Wolves are what people say instead of monsters, because wolves, though feral, are more easily understood than the horrors that call Sorrow’s Forest their home.

I’ll start by saying this book didn’t work for me. The contemporary setting might have something to do with it, but I think this book’s biggest detriment is its characters. They seem a bit cardboard cutout, I couldn’t care less about their fates, and their self-sabotaging behaviour became tiresome. Also, I couldn’t help picturing Blue, the demon, as an edgy Troye Sivan.

While Mackie kept repeating how brass he was to justify every selfish and nonsensical decision, it was Blue who did something totally out-of-nowhere for appearing innocent the whole time. Not in a plot twist way, but in an out of character way.

Everyone’s awful and there’s not much character development. Also, I may have gotten secondhand smoke exposure from all the smoking everyone does, even indoors.

The book tries to sell us a romance but is too focused on the sexual tension between Mackie and Blue to convince me it’s something more.

As I said, this book was not for me, but if it sounds like your thing, don’t let my dislike turn you away. It’s very atmospheric and the gore-y imagery was truly gross. I liked getting to see more of the forest creatures and the turns their part took, they just weren’t as prominent.