Lonely Werewolf Girl

Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar
Reason for Reading: Once Upon a Time
Rating: 4/5

Kalix is a daughter of the royal MacRinnalch clan, and one of the most powerful werewolves ever born. But with being the youngest and all, she was a bit overlooked during her childhood, and after attacking and nearly killing her dear old Dad (thane of the clan) and all, she's been exiled from the clan. Practically feral, addicted to laudanum, and pretty much friendless, her life appears to be a short one until she runs into an unassuming London pair of flatmates, Daniel and Moonglow. Moonglow, who can't bear to see another living being in pain, instantly adopts Kalix, who isn't really sure she wants to be adopted.

But this book is about more than Kalix, although she is the titular character. The book is about Kalix's sister Trix, a werewolf clothing designer and her best friend, a Queen of fire elementals, Kalix's mother, the Mistress of the Werewolves, cross-dressing werewolves, vicious werewolves, wanna-be rock-star werewolves, and a war that erupts when Kalix's father finally does kick the bucket and leave the office of Thane empty.

There is a lot of fun to be had in this book. Kalix who is unsociable, rude, and suffers from deep anxiety problems, makes for an interesting lead character, as Moonglow works unflaggingly to try and socialize her into a decent human being. Thrix and her melodramatic best friend, Queen Malavera are a perfect duo, with Malavera going into hysterics about every few chapters or so. And despite all the converging characters and plotlines, this book moved along thanks to enough action and character development. Not many writers could juggle so many characters, and Millar does so relatively well. Until we get towards the end, when he does manage to wrap things up, but without tying up a lot of loose ends. There are some hunters chasing the werewolves, but their motives or methods are never well-explained. The sparks between Daniel and Moonglow, are just sort of dropped.

The book is lengthy, and although it does read fast, it could have used some pruning. Some of the plotlines honestly came to naught, and interesting characters were underdeveloped. When I researched online, it looked like there might be a sequel coming to this book, which I would definitely consider reading. Despite the mishmash of the end, I enjoyed it enough to consider reading more in the series.

Should I read it? If you enjoy urban fantasy, this might be a good one.