For the Greater Good

The Wanderer of the Night #1

by Olesia Hukriede, Diletta De Santis (Illustrator)

Under the sunless sky of The Beyond, Gael can truly only count on one person. Himself. He knows his comrade in arms, the only man he calls friend, David, is hiding secrets. Secrets that have to do with Gael’s fiancée who’s been missing for ninety years. And he is determined to find the truth.

A prisoner of his own immortal body, Gael’s sole duty to his ruler, The White Prince, is relished to a title. Executioner. Unable to let go of the nobility that made him human, Gael is thrown into an unimaginable nightmare. And with a new purpose – to save seven-year-old Maddie McDaniel.

Through her child-like wonder, Maddie has no idea of the power she wields and the forces that protect her. She is a danger to everything The White Prince has built over centuries and his dreams of the future.

Faced with an impossible task, one filled with violence and destruction, Gael must choose between loyalty and what he knows in his heart is right. A decision that will alter both his and Maddie’s lives forever. Whatever his choice, he knows one thing – he must protect the girl. Before they get to her.

Genres: Fantasy

317 pages, Hardcover

Published April 26, 2023

About the author

Olesia Hukriede is the author of a low fantasy/literary fantasy book series The Wanderer of the Night. ⬇️ She's also a translator, TEFL tutor, polyglot 🤓, and devoted mother of two.

The story 📚 weaves otherworldliness into the fabric of reality embellished with magic and mystery ✨️ and gold-threaded with friendship and clean romance subplots.

Born on earth, the characters 🧑👩‍🦰 of The Wanderer of the Night ventured beyond our world's boundaries, some for ulterior motives, others -- for the greater good. They make mistakes, sometimes fatal ones, and they all are flawed in their own way.

The five-book series narrates about an unfortunate wanderer trapped between worlds, looking for answers, a little girl who's to grow up into a powerful savioress, and the cursed one who bartered more than just his soul for the power to turn the Mortal Realm upside down.

To top it off, the story offers immortalized humans, animagus, and mighty spirits who know all the answers but won't move a pinkie to protect the doomed mortals from a deadly invasion of bloodthirsty lost souls.

The abysmal well and the beast in it are a separate puzzle to solve. The secret the beast keeps is vicious, and he will have the abandoned boy dancing to his pipe before he could blink and say, "Never!"

And then come centuries to span, whether in the eternal dark of the Beyond, or in the dark of insatiable human desires. Is there someone to come and bring the all-changing light? ☀️

In the series you'll find:
- ✨️ portals and bridges between worlds
- 🐈‍⬛ animagus and immortality
- 🪞 dark magic and sacrificial rituals
- ⚔️ noble heroes and morally gray characters
- 🤜 friendship and loyalty, as well as treacherous sidekicks
- 🤍 pure hearts and morally corrupt ones
- 🪬 supernatural things and parallel reality
- 😫 heartbreaking dilemmas
- 😱 shocking plot twists
- 🎱 and MORE

Olesia's TOP 10 are (besides books 📚):
- 🐈 cats
- 🌳 outdoors
- 🌱 gardening
- 🍄 mushroom hunting
- 🍟 French fries
- 🌴 tropical islands
- ☀️ summer
- 🤿 snorkeling
- 🎵 movie soundtracks
- 👄 languages

Olesia is not a fan of:
- ☁️ overcast
- 🌧 long rainy winters
- 🚗 driving
- 🎤 singing in public
- 🥱 small talk
- 😖 dental appts
- ☎️ making phone calls
- 📢 promoting her own books :)

Reviews

[giuls_inktales · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unique and distinctive plot and characters with a background that is revealed throughout the book.
Very complex worldbuilding; the author has managed to create a world with very clear rules and roles that helped me while reading.
Plot twists are around every corner, and just when you think you understand how the story will unfold, there is a twist that changes everything.
Unfortunately, I found the spoken/narrated parts to be unbalanced, with very long sections of one or the other. At times, I found the speeches to be far too long, followed by equally long descriptions, which unfortunately made reading a little more difficult for me.
This first book can almost be seen as a preview: the foundations have been laid for the story to work, and I hope to see the story begin to take shape in the next volume.

Thank you to the author for the ARC copy 💚

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an enthralling book. I really enjoyed listening to this and the narration was perfect. I can’t wait for book 2!

Thank you to the author for my ALC.

[Rachel's Review! · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all sometimes fall asleep and wake up with a shock, out of an impossible sort of dream which makes no sense but leaves us with a sweating spine and forehead. I felt just like this when I read Olesia Hukriede's "The Wanderer of the Night. For the Greater Good." The story is that of Gael, an executioner for his lord, The White Prince, who is put in a place in his immortal life where he has not one but multiple things eating up his mind. While at present he has to save little Maddie, he also needs to get out the secrets from his only trusted friend to find out about the whereabouts of his fiancee. Every moment he tries to solve the mysteries alone with little or no help from his so-called friends and trusted allies. Maddie, in danger, has no idea of her powers and what is all the fuss about but SHE MUST BE SAVED OR EVERYTHING WILL FOREVER B ALTERED. What path will Gael choose?

I have read a lot of books with twisted plots but this is an absolute masterpiece. Plot designing is at its peak and the concept is electrifying. The story builds up from ground zero, minimal backdrop to a full-fledged hooking captivating experience. The writing style is overall good but I think that the book was at times written hurriedly, and at other times, too slow. The characters are very well developed but sometimes the sentences felt unfinished. Despite the little picks, this book is a full-on entertaining read which will swoop the readers off the reality.

I highly recommend this book to thriller, fiction, suspense, bloodshed, betrayal, trust, self-empowerment trope lovers. It is good for readers above age 13. Easily comprehensible, and reader-friendly, this book is a good gift for beginners as well. Happy reading!

[the midnight review · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wanderer of the Night: For the Greater Good asks more questions than it answers. In a feat of intricate worldbuilding, Olesia Hukriede asks difficult questions about morality, life & death, humanity, and the unknown.

Her story follows Gael, a sort-of undead executioner who serves a very mysterious demon prince, and a small human named Maddie, who is the key to the prince's undoing.

The limited third person POV shifts between characters, giving the reader somehow a very detailed understanding of the characters and realm, but simultaneously a more limited scope since our understanding is limited to the characters we shadow.

The story moves slowly, prioritizing worldbuilding over dramatic action scenes. That said -- the action scenes we do get are effective, perhaps more so in their scarcity.

Hukriede weaves humor, darkness, light, and grief into an intense experience that will leave you wanting more. Her pointed commentary of loyalty, parenting, marriage and relationships is refreshing and some of her later scenes are so relatable in their absurdity that I found myself laughing aloud.

If you like dramatic worldbuilding, dark stories and intense characters, I recommend this book.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you Olesia Hukriede for the eARC.

[Angus_books_and_colourings · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wanderer of the night:for the greater good by Olesia Hulriede, this was an interesting book,

It mainly concerns Gael and David, who appear to be in some kind of underworld/purgatory realm for murderers serving it's demonic ruler, the white prince who plans on taking over the mortal realm(our world basically), Gael in particular however seems to be tiring of his role, and then they find her....

Maddie,a young girl is one of the few things preventing The White Prince from making his move. she is destined to be a champion of light and capable of stopping him, and now the pair, asked to go after innocent lifes for possibly the first time after many years of service ,begin to question their loyalties as their former lifes clash with their demonic ones...

Gael and David are compelling characters with well written backstories and while I have to admit I did feel a bit lost at first Olesia does a good job of gradually filling in the blanks and revealing a well built world with some interesting twists and turns along the way, while Locky and Anna, a rival pair fully devoted to their Lords mission serve as dangerous antagonists

overall a fun start to a series and looking forward to where it goes next

[Selena · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wanderer of the Night, by Olesia Hukriede is a riveting tale of wonder, hope and despair.

Two realms, one not knowing the other exists. A symbiotic relationship between the beyond and the mortal realm. A bid for survival amongst the depraved? A pool of water that is more than meets the eye? Can an executioner redeem himself?

A child meant to save them all, in great peril. Can she be saved? Will she save them? These are all questions we are left asking,waiting for more, No! Craving for more answers!

The Wanderer of the Night, asks us deeply emotional questions and challenges you to answer them in the events that unfold in this book. The relationships between the character are incredibly complex and deeply impactful and thought provoking. There are a lot of dark themes, motivations and emotions. This is not a lighthearted read, but an impactful, thought provoking fantasy read.

Olesia writes beautifully descriptive prose. Each chapter felt like a movie playing out in real time. I stayed up well into the wee hours of the morning to finish this book, as I could not put it down. I’ve never read a book like this before and I’m still thinking about it. I’m am immensely intrigued to read the next instalments in this series!

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Olesia from the very first page of For the Greater Good, I was completely swept away. You’ve created a world that is beautifully dark, emotionally rich, and morally complex. The concept of “good” and “evil” in this story doesn’t come from black-and-white tropes, but from painful choices, inner conflict, and raw humanity and that’s what makes it stand out.
Your characters are vivid and deeply human. I felt their hopes, their fears, their grief, and their longing especially when the stakes couldn’t be higher. The way you explore loyalty, sacrifice, and what it really means to do “the right thing” kept me turning pages well into the night.
What I loved most is your ability to balance epic fantasy action with emotional truth. The betrayals, the alliances, the heartbreaks each felt earned, each had weight. But through it all, you carried a sense of hope: that even in darkness, there can be light.
Thank you for giving us a story that challenges more than entertains. For the Greater Good isn’t just a book it’s a journey through the complexities of the soul. I’ll be recommending it to everyone who loves fantasy with heart, depth, and courage.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the moment I started reading the book, I couldn't put it down and finished it in a few days. Fantasy/sci-fi is a genre I love. I am a fan of Ursula K. Leguin and in this book I found the flavor I find in Ursula K. Leguin's books. In the book that starts mysteriously, 2 different worlds are created step by step. Even though Gael is the protagonist of the book, all the characters are treated fairly and we can see what happens from each of their point of view. In this way, the story skillfully avoids the boredom of presenting a one-dimensional point of view and gradually envelops us.

It is a book whose language, fiction and flow are skillfully handled. It satisfies the reader not only with the story but also with its language and descriptions. In short, it was a book that I really loved to read. There are books that we don't want to end. We want to stay in the story. This book was like that for me but it ended very quickly :) I can't wait to read the second book, I hope it will be published as soon as possible.

[Lunawolfwy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good, I'm anxiously waiting for the next one too! Well written and full of imagination.

The story is unique and continous with the theme of thought provoking fantasy. The author brings us into the The Beyond - The Burrows. Each of the characters is unique to the story in the sense that they all hold different positions of rank and are similar with the act that brought them there. That act was unaliving another in the everyday world and were no longer alive. They could however cross over to fulfill their job duties and bring other souls to the White Prince as he was in charge and on a mission.

Gael was my favorite character. He is truly a lost soul seeking his lost love. He seemed to be the one that struggled the most with the duty of his position and he truly disliked the White Prince. He questions values and morality and doing whats right and wrong for the greater good.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book to be rushed. It pulls the reader into a world steeped in shadow and philosophical study. This is an extremely distinctive work of literary dark fantasy, applying a haunting, emotional style to explore the quiet desperation of eternal solitude and the unending search for meaning in a world defined by its impermanence.
The best part of this book is how the author builds the world and environment. I was able to see everything the author wrote and I was able to clearly see the world in my mind as I read it. The writing itself possesses a rhythmic, almost poetic quality that utterly complements the book's dark tone.
If you are someone that demands a fast-paced action, you might find the deliberate pace challenging, but if you appreciate the melancholic side of literary fiction, you will find yourself captivated. I highly recommend this book for anyone willing to lose themselves in the dark. I can't wait to see how the next book continues the story!

[Cat Treadwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly this was a DNF for me. I was intrigued by the ideas, but the book begins with so much description without real explanation that I was immediately confused. Then characters began to speak... and this time it was exposition without sounding real (plus a few contemporary slang words that seemed very out of place). Nobody seemed to act like a human being, just a character getting a plot point across. So much information was dumped in the first few chapters that I felt lost.

The writing itself is lovely, but the book just didn't work for me. Apologies.

I was kindly sent an early copy of this book but the above opinions are my own.

[FD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, good story line with good character development, the context and narrative flow through really well.
The ending was mostly unexpected , however the sequences of event certainly keep in line with the genre. I would parallel this with Lord of the Rings.
The duality and multiple perspectives pf each character certainly allow for the retained interest.
Thank you voracious readers for the advance copy

[Alex Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s the kind of read that lingers with you. Perfect for fans of The Witcher, His Dark Materials, or anyone who enjoys dark, thought-provoking fantasy.

The book completely pulled me in. The world the author created feels alive — eerie, poetic, and strangely believable.
I loved how the story mixes dark fantasy with deep moral questions about guilt, purpose, and what “the greater good” really means.

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Olesia for this free ARC!

I loved the unique premise and was hooked from the first chapter! The characters, the relationships and the intrigue! I never knew what was going to happen when I turned the page which is one of the best signs of a good book. I'm so looking forward to the next instalment!!

[Oleksandra Shevchenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written book with a unique plot and engaging story. And a lot of new words to learn :) I would love to see it adapted into a movie - such an interesting world deserves to be properly visualised. Looking forward to the next volume!

[Pedro Coloma Valenzuela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. The writing pulls you straight into its magical world. I ended up getting a bunch of new vocabulary without even trying. It’s really a good read... and apparently there's more to come :)