Historically, wolves have gotten a bad rap in stories…. tricking that little girl in the red cape or trying to eat those three little pigs. Imagine breaking into a library to find the ancestor of those two menaces elegantly dressed reading a book. Would you befriend him or run in fear?
In Alysa Salzberg’s “Wolves and Brioches,” we meet Odette de l’Estoile who comes from one of the powerful magic families, however Odette is only half magic and forbidden from learning spells. Odette, curious about the magic books locked away in her uncle’s library, breaks into his library while he is away to read those books. She knows the house is empty, so she is startled to find someone in the library. She is even more startled to see it is an elegantly dressed wolf reading a book. Fight or flight? Neither. Odette is curious and begins to talk to the wolf, Louis. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Odette has been given a rather daunting task by her uncle and Louis is happy to help her tackle it. The two venture out into Paris and complete the tasks Odette has been given. Once that is out of the way, they find ways to explore the city without Louis’ true identity being discovered. How would Parisians in 1765 react to a young woman and a wolf walking down the street together?
Another wolf, the legendary Beast of Gévaundan has killed many innocent people, and an evil magician plans to use that wolf to threaten the world Odette and Louis have come to enjoy. While Odette’s family needs to fight this magician and save Paris, Odette and Louis are unexpectedly pulled into this battle.
I loved this book. I can’t say that enough. Salzberg’s storytelling is beautiful and captivating, and I was so engrossed in this story. The story took twists and turns I didn’t expect and I was sad when it ended. The descriptions are so well written I felt like I was walking the streets of Paris in 1765 and Salzberg managed to do this without being “world building” heavy. She balanced those descriptions beautifully while telling Odette and Louis’ story.
The book ends with a message to the readers which reminded me of William Goldman’s message to the readers in “The Princess Bride” (you all know how much I love that book). That message made me believe the story even more and made me love the book even more (just as Goldman did with his message). Pick up a copy of this beautiful book today. I am sure you will love it as much as I did.
