Book Club Friday: The Princess and the Horse

Compared to all books, The Princess and the Horse by Mette Ivie Harrison is an engrossing work of fantasy fiction. Compared to the previous three novels in this series, the fourth installment falls short of expectations. 

From the website: A companion story to The Princess and the Hound about Fierce, who is the hound daughter of Chala. Left behind when her mother becomes human, Fierce is rejected by her pack. When she is changed into a human herself, she wants only to be a hound again. Until she falls in love with a human.


This book tells the story of Fierce, who is the hound daughter of Chala. From the best of my understanding, it's in the same time period as George and Marit.
 
I absolutely loved Fierce, her love interest, and the way they fall in love. Discovering how Fierce felt when she was abandoned by her mother was the emotional conclusion I craved from The Princess and the Hound.


If you haven't read the first three books, that's okay. This novel can be enjoyed without having read the previous works. In fact, you might enjoy it more, due to my only problem with this book.
 
The rules of magic change with each book. With the first three books, the changes were logical. We learn about animal magic in the first book. The second book explains more about all magic. The third book, I think, is another battle of the magic and unmagic in the future, way after George and Marit's time, because Chala and King Richon extended magic in time. All of this I could follow and figure out in my head.

But in this fourth novel, I have no idea how the magical battle matches up with George and Marit's time. It must be during their time period, because Fierce is Chala's hound daughter, who we briefly meet in the first novel. The magical battles are cool, but I don't understand how they mesh with the rules created in the first three novels. 

I hope the fifth book explains how all of this works. I just haven't had a chance to read it yet.

If you've been reading my book reviews and interested in trying this series without a big financial commitment, The Princess and the Horse is available for free as an ebook. Like I said, it can definitely be enjoyed without reading the first three books.

What books have you read lately?
P.S. This is my 200th blog post! Woohoo!