Review: The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison

Anyone found with Animal Magic is burned at the stake. What would the citizens of Kendal think if they knew their beloved queen had Animal Magic? What would they say if they found their Prince, George, also inherited the evil?

But to George, it isn't evil at all. He can speak the language of the animals around him, and it's a wonderful world he shares with his mother. But when the queen dies because of a strange fever brought on by the magic, George does everything in his power to suppress it in himself without letting it overcome him.

10 years later the king falls ill and George, who is 17, is betrothed to Princess Beatrice of Sarrey: a nation Kendal has warred with in the past. It's a political marriage, but George has no desire to be close to anyone, even his betrothed wife. He does everything for the kingdom, and he has accepted that responsibility.

When George travels to Sarrey to meet Princess Beatrice, he finds something strange and unsettling about her. She has a beautiful, wild hound that is with her every moment of the day. How can George marry a woman who is so close to an animal? It will be near impossible to keep his Animal Magic at bay. But slowly George discovers something even deeper in the bond between woman an hound. A different kind of animal magic. And the strangest twist of all? The King's illness is connected.

Now George must hurry to save a love he didn't think could exist and a king he doesn't want to replace.

**


The storytelling in this book was fantastic. There was a lot of myth, legend and folklore involved.


I was very surprised to find The Princess and the Hound was written from George's point of view. He is a man who feels deeply and sometimes does the right thing for the wrong reasons.  His sense of duty propels him, and he has no need for human or animal relationships.

There were times where I felt the love triangle was a little strange (I won't tell you who is involved in said triangle). But the author did a fantastic job trying to make it as not awkward as possible. :)

All in all, it wasn't my most favorite book ever, but it was definitely worth the read. I already have the sequel in my hand, and I think that says something.

Pin It