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    Lonely Werewolf Girl
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    Lonely Werewolf Girl
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    Lonely Werewolf Girl
    Ebook892 pages8 hours

    Lonely Werewolf Girl

    By Martin Millar

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    The hard-edged, hilarious, and utterly believable first entry in a trilogy featuring troubled teenage werewolf Kalix MacRinnalch introduces readers to a world where werewolves--friendly werewolves, fashionista werewolves, cross-dressing werewolves, werewolves of every sort--walk among us.

    Teenage werewolf Kalix MacRinnalch is being pursued through the streets of London by murderous hunters. She could certainly use a little help right about now, but her sister, the Werewolf Enchantress, is too busy designing clothes for the Fire Queen. So it looks like Kalix is on her own, as usual.

    This problem all started back at home in the Scottish Highlands where Kalix's family, the MacRinnalch Clan, is plotting and feuding after the head of the clan died suddenly without having named a successor. As the court intrigue threatens to blow up into all-out civil war, the competing factions determine that Kalix is the swing vote necessary to determine the new leadership of the clan.

    Unfortunately, Kalix isn’t really into clan politics--laudanum’s more her thing. But since Kalix might just be the reason the head of the clan ended up dead, she'll need to abandon her bad habits, if only long enough to stay alive.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSoft Skull Press
    Release dateMay 1, 2009
    ISBN9781593763121
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Lonely Werewolf Girl

    4/5

    202 ratings26 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I wasn't too sure if I'd like this book - thoughts of it being like the Twilight travesty. However, I really enjoyed it. Interesting characters, good back story, paced well - left me wanting to know more about Kalix and her family.
    • 5/5
      Love this book.
    • 4/5
      Modern day werewolf tale. Not remotely what you expect. A bit overlong in areas and sometimes the lead Kalix is a wee bit angsty for me, but still I rate this high. I enjoyed the mad episodes, the humor, the sheer variety of weirdness...
    • 3/5
      The first thing that struck me was that he had good names. The next thing I noticed was his lack of 'show, not tell.' There was a lot of basic description, or even flat-out infodumping, and it did kind of get tedious after a while. On the plus side, it was an intriguing story with a good plot that kept my interest. It did have an annoying habit of randomly switching topics, and page-long chapters have always annoyed me, but that's a personal thing.

      A warning for the younger readers: it was kind of... sexually free. It didn't get explicit, but the author had no problem with letting his characters sleep with whoever they wanted, so look out for that.
    • 3/5
      Let me introduce you to the MacRinnalch's, a powerful Scottish clan that are just trying to get by in today's modern world. Verasa is the matriarch that rules her family and extended clan while trying to introduce them to a more modern way of living. Sarapen is the oldest son and quite a traditionalist. Thrix is the oldest daughter currently making a name for herself as an up and coming fashion designer. Markus is the youngest son (and Verasa's favourite) likes to cross dress. The patriarch and current Thane of the MacRinnalch Clan is at death's door and looking very likely not to survive for much longer. The reason? That brings us to Kalix, youngest daughter who has a bit of a wild side. Left to her own devices from a very early age. Uneducated, suffering from bouts of severe depression, bulimia and an addiction to laudanum. Oh! Like the rest of her family she also happens to be a werewolf. One who happens to be on the run from her kin-folk for the vicious assault on her very own father. When he dies and the vote to elect the new Thane is split a casting vote may be had by bringing Kalix to justice. And so the hunt is on. Meanwhile, Kalix has fallen in with two young college students, Daniel and Moonglow, after Daniel helps her escape from some of her pursuers. Comic relief, apart from Daniel's love life, is provided in the shape of a fire elemental queen who is quite anxious over the clothes that Thrix is designing for her for a special social event. Add to this the twin MacRinnalch cousins, Beauty and Delicious, who are happily living the rock-star life in London while not managing to stay conscious long enough to keep a band together for long enough to have a successful gig and there's quite a potential for a fun urban fantasy account.Despite the fact that there are some interesting characters that are fully fleshed out and the basis for the story being quite appealing it just never really sat that well for me. I got the feeling that there was a good tale in there but the author just kept getting in the way. Constantly re-introducing characters the reader had already met and re-hashing the plot points until you'd felt like you'd been beaten round the head with Kalix's journal. I don't think the extremely short chapters, often just a page or two only, helped with the flow either. Then there was the language used. It often felt like a teenager's first attempt at writing a novel. Having read a couple of other books from the author I know this isn't his usual style and may have been a conscious effort to tell the story in Kalix's voice. For me it just didn't work. This is not a first-person narrative and Kalix wasn't even around for half the events portrayed in the book. Quite a shame really and I doubt very much if I'll carry on with the series.
    • 4/5
      I love Lonely Werewolf Girl - its a book that is serious, in how it doesn't take itself seriously. Everything is both over the top, but feels very real - much like life itself. Its a book that isn't afraid to be outlandish, but at the same time remain very very grounded. Its a rare author who can set up a plot of a girl with mental illness, write a comedy over that, but still manages to get across how broken Kalix is.On top of it, the duo of Kerasa, a fire queen, and Thrix, a werewolf fashion designer is just about perfect. Add in a pair of punk rockers wannabees, a bored, intelligent wereworlf with her own problems, a couple of werewolf hunters, you get a fun story. My only complaint is possible the length, but it all works and the story doesn't drag.Highly recommended if you want a werewolf story, with traditional werewolves that are not stereotypical.
    • 3/5
      I read this book for the first time I don't even know how long ago and I really liked it. The Thane of the MacRicnnalch clan dies and a major war starts in the clan between the Thane's two sons Serapen and Markus. Traditionally Serapen would become Thane because he is the oldest but their mother believes that Markus is the best choice to keep the clan moving with humanity into the future. Kalix the youngest of the Thane's children was actually responsible for his death. She is on the run in London and has been called into London to be brought before the werewolf council for sentencing. Kalix is depressed and miserable, and habitually starves and cuts herself and until she meets Daniel and Moonglow, two students that take her in and try to help her deal with everything that's going on, she is the lonely werewolf girl from the title. There is also Thrix, the werewolf enchantress, Kalix's sister who just wants to work in her design house and be left out of it but who gets dragged in by their mother to keep an eye on Kalix and her friend Malveria a Fire Elemental from another dimension. The fued for the Thaneship follows Kalix to London. The book follows many characters from MacRinnalch clan and others that fall into the fight for the Thaneship. (I want to mention Beauty and Delicious the cousins who aren't mentioned because I liked their relationship with Dominil a cousin sent to protect them and try to help make their dreams of rock stardom come true and the relationship Dominil begins with Kalix.)

      I loved being able to follow all of the different characters because you really got to see the action from all different points of view. The only downer was that sometimes it felt like certain points of view should have been given in a different order. I also appreciate that it doesn't have a completely downer ending but it doesn't make it appear that Kalix is all fixed now. I'm super excited that there is a follow up now (I had to reread to remind myself of the many different characters and plot things going on) and I can't wait to read it.
    • 4/5
      Nearly doorstop-length, an uncommon occurrence in Urban Fantasy, Lonely Werewolf Girl is suffused with the same wry humor of Martin Millar's The Good Fairies of New York. While Neil Gaiman blurbed the book, Miller's comedic style is more in the tradition of Terry Prachett or Douglas Adams. The plot dribbled out in over 200 short chapters and numerous characters create a labyrinth of stories to track, and Millar succeeds in creating suspense leading into the final showdown. Unfortunately, the massive amount of characters prevents more than a medium-level depth being shown for any of the primary characters. Production of the book could have been better (a few typos, cheap-looking cover art), but I gather that Soft Skull Press is a small operation.
    • 5/5
      Kalix is on the run. Once a proud member of the MacRinalchs, the ruling family of Scottish werewolves, she was cast out of the clan when she attacked her father, the Thane. Now, Kalix is living in London, dying of malnutrition and addicted to laudanum. She is alone, not even her family will have anything to do with her, in fact they are out to kill her for revenge.Unexpectedly, Kalix is rescued from one of her brothers by a couple of humans, Daniel and Moonglow who take the lonely werewolf girl back to their London flat to nurse her back to health. Daniel and Moonglow are quickly drawn into the drama and intrigue of the battle for the werewolf Thaneship as well as the struggle for fashion dominance in the world of the Fire Queen. Nothing is off limits in this hysterical story about a young werewolf with all the typical problems of adolescence exacerbated by the condition of being a werewolf. Although this book is long (a whopping 550 pages!) I really enjoyed it. It read like a Neil Gaiman novel with complicated but lovable characters in curious situations. Nothing can top a teenage werewolf, addicted to an opiate and suffering from depression and anxiety!
    • 5/5
      This is such a bizarre book. I kind of expected to hate it for all its silly quirkiness. After a few chapters, though, I was completely drawn in. The characterization is great, and there are so many oddball players in this supernatural drama. I made a family tree on my bookmark as a cheat sheet for all the crazy pack politics. Every hero and villain is equally screwed up and flawed, which made some of them more lovable. If you enjoyed Kelly Armstrong's Broken or Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate, or even the movie American Werewolf in Paris, this crazy, goofy, drugged out, and comically violent book is for you.The plot basically follows the various factions of this completely dysfunctional werewolf clan as they bandy for power, prestige, or the right to just be left alone by the other members of their family. The werewolf king is dead, the brothers fight to succeed. Everyone in the 'royal' family gets a vote, and one of the brothers is making certain they make the right choice...or die. The 'lonely werewolf girl', Kalix, is an exile from her family (and on its hit list) who wanders the streets of London until she hooks up with some dippy hippies with their own group dynamic and soap opera politics. Kalix is a misanthropic, strung-out, semi-literate, petulant, and perpetually angry werewolf...who happens to look like a waif-y, blow-your-mind, hobo-core, indie-model type. Her constant displays of attitude are more endearing than obnoxious, but occasionally you wish the constant battles she gets into would knock a little sense into her.The books meanders from subplot to subplot with no real urgency, but the fun is in the journey, not the destination...which is a good thing, because not all of the plots are actually tied up by the end. But by the time you get there, you'll have had such a good time, I doubt you'll care. When I finished, I was tempted to flip right back to the beginning and chase the enjoyment of reading it again.
    • 5/5
      Fabulous! funny, sad, wise, about a werewolf dynasty in Scotland and the family feud that spills over into the streets of London. How one wolf survives a very dysfunctional family. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      The book started off a bit slow, but then started to move along smartly. It was a bit difficult getting used to the author's use of language, which sometime seemed a bit off. It is not like any other urban fantasy that I have read. I the characters were ridiculous bordering on cartoonish, but at the same time fascinating. The action was well paced and the finale was very, very good.
    • 3/5
      Although I have given this book three stars I do not feel that's an accurate representation. Storywise I loved it - 4 1/2 stars no questions. The humour, the plotting the treachery, the hissy fits. I loved it.The writing. Oh dear. Martin Millar has no respect for us as readers. He subscribes to the tell-not-show style of writing, and worse, repeatedly tells-not-shows us the same piece of information. Often within just a handful of pages (an example, three times we are told that two werewolves were once rumoured to be together but now hate each other on pages 91 and, just in case we'd forgotten, 92).With so many plot lines going on he might be forgiven for forgetting one or two, but it really frustrated me that some plot lines were brushed aside with a casual "she got the help" line well after to fact when you've been looking out for that help to be requested.All of this kept dragging me out of the story (which I stress I really enjoyed) and ruining it for me. His writing gets 1/2 a star. Three therefore is an average but utterly hopeless.
    • 1/5
      I keep trying to read this book because there aren't many good books about female werewolves (or werewolves in general) but I keep getting put off by the language/voice/words. Maybe it gets better further in, or maybe I got suckered by the blurbs (Neil Gaiman, etc).
    • 4/5
      I've been thinking all along about how I could possibly review this one, because when you describe the plot it sounds like a typical cheesy urban fantasy. A family of Scottish werewolves battle - mostly in London - over who will become the new leader after the old one dies, variously assisted, opposed or obstructed by some broke university students, up and coming fashion designers, dissolute musicians, shady drug dealers, and a few fire elementals from another dimension.

      And don't get me wrong, I kind of like those cheesy urban fantasies. But the thing is, this really is somethign else. Its actually urban. Its still funny and weird, but its Brixton squat, aspiring musicians on the dole and drug addled bulemic models scarfing up the canapes at gallery openings funny and weird. Its like Siouxie and the Banshees hooked up with Charles de Lint.
    • 5/5
      a weighty, sprawling tome that takes a while to get off the ground, but that's just because it's setting the hooks in you. by the time you've met the runaway drug addict, her haute-couture designing sister, pair of viciously politically ambitious brothers, strung-out wannabe rock-star cousins, managerial ice princess, and the rest of the gang - all werewolves - it's definitely become the sort of book that makes you annoyed at the rest of your life distracting from your reading. the brief chapters and engaging plot are endlessly tempting to read one or two or five before going off to that job that's so annoyingly taking you away from your book. highly recommended.
    • 1/5
      This man cannot write. Period. Apparently no one taught him "Show, don't tell," because the majority of his writing consists of telling the reader exactly what he thinks the reader should know about appearances, personalities, and plot points. He repeats himself frequently, telling you two or three times within 30 pages how two characters are related or some other unimportant or uninteresting detail. He apparently has no respect for the intelligence or memory skills of his readers. Just awful. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
    • 5/5
      I love Martin Millar's books. One cannot be unhappy when reading his books, because they are so fun to read. Like Good Omens fun to read. I think people wanting serious fantasy books should probably look elsewhere, because Millar's books are more like novels about the world that happen to have faeries and werewolves and elemental spirits in them, and these things aren't taken with Big Seriousness. Underworld, this is not, although you still get some ripping good werewolf battles.
    • 4/5
      A whole clan of werewolves, each with their own story, converges on London after the youngest member of the ruling family viciously attacks their patriarch.This one's all about the layers, and I think Millar's dealt with them really, really well. There are tons of little "ah ha!" moments where two storylines crash together... only to slip apart moments later. The chapters are short and punchy and oh-so easy to devour in large doses. They push the story along, jumping between characters and storylines with a wild abandon that slowly reveals itself as clever, purposeful plotting. Millar has a great feel for structure.His style is also worth mentioning. The language isn't flashy; the descriptions aren't poignant or sensual or evocative. In fact, his prose is often rather plain. He says what he means. He tells, more than shows, and yet he makes it work for him. It's clear he knows exactly what he's doing. The book has a fresh, visual feel; I could really picture this story on the small screen, and wasn't at all surprised to learn that Millar cites Buffy the Vampire Slayer as an inspiration.So stylistically, I got a lot out of the book. It really got me thinking about writing and storytelling and all that good stuff.As far as content goes, though... well, it was fun. Parts were quite funny. The story was interesting. The characters were both larger than life and suitably human. There were times when I had an absolute blast with it. But there was a point, about a hundred pages from the end, when I wrinkled my nose and said, "Isn't this over yet?"It was good, but it didn't blow me out of the water. And, as is so often the case, I find that it all boils down to the characters.I had fun reading about them, but I never really engaged with anyone. They were mildly interesting, sometimes amusing people. Millar did a lovely job of telling us who they were, and I often found it possible to empathize with them, but something kept me from clicking with them.I think part of it was the sheer realism. In some ways, this is a neglected-child-makes-good story. Kalix, however, isn't the typical neglected heroine; she's not an instantly sympathetic character. She behaves exactly as a neglected child is going to behave. She's suspicious and ungrateful and completely unable to accept that anyone might actually want her around. I could empathize with her, but it took me a long, long time to like her. If she'd died midway through the book, I would've just said, "Wow, weird twist!" and read along into the next chapter.It's the same with all of them. They're interesting to read about. They're sometimes quite funny. But they never moved me, and that brought the book down from 4 stars to 3.5.I know I'm in the minority here. Everyone else seems to have had a strong emotional reaction to this book, but I connected with it purely on an intellectual level. I feel somewhat like the werewolf Dominil, unable to really bridge the gap between myself and the characters.I did think it ended well, though. It was hopeful and nice and gave me the feeling that things were on the up from here. They aren't perfect and they never will be, but they're getting better. That, at least, is something. It was a nice ending; not enough to make me love the book, but enough to make me smile and nod and decide I was glad I'd read it.(A rather longer version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina).
    • 5/5
      Wow. Whatever I was expecting when I picked this book up, it was not this.

      From first glance, I thought it looked like a typical YA paranormal novel, admittedly I didn't really read the blurb properly. What it actually is, however, is a witty, paranormal YA novel filled with black humour and pop culture references, that cleverly and effectively weaves the supernatural into our world. I mean, what's not to like about the idea of a family of aristocratic Scottish werewolves sat around in a draughty castle in Scotland, having family meetings in drawing rooms in their werewolf forms? Whilst nursing glasses of fine whiskey, I hasten to add.

      The McRinnalchs are a beautifully dysfunctional family. Kalix has been exiled for attacking her father, the Thane, her sister owns a fashion house in London and designs for the queen of the fire elementals, one brother is hell bent on revenge and becoming the next Thane, and the other harbours a secret desire to dress in women's clothing. Their mother schemes and seems to care little for her children. You would think this would make them a rather despicable family, but no. There was also a rather interesting section on the background of the family's history.

      I especially thought I would dislike Kalix. She is a very troubled character, who relies on laudanum, alcohol and self-harm to get her through the day. She mopes and sulks, but I just couldn't help but feel sorry for her. The more you read, the more you realise that Kalix is so innocent (despite, you know, the whole werewolf attacking people thing...) and shy, and is practically still a child, despite being on the edge of adulthood. She was never taught how to read properly, and when she learns - through a computer program designed for children, that involves rescuing animals - I honestly just found it so cute. The way she was written, I could immediately sense how empty and lonely her life was, which immediately made me warm to her.

      Millar really got some humourous moments in, including Thrix, the fashion designer werewolf, contemplating on how awkward it is to type with werewolf paws. For me however, the best character and frequent comic relief, was Malveria, the queen of the fire elementals. I actually can't describe how much I loved her! One sentence states how proud she is after mastering the art of ringing the doorbell - because of course she is unused to human ways - and like Kalix, she is another childish character, but in a different way. Instead of innocence, she has inquisitiveness. She constantly appears in Thrix's office, insulting her and saying that Thrix has ruined her, but is easily distracted by shiny new dresses or accessories, like a little puppy. She also develops a love for pop-tarts. Moonglow and Daniel, the two students who become entwined in the lives of the McRinnalch clan (or more accurately, the other way round), also add comic relief, and a touch of reality to the story. They are perhaps a little too over-stereotyped, the goth and the metalhead, but are pretty genuine characters all the same.

      Overall, I enjoyed the book so much more than expected, it was a real surprise. Millar has created a rich collection of characters, who despite their 'typical' YA character traits (in some cases) are surprisingly refreshing. It was also nice to read a werewolf story with no vampires involved (although there are also fire elementals and fairies). I did notice a couple of typos in the final printed version, but there weren't too many, nor were they too major.

      I would recommend this to any fan of paranormal fiction, be it YA or adult - the paranormal themes and dark humour make a fantastic mix that should appeal to many. Apparently book two was published in 2010, which makes me wonder if that's it or if there'll be any more - I will be looking out for the second one!

      This review is also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.
    • 3/5
      Beautiful anorexic depressed teenage runaway werewolf drug addict self-cutter. Do you even need a verb to sell a concept like that?

      Despite being 558 pages, this was a quick read. It was fun, but I expected a lot more given the praise lavished on the author from the likes of Neil Gaiman and the Guardian. The plot was its greatest strength, quite entertaining. The premise: werewolves exist, and while there are numerous "lone wolves" spread across the world (set in the present), most belong to clans that ladder up to a royal family of werewolves in Scotland. The royal werewolves are also the most powerful fighters and can control their transformation regardless of the state of the moon. Our main character, Kalix, who was a rebellious teenager of the royal family, had sex (frequently) with a non-royal werewolf at the age of 14, which lead to her lover being banished and a subsequent fight with her father, the top dog. And by fight, I mean a physical dog fight. Kalix, being insanely vicious in battle, nearly killed him and ran off before she could be captured for the crime. The rest of the story involves Shakespearean intrigue to become head of the royal clan, numerous battles between werewolves and with the society of werewolf hunters, werewolf alienation, depression, anxiety, trust issues, communication issues, suicide attempts, laudanum use, elementals from other realms, magic, and high fashion. That’s right, high fashion. One of Kalix’s sisters is the head of a design firm in London and her best friend is a Fire Elemental who conquered her plane of existence and so instead of fighting wars, obsesses over showing up at Elemental Balls as the most fashionable mage.

      Probably the most interesting element thematically was the struggle between the more traditional werewolves of the clan and those who modernize and want to assimilate with modern society.

      Sounds fun, right? Why only three stars?

      1. I found the language to be slightly juvenile. At first, I thought this might be a YA novel, particularly because as Millar develops the characters he often repeatedly mentions certain attributes or characteristics in different scenes. This redundancy dumbs it down. However, the drug use, sex, and violence contradict the YA language.

      2. All the werewolves are just. so. gorgeous. It’s hard to keep track of the hierarchy of beauty because each one seems more beautiful than the next. Oh, as well as the Fire Elemental. Bohhhh-ring.

      3. One main character, Daniel, a non-werewolf college student, who is supposed to be both a partial love interest and comic relief, is a bit of a whiny bitch. It’s not obvious why anyone likes him.

      4. The humor of the fashion obsessed Fire Elemental wears a bit thin. It’s a rather shallow joke. Overall, the funny was just not as funny as it seemed to want to be. At times, it tonally reminded me of Christopher Moore but lacked the meaty payoffs.

      5. Typos! I marked fifteen typos, which is inexcusable from now corporate press Soft Skull.

      When I bought this, I didn’t realize it was part of a series. So the question is, will I read the sequel? The answer is, yes, I probably will. Despite the weaknesses, it was fun, and it made me curious to find out what happens to the main characters next.
    • 4/5
      This is a fun book that stays with you long after it’s finished.For the first few chapters I wondered what exactly I’d bought. Millar’s writing style is hard to tag and initially I found it distracting but as I let myself listen to the rhythm, I realised that the occasional jerkiness of the text was deliberate.It gives this book a sort of Punk energy that kept me slightly off-centre but always engaged. It’s the writer’s equivalent of shooting a movie with a hand-held camera, the result is less smooth than using a dolly but it gains a kind of credibility, a sense of really being there, that the fixed camera can’t match.This is a big book with a large character list and rich backstory. It is filled with humour even though the themes are dark and it rattles along, urging you to keep turning the pages even though you know you should have been asleep an hour ago.Initially I thought that the lonely werewolf girl of the title was Kalix MacRinnalch, a vulnerable, violent, self-abusive and anti-social young girl who is also brave, passionate and wonderfully unable to understand the world around her. By the end of book I understood that all of the MacRinnalch women qualify as lonely werewolf girls.The world that Martin Millar builds is energetic, vivid, quirky and addictiveI see on IMDB that a movie is currently under development. If they do it right I think it will make good money.
    • 4/5
      Lonely werewolf girl was really an enjoyable book and I loved every bit of it. The story about a werewolf clan in modern day Brittan was amazing and really unexpected and quit funny. It was so unexpected because when thinking about werewolf’s and other fantasy creatures you wouldn’t think that they would go through problems like everyday people do (family issues, drugs, depression and some other really weird problems that you would never think of) but the main character Kalix a werewolf kicked out of the clan goes through them all, suffering from major depression and living alone on the streets of London. I would definitely recommend this book for older teens and adults who enjoy fantasy because it has all of the fantasy creature and magic of the fantasy world but with a twist.
    • 5/5
      Only Martin Millar's name on the jacket could have persuaded me to buy a book with 'werewolf' in the title (I'm totally jaded with the whole current vampire/werewolf obsession). I've been a great fan of Millar's novels for about 20 years - which make me feel old though his stories are as fresh as ever. The Good Fairies of New York is up there on my Top Ten list and I think Lonely Werewolf Girl has just joined it. This book is an absolute delight!

      Teenage werewolf Kalix MacRinnalch is an amazing character but despite beong the eponymous 'heroine' she's only one of very many equally important and unique characters that populate this book, all of them brought to vivid, crazy, pathetic, laugh-out-loud, dysfunctional life. Even the minor characters are fully drawn with their own quirks and motivations. The plot with all its typical Millaresque convolutions and sprawling subplots zips along to a frenetic (in a good way) denouement that leaves enough loose ends for a plausible sequel.

      I've read criticisms of Millar's writing style from some who found it childish, repetitive and clichéd. I personally think his style is perfect for his characters and their stories. It's repetitive in the oral folk tradition kind of way, and his short chapters (some only a page or two long) and point-of-view hopping keep the pace up. I found it a roller-coaster of a book and compulsive reading. And the good thing about coming late to this awesome novel is that the sequel is already out - yay!
    • 3/5
      Adult fiction; fantasy. Light reading; frequent typos but an enjoyable story. Engaging characters; lots of action.
    • 4/5
      I wasn't too sure if I'd like this book - thoughts of it being like the Twilight travesty. However, I really enjoyed it. Interesting characters, good back story, paced well - left me wanting to know more about Kalix and her family.