Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar

Kalix MacRinnalch is an unhappy werewolf. She has been for a long time, but it’s even worse now that she’s run away from home. Well, she had to; after brutally attacking her father, the Thane, and leaving him in a precarious state of health, the rest of the clan wanted her dead as well. On the run, Kalix has managed to survive, but barely with her anxiety, anorexia, and an addiction to laudanum. The last thing she expects to find in London is a friend, but that’s exactly what she is rescued by two college students. Even though Kalix hardly knows how to deal with this new kind of relationship, she finds herself relying on these two humans more than ever, especially when the Thane dies and a bitter dispute over the next leader of the clan threatens a civil war among clan members. It seems there will never be rest for Kalix MacRinnalch.

Lonely Werewolf Girl is a novel of many interwoven plots and subplots, eccentric characters, and sometimes ridiculous situations. Millar seems to have taken a page out of Christopher Moore’s books (though not quite literally) as his storytelling is much in the same spirit. This is definitely a compliment, considering I absolutely loved Moore’s Bite Me, and it works rather well for Millar too. I loved reading about cross dressing Markus, the fire elemental fashionista Queen Malveria, fashion designer and Enchantress Thrix, and angsty Kalix. Each character’s personality brought so much flavor to the story, especially through the rotating points of view. Lonely Werewolf Girl also has its fair share of action and danger as a more thrilling complement to the story’s quirky characters. My only complaint with this book is that it was long. This usually never bothers me, because with a good story, I usually can’t tell. However, towards the middle and end of the book, I started to feel that everything was being drawn out too much. Though I enjoyed the entire story, I do appreciate having things a bit more concise sometimes.

Lonely Werewolf Girl appeals to fans of Christopher Moore and The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott. I look forward to reading this novel’s sequel, Curse of the Wolf Girl.

Rating: 4.0

Review copy from personal collection