About the Book
-
Author:
- Sue Bursztynski
- Genre:
- Fantasy
- Voices:
- Cis Boy
Cover Story: Orange You a Fan
BFF Charm: Sure
Talky Talk: In the Middle
Bonus Factor: Retelling
Relationship Status: For When I Get Tired of High School Boys
Cover Story: Orange You a Fan
Okay, well…I actually like this! The orange is really pretty and bright. It reminds me a bit of how I secretly like the Shiver cover (please don’t tell anyone). And sure, the wolf on the cover is a dead giveaway to the type of book you’re reading, but it looks like an adult werewolf book, not a teen one, amirite?
The Deal
Etienne is an only son and future lord to his fathers realm. Now a teen, his father sends him from home to the area known as Lucanne to study under its master, Lord Geraint, in order to learn how to become a warrior, knight and future leader. Etienne admires his new master but soon stumbles across the Lord’s secret. He is a bisclavret, a werewolf by lineage, unaffected by the moon but he must take wolf shape often and can only return to his human form by finding his human clothes. When Lord Geraint’s secret is betrayed, it is up to Etienne to help him or else he will be trapped as a wolf forever, and Lucanne may fall to mysterious outside forces.
BFF Charm: Sure
Now, I’d certainly give my BFF charm to Etienne because he’s brave and goes to extreme lengths to protect Lord Geraint. However, part of the reason its easy to bestow my charm on Etienne is because he doesn’t have a very distinct personality. I think part of the reason for that, is this is really Lord Gertaint’s story and Etienne is just the one who happens to be witnessing it.
Swoonworthy Scale: 2
Etienne’s relationship with Jeanne, the wise-woman’s daughter, didn’t really do much for me. It seemed like it was just a given that they would end up together. They had zero conflict whatsoever until the end and by then I was so uninterested in the two of them. But on the plus side their relationship did not involve a love triangle with a vampire. Small victories.
Talky Talk: In the Middle
Whenever you have a non-modern fantasy novel you have the potential to too wordy (I’m looking at you, Tolkien). The other extreme is that you have writing that seems so modern and out of place, it can act as a penny and pull you out of the setting.* When trying to think about what I thought of this book’s writing, I did have any strong feelings either way, meaning it was able to tread the line between those two extremes.
*Seriously, who else has seen this movie? It wrecked me, just wrecked me.
Bonus Factor: Retelling
I am a sucker for retellings of fairy tales, fables and other such things. This novel is a rework of this and I love seeing an author take an older tale and develop it into a fully fleshed out book with real characters.
Relationship Status: For When I Get Tired of High School Boys
I didn’t go completely over the moon for this book, but it was a refreshing change from other teen paranormal novels. No high school and therefore much less melodrama and angst. It was nice to take a vacation to a medieval fantasy setting and take a break from the modern.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received neither money nor cocktails for writing this review (dammit!). Wolfborn is available now.
