The Will and the Wilds
Charlie N. Holmberg
A spellbinding story of truce and trickery from the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician series. Enna knows to fear the mystings that roam the wildwood near her home. When one tries to kill her to obtain an enchanted stone, Enna takes a huge fighting back with a mysting of her own. Maekallus’s help isn’t free. His price? A kiss. One with the power to steal her soul. But their deal leaves Maekallus bound to the mortal realm, which begins eating him alive. Only Enna’s kiss, given willingly, can save him from immediate destruction. It’s a temporary salvation for Maekallus and a lingering doom for Enna. Part of her soul now burns bright inside Maekallus, making him feel for the first time. Enna shares Maekallus’s suffering, but her small sacrifice won’t last long. If she and Maekallus can’t break the spell binding him to the mortal realm, Maekallus will be consumed completely—and Enna’s soul with him.
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0**I was provided an electronic ARC by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**
Charlie Holmberg's The Will and the Wilds is part fairytale, part love story, and all adventure. Readers follow Enna, a budding herbalist who has learned about the creatures of the wildwood (mystings) from her grandmother. When Enna strikes a bargain with mysting Maekallus, she becomes bound to him, and he to the mortal world. They then must aim to sever the binding before it is too late.
I very much enjoyed the concepts Holmberg presented in the mystings. They came across as fae/monster blends, and the lore she introduced surrounding them was very interesting and refreshing. I honestly could have just read the encyclopedia of mystings and would have been happy with that.
I wasn't super fond of Enna as a main character, as she seemed to personify the YA female MC trope sort of situation. That being said, I did like her devotion to her father, even if she bailed on him whenever was convenient for her and regularly used his memory loss to her advantage. I liked Maekallus, but he kind of personified the roguish sort of lad that I'm prone to liking anyhow.
Holmberg's strength, therefore, was in the world-building glimpses that she provided and in the whimsical writing style that lent itself well to the setting she created.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel and would read more from Holmberg in the future.
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