The Black Cat Awards 2019 Reviews

Mystery/Thriller 3rd Place - The Wolf with the Iron Jaw by @inkwellheart

🥉 Mystery/Thriller 3rd Place Winner 🥉

The Wolf with the Iron Jaw by inkwellheart

Reviewed by AmyMarieZ

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Title: The Wolf with the Iron Jaw is pretty much a perfect title. It has a lovely ring to it that makes it memorable. At the same time, it is extremely intriguing and draws the reader in. From the moment I read this title, I felt like I wanted to pick the book up and find out more about this wolf! An all around excellent choice for the title.

Cover: Unfortunately, I am a bit torn about this cover. On one hand, I really like the fact that it is very stylized, and all of the stylistic choices look intentional. The blue figures on the cover remind me of paper dolls, which gives the cover a sort of Victorian feel that I think fits really well with the story itself. While I like the idea of the cover, for me it falls a little flat. The color selection is perhaps too dark without enough contrast. The font styling isn't bad, but it isn't extremely flashy or eye catching. I think a cover of this style could work really well with this story, but it might need just a bit more excitement to really make it pop, in my opinion.

Summary/Blurb: I have to applaud the blurb to this story. It is extremely well thought out and captivating. The word choice and sentence structure give the blurb a smooth and seamless feel. Additionally, the tone of the story itself is conveyed in the style of the blurb, which is a great bonus!

What I really love about this summary is how neither too much nor too little information is presented. The author gives the potential reader just enough information to allow them to understand the context of the blurb, but without overloading them and possibly causing confusion. The hook is there at the end, and the characters are introduced in a way that presents their interesting and unique attributes, making me want to find out more about not only the story but the characters as well. I wouldn't change a thing about this blurb.

Descriptions: I really enjoy the descriptions in this story. They are written in a way that makes them interesting, whimsical, and engaging. The descriptions allow me to feel like I am actually there with the characters and have an almost magical feel to them. I can taste and smell Booker's burn toast and tea (unfortunately!). After reading this story, I was craving crumpets and jam, and I don't even know what crumpets really are. The descriptions transported me to the streets of the market and through the dark alleys where the wolf with the iron jaw lurks.

My one concern with the descriptions is they become a bit long at times and slow the pace of the story. I found myself losing some of the mystery of the wolf while Booker and Trinket are going about their shopping and cooking. Don't get me wrong, I love how immersive this story is, and I wouldn't want the author to remove the wonderful descriptions. Perhaps there could be a way to add just a few more hints of mystery along the way to keep the intrigue stronger in their reader's mind.

Plot Development: The plot of this story hooks the reader right from the start when Trinket is attacked. In the very first chapter, we get to see the mysterious wolf with the iron jaw that the story revolves around. The attack leaves me with so many questions that I want answered. Where did the wolf come from, who made it . . . and why?

From there, the plot development slows down a little, seeming to focus more on the development of the characters. However, the mystery of the wolf is still present in the background, and the action of the story moves along nicely, keeping the reader entertained. While the dedication to detail and description fleshes out the story very well, it might be something to be cautious of because the reader might start to lose focus on the plot during the first few chapters.

That said, a lot of this story seems to be character driven, so there isn't necessarily anything bad about the slower pace. One thing I thought I would note that, while I found the mystery surrounding the wolf compelling, I couldn't quite figure out why Booker was so set about finding out more about it. Maybe his motives become more clear as the story develops, or perhaps I have just missed some hints.

Character Development: The Wolf with the Iron Jaw has two very strong and original leading characters. Trinket is extremely reserved and protective of who she is, making the reader feel like they are digging to get clues about her past. This builds the mystery and intrigue around her character very effectively. I really like the hints we get about her past in the asylum. The experience in Elysium sounds traumatic, but it also seemed a bit distant. I imagine we will get more details on it later, but at the moment I feel like I want to know more about the specific experiences she had. The strange visions she has of spiders was a really interesting development, in my opinion.

Most of the characterization of Trinket comes from observing the way that she acts, for example how she refuses to take any drugs for the pain while Booker is mending her wounds. Another great example of her character is how she is quite passionate about cooking, which hints at a past before she went to Elysium. She is a wonderfully mysterious character!

Booker is quirky and fun and just the slightest bit unsettling. His lifestyle of living in the slums and tending to people like a doctor is odd, but it works really well to make his character interesting. He's charming and humorous, but also seems to not really know how to handle being an adult, considering he doesn't even know how to make tea without burning it or keep a kitchen. Again, though, this works well in my opinion to show how quirky he is. He is also mysterious, but perhaps not as much as Trinket because he doesn't seem to withhold information from the reader as much as she does.

The dialog between Booker and Trinket is always fantastic and fun to read. The two characters play off each other really well and their differences balance each other, so neither one of them steals the spotlight. Their duo is memorable and dramatic in all the right ways.

Overall Impression: The tone of the narration in The Wolf with the Iron Jaw is distinct and unique and very fitting of the story, and one of the things that really makes it shine. It reads smoothly, and the whimsical nature to it works extremely well with the characters and setting. Booker and Trinket are fun, mysterious and have so many dimensions. They come to life on the page and pull the reader into their world. I find myself intrigued to find out more about the mysterious wolf with the iron jaw. The immersive style of this story makes it one that is easy to become lost in.