The Wolf Princess – Cathryn
Constable
Pages:
273
Publisher:
Chicken House
Release
Date: 4th
October 2012
Edition:
UK paperback,
unsolicited review copy
Alone
in the world, Sophie dreams of being someone special. But she could never have
imagined this...
On
a school trip to Russia, Sophie and her two friends find themselves abandoned
on a train. They are rescued by the glamorous Princess Anna Volkonskaya, who
takes them to her winter palace and mesmerises them with stories of lost
diamonds and a tragic past.
But
as night falls and wolves prowl, Sophie discovers more than dreams in the
crumbling palace of secrets...
The
Wolf Princess is
a magical, gripping and intriguing debut from Cathryn Constable.
This novel has made me
desperate to go to Russia. It seemed like an utterly magical place. Piles and
piles of thick, soft snow, bitter cold and crumbling palaces next to forests
filled with white wolves – I mean, what more could you want? You know what else
captured me? The trains. I know, worrying isn’t it, but the trip that Sophie,
Delphine and Marianne took through Russia on the sleeper train reminded me of The Polar Express and I just wanted to
be there. I think that Cathryn Constable really captured the essence of Russia
and I love how evocative the sometimes stilted English of the Princess and Dr
Starova is, I heard their accents perfectly.
Russia to me is a mysterious
country and that preconception perfectly fit the tension and atmosphere of The Wolf Princess. I never knew who to
trust, who had Sophie’s best interests at heart or what on earth anyone was up
to. I felt constantly unsettled and on the edge of my seat. Occasionally it did
frustrate me that I couldn’t lay my allegiance with anyone bar Sophie, but on
the most part I enjoyed the mystery.
Though I loved the setting and
the mystery, Sophie was the highlight of The
Wolf Princess for me. She is the perfect fantasy adventure heroine: an
unloved orphan who is perfectly ordinary with only extraordinary best friends. Though
I don’t think that Marianne and Delphine were explored enough. Marianne was
quiet and so far in the background that writing this I’m not even sure if
Marianne is actually her name and as for Delphine, I hated her. She’s selfish
and spoilt and she just really rubbed me up the wrong way.
I really enjoyed The Wolf Princess, though it didn’t blow
me away like I expected it to, and I’ll be interested to see what Cathryn
Constable comes up with next.
Thank you to Chicken House for
providing me with a review copy.
Sophie
Sounds like fun! I especially love the idea of a book set in Russia, I've not come across many of those before.
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