A Far Wilder Magic by. Allison Saft | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: A Far Wilder Magic

Author: Allison Saft

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 3/08/22

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Magical Realism, Fantasy

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

When Margaret Welty spots the legendary hala, the last living mythical creature, she knows the Halfmoon Hunt will soon follow. Whoever is able to kill the hala will earn fame and riches, and unlock an ancient magical secret. If Margaret wins the hunt, it may finally bring her mother home. While Margaret is the best sharpshooter in town, only teams of two can register, and she needs an alchemist.

Weston Winters isn’t an alchemist–yet. Fired from every apprenticeship he’s landed, his last chance hinges on Master Welty taking him in. But when Wes arrives at Welty Manor, he finds only Margaret and her bloodhound Trouble. Margaret begrudgingly allows him to stay, but on one condition: he must join the hunt with her.

Although they make an unlikely team, Wes is in awe of the girl who has endured alone on the outskirts of a town that doesn’t want her, in this creaking house of ghosts and sorrow. And even though Wes disrupts every aspect of her life, Margaret is drawn to him. He, too, knows what it’s like to be an outsider. As the hunt looms closer and tensions rise, Margaret and Wes uncover dark magic that could be the key to winning the hunt – if they survive that long. 

In A Far Wilder Magic, Allison Saft has written an achingly tender love story set against a deadly hunt in an atmospheric, rich fantasy world that will sweep you away. 

Content Warning: Death of Animals, Prejudice, Discrimination, Parental Neglect

This was a very interesting book and one that I didn’t think I was going to like but it actually grew on me!

Now I usually start off with what I liked but with this one, I’ll do the opposite. I couldn’t get into the beginning of this story for some reason. We meet Wes who wants badly to be an alchemist, to then become a politician. I didn’t understand why he needed to be an alchemist to be a politician – and then we meet Margaret who is the daughter of the woman he’s trying to apprentice for.

Stories with alchemy are a hit of miss for me. I am either interested in the concept of alchemy or not. In this case…I was not interested in it at all. The world this story is set in is very different though. This story is set in what seems like the early 1900’s maybe, and in this town there is a mythical fox creature, the hala, which is on the loose and killing livestock and hurting people. There is a hunting event taking place to hunt the hala, in order to join you need an alchemist and a sharpshooter. Religion is prevalent in the story, it seems like the Wes is Sumic and Sumic people are similar to Catholics and Margaret is Yu’adir which is similar to being Jewish. So there are issues of discrimination, anti-immigration and anti-semitism that Margaret and Wes face in the story.

Wes is an alchemist or trying to be a good one but he needs to train. He wants to train with Margaret’s mom who is basically not around. Instead he gets chosen to be Margaret’s partner in the hunt. Margaret is left alone to fend for herself while her mother does research for alchemy – all her mom is interested in is alchemy. All Margaret wants is her mother’s love. Wes and Margaret don’t start off on the right foot. Margaret is closed off and independent and sees through Wes and his charming self. Wes is a flirt and does so every chance he gets but eventually Margaret gets under his skin and something grows between them.

The thing I enjoyed most about this book was Margaret and Wes’ personal journeys. Margaret comes to the realization that her mom really isn’t a good mom. But Margaret had to come to that conclusion on her own. As for Wes, he has his own problems to deal with – he is ambitious but has a big family relying on him. I love how though he has his problems with his family, there is so much love and support there. I thought they made a good couple, she’s strong and he’s open and charming. They are both pretty determined people. I thought their romance story was sweet and that’s what really got me into the story.

The story of hunting the hala was interesting because it’s a mythical creature and we get to see how alchemy is used and we also get to see how Wes and Margaret are treated in this town. Overall, I don’t know if the magical realism totally worked for me, I think I wanted more details in the world-building.

Why you should read it:

• you enjoy magical realism
• there is a love story
• there is alchemy and a mythical creature

Why you might not want to read it:

• not into alchemy or magical realism

My Thoughts:

Best thing about this story for me was the romance and the personal growth for both Margaret and Wes. If you love stories with alchemy and magical realism then you will definitely enjoy this one. If you are not then you might have some trouble getting into this story like I did in the beginning.

📚 ~ Yolanda