The Princess and the Bear by Mette Ivie Harrison

The Princess and the Bear is another young adult book. It looks like I've got a princess thing going right now...anyways. Review #2! This one I got through my local library from http://www.overdrive.com/, and read it on my Nook. So, on with the review!

What the back of the book says:

"He was once a king, turned into a bear as punishment for his cruel and selfish deeds.
She was a once a princess, now living in the form of a hound.
Wary companions, they are sent—in human form—back to a time when magic went terribly astray. Together they must right the wrongs caused by this devastating power—if only they can find a way to trust each other.
But even as each becomes aware of an ever-growing attraction, the stakes are rising and they must find a way to eliminate this evil force—or risk losing each other forever."

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

What I have to say about it:

Well, the first part was super confusing. I found out after finishing the book that there is a book that comes before it, The Princess and the Hound. Reading that first might have been a good idea. But anyways. So, there's this hound who was, for a short time, in the body of the princess but wasn't actually the princess. Then there's this bear, who used to be king about 200 years ago (a little Beauty and the Beast going on there, I think). So they're living in this forest and everythings ok. Suddenly, they come across this cat-man who is using unmagic to destroy the forest. One thing leads to another and now they're going 200 years back in time so the bear can right his wrongs and save the magic. And the hound is coming with him. Now I think the book picked up a little as they're both in human form and can actually talk! Interaction = interesting stuff. I don't want to give everything away, but the book increases (a little) in depth as there are two "wars" going on. Both wars end successfully and the magic is saved! I think, for me, the most interesting part of the book was the change that the bear-king goes through. He struggles with guilt and self-loathing for who he was 200 years ago (when he was King) and manages to move past it and make up for it, so we have a dynamic character here! The hound didn't do much for me, she was super selfless as all dogs supposedly are, but I'm a cat person myself. And as she mentions at one point, cats and hounds just can't live together. Or maybe understand each other. But it works for the purposes of the book, if she was a cat, this book would have been entirely different.

Another note, the author got a little bit gory describing the deaths of animals and people (I did say there was a war), but that could just be my squeamish nature. Besides all that, it's a decent book, and it talks a lot about the relationship between humans and animals, which is more of a theme than anything with magic. If you love nature, the magic will follow! Or, you should respect it because without nature, we won't survive. That sounds like a better theme.

Final thoughts: Nothing spectacular, but I enjoyed it. I wouldn't recommend it for a serious reader looking for the next Harry Potter, but anyone just looking for an easy read on a rainy day might look into it.