke to her at the end was Solomir. He seemed awfully obsessed with her before. I am not sure what will happen to the kingdom now that Neve is missing and all that jazz. I am not sure what happened to Kiri but I hope she gets her comeuppance. I am really curious about what will happen in the next book. (hide spoiler)]

28% (view spoiler)[ I think that Kiri's gray pendant and the comment about the white splintered branches not being "ready" to turn into pendants indicate that they're somehow involved or aware of the Shadowlands infringing on the Wilderwod. Since the King's are in the shadowlands, I don't think they're these good gods people think them to be. (hide spoiler)]

Elizabeth wrote: "28% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Yes, there is definitely something suspicious about Kiri and her necklace. And yes, there is definitely something off about the kings. I kept wondering why everyone would worship them or want them back when their original rulers were the ones that ran from the kings in the first place and made the bargain with the Wilderwood. (hide spoiler)]

38% (view spoiler)[ Ohh, I like this explanation of why the kings are trapped. I can see how this was misconstrued to the way the religion has painted out the Wilderwood as the villain. (hide spoiler)]

53% (view spoiler)[ It's definitely sketchy that both the High Priestess and her mother died. I'm curious if her mother was also somehow tied to the Wilderwood since if they weaken it, they weaken her. Or it could be regular poision. But despite it looking like a natural death, it is probably not. (hide spoiler)]

Elizabeth wrote: "38% [spoilers removed]

53% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I know. I really love the way that the author created the religion in the book. The people of the kingdom don't truly know what occurred so their views on the Wilderwood are based on assumptions and heresy. It's really interesting the way that what they think happened formed their religion despite the truth being far different from the reality.

I also thought that the deaths of the queen and the high priestess so close together and suddenly was mighty suspicious. (hide spoiler)]

100 (view spoiler)[ I really enjoyed the different interpretations of what truly happened with Gaya and Ciaran and the other Second Daughters. It's sad that Eammon blamed himself for not being strong enough to sate the Wilderwood.

I still have a lot of questions about the Five Kings and why Solmir seems to want to free the Shadowlands but also seemed surprised with how it all backfired at the very end. He just doesn't feel like the ultimate bad guy during the few appearances he made. (hide spoiler)]

Elizabeth wrote: "100"

(view spoiler)[I kind of feel the same. I don't necessarily think that Solmir is a bad guy. I mean, he was friends with Eammon's mother and had been her betrothed before she met Kieran. It was mentioned that he wasn't as bad as the other four kings and that he just kind of went along with things even if he didn't believe in what they were doing. I think that he will be the love interest in the next book. He is kind of the villain but I think that maybe he is a misunderstood villain and will end up winning us over. (hide spoiler)]

♛Vanessa♛ wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "100"

[spoilers removed]"

For sure! I'm a little curious about (view spoiler)[ about what will happen with Raffee if that's the case. The summary for For the Throne also lead me to believe the same thing. (hide spoiler)]