Hard to explain this. 

The wolf wants to end all humans by poisoning the tree of life. 

To stop that, Michael reluctantly work with Lucifer. Michael also has a daughter who wants to help.

Interesting but a bit bloody. Unnecessary so. 

When supernatural beings act humans, this is the story we got on how they could use and misuse their powers. 

Courtney goes with her great-uncle Aloysius on a trip to Eastern Europe. Of course, she manages to get herself in trouble, fighting for the underdog, including a patch of Gypsy werewolves, one of which is in love with a landowner's daughter. Oh, did I mention that Courtney has a boyfriend! But it's not as good as it sounds. Because her boyfriend is a vampire, and he's draining Courtney of her lifeforce and humanity. Courtney feels so disconnected and apathetic, this isn't sounding so bad to her. But her uncle loves her deeply, and he's not about to lose her to a creature of eternal darkness.

I think this might be my favorite in the series. I hope I am able to continue reading. I think my library is all out of these. Darn!

I did it again. I unwittingly started at book 2 of a series AGAIN! Ugh. And in this case, I think I'd really suggest starting at book 1. I'm used to this by now, and I found it a little tough to follow at the start. Not impossible, but if you can come into it with the info from the previous book about who all these people are and why she's with them, I bet it helps.

In this book, we find Princess Ulga in company with a number of other princesses, heading off to learn princessly arts in preparation for meeting the Queen. But there's some plans riding the undercurrents of this world, and they have no idea what's waiting for them (but to be fair, I don't think the baddies know what's waiting for THEM either!)

I think I kind of love Princess Ulga, derisively called Princess Ugg by another of the princesses. She's fierce, smart, she works hard, she's brave and she knows herself. She's unwilling to return cruelty for cruelty, but for all this she feels real, not like some too-perfect Mary Sue.

The highlight of this book is definitely her interactions with her fellow princesses, as well as the queen. It's clear that in most of these instances, she and they are learning from one another. I love this because there can be a tendency in a story like this to make one "right" way and one "wrong" way - nature is good and tech is bad, magic is good and science is bad, wild is good and rigid is bad. But this seems to understand that the best of the world is in a balance of strength and kindness, of speaking and listening.

Plus, I just love how Ulga deals with kidnapping - both her own and other people's.

Like I said, I haven't read book 1 yet, so maybe it's horrible. But I have a hard time believing that a road that leads to this fantastic book could be THAT rocky. This is a fabulous fantasy adventure with a wonderful protagonist. If you like that sort of story, give this book a try. For myself, I can't wait to read book 1, or for the release of the third volume!

This second volume in the Courtney Crumrin series is superior to its predecessor. It's atmospheric and creepy, and a bit sad underneath it all. Courtney is not remotely a sweet little girl. She's cranky and isolated from her peers. She has a devious nature. However, she's also decent and kind when she wants to be. She's so well drawn, her personality coming through loud and clear.

At first, I didn't like that the whole book is drawn/inked in black and white. I prefer color, but it suits the story and the mood very well. The drawings are gorgeous and the use of shadow and light (values) is impeccable. As an artist, it's important to be able to convey everything through the strength of one's skill with that particular medium, and Naifeh definitely succeeds. It's interesting that I just completed a unit on Chiaroscuro in my drawing class around the time I read this. This book enhanced my understanding of its usefulness in illustration.

There is a very sad element to this book that affected me even after I finished the book. I'm still grieving about it, actually. Someone innocent is used as a pawn and injustice seems to win out. Courtney resorts to extreme measures to exact justice, and one wonders what stains that will put on her soul. Her magic ability is growing in leaps and bounds, and it's going to be interesting to see where that goes in the next volumes.

I like her uncle. He's a pretty tough character. I wish there was more interaction between Courtney and him in the books.

An interesting world that seems to be growing in an intriguing way. I'll keep reading these.