To finish ..... or not to finish,

That is the question. (Sorry Shakespeare)





Author: Jenny Hale
Released: 2009/2010
Publisher: Scholastic
#Pages: 464
Copy provided by: Library
Summary: Goodreads


Her mother was slain by werewolves when Jatta was three years old, and the palace has been haunted by fear ever since. Then Jatta wakes one morning, bruised and disoriented , soaked in sweat, to see her bedroom smeared with bloody paw prints …

When I started this book I thought it looked really interesting. The werewolf in this book is Jatta, a very naive 14 yr. old princess, who basically has no idea what she is. What she is in fact, is a ravening beast. This is no Twilight werewolf, with long soft hair you want to run your fingers through. She is a huge - and by huge I mean 3 times her normal mass huge - slavering, body ripping, murdering werewolf. Think Wolfman! We never really find out why she's a werewolf, but the implication is that it is because of magic. Her clothes certainly disappear by magic, they are absorbed into ?, I'm not sure where, but they do disappear. Jatta's brother Arthmael has been brutally savaged by Jatta's wolf form, but he never deserts her, following after her and trying to stop her from causing harm. When Jatta and Arthmael convince a boat captain to take them across the water to Dartith, to try to save their kingdom from the evil king, Jatta has another of her transformations under the full moon, and basically hold the ships crew hostage, but are they mad at her, no! As soon as they find out she's a princess, everything is just hunky dory.
"Good luck - though I swear the royal line's inbred, what with two reckless fools like your Majesties. And one a wolf, atop." (p283)
Am I sounding a little less than enthusiastic? Sorry, but I am. I'm really not sure where this story falls short for me, but I never really connected with the characters somehow. Riz, the evil kings evil son - and brother of the prince Jatta is supposed to marry - is definitely nasty, but I never felt he was real, more like a spoiled brat who needed a good whipping. I've read 315 of 464 pages - this is not a short book - but I really have no desire to find out what happens to Jatta and her brother and whether they save their kingdom. The promise of the first few pages never materialised - for me anyway. Do I want to find out what happens in the end? Well sort of - but I'd rather someone else told me what happens than finish it myself.
Does this mean it's a bad book - No. It just means that it wasn't the book for me. So to answer my original question - Not to finish! Now if there is anyone out there who did finish this book and enjoyed it, or not, please let me know what happens at the end. Thanks.

Great review Curlypow!  There are so many great books out there that you shouldn't be afraid to put something down if you're just not into it.  I don't think that I would have lasted 315 pages (although the summary does sound interesting).  I usually read about 20 - 50 pages before giving something the boot.  At least you can now use your time in a better way...like trying something new from your stack of TBR!