Review – Wolfborn by Sue Bursztynski
Title: Wolfborn
Author: Sue Bursztynski
Age Group: Teen / Young Adult
Release Date: 1st December 2010
Publishers: Random House
Book Summary: Etienne, son of a lord in the kingdom of Armorique, goes to train as a knight with Geraint of Lucanne. Geraint is brave and kind, a good teacher and master – but he has a secret that he has kept from his family. He is bisclavret, a born werewolf. When Geraint is betrayed, Etienne must ally with the local wise-woman and her daughter, themselves bisclavret, to save his lord. But time is running out. If Geraint’s enemies have their way, Geraint will soon be trapped in his wolf form.
And Etienne has his own secret. The decisions he makes will change his life forever . . .
Inspired by a medieval romance, this engaging novel forces us to question everything we thought we knew about werewolves.
My Thoughts: Wolfborn is not the type of book I would normally read, but I’m so glad I got the opportunity to. I have read paranormal books, read young adult books, read books about werewolves and fairies but I have never before read a medieval paranormal book.
This book has it all, werewolves, fairies and Celtic gods, all tied up in a medieval love story.
Bursztynski’s inspiration came from a twelfth century collection of stories by Marie de France called Breton Lais. Her story is based loosely on one of these short pieces called Lai Le Bisclavret about a happily married knight known as Bisclavret who keeps the secret of his werewolf curse from his wife until she eventually finds out then leaves him. Sue however took the story to a new level with the addition of some very prominent characters, who have a story to tell of their own.
Once I got past my difficulty with the pronunciation of names and places, the story flowed easily and I found myself wanted to find out more and more and more.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in paranormal romances who want to read something a little bit different.
My Rating: (out of 5)
About the Author: Sue Bursztynski grew up in Melbourne’s beachside suburbs, where she still lives. As a child, she used to sit on the beach to write, but later learned to write anywhere she could sit down with a pen and paper. She was thrilled to get her first computer, which meant she could make changes without having to re-write or re-type the whole story. She was even more thrilled when the Internet came along and made research much easier. Sue sold her first book, MONSTERS AND CREATURES OF THE NIGHT, in 1993 and has sold many more books, short stories and articles since then. Her book POTIONS TO PULSARS: WOMEN DOING SCIENCE was a CBCA Notable Book. Sue works in a school in Melbourne’s western suburbs, where she tests out her writing on the students. She reviews children’s and young adult books for JANUARY MAGAZINE and reads story submissions for ANDROMEDA SPACEWAYS INFLIGHT MAGAZINE. When not writing, Sue enjoys reading, music, blogging, great movies and handcraft. She also loves history, but has no problem fiddling with it for her fantasy fiction.
Find out more about Sue and her writing on her blog here!
You can get a paperback copy as well as an ePub version from The Book Depository!
