book review: "the monster in the hollows" by andrew peterson

"Janner Wingfeather's father was the High King of Anniera. But his father is gone. The kingdom has fallen. The royal family is on the run, and the Fang armies of Gnag the Nameless are close behind.

Janner and his family hope to find refuge in the last safe place in the world: the Green Hollows--a land of warriors feared even by Fangs of Dang. But there's a big problem. Janner's little brother-heir to the throne of Anniera-has grown a tail. And gray fur. Not to mention two pointed ears and long, dangerous fangs. To the suspicious folk of the Green Hollows he looks like a monster.

But Janner knows better. His brother isn't as scary as he looks. He's perfectly harmless.

Or is he?" (from the back of the book)

I’ve not read the other two books in the series so I didn’t have any background knowledge as I started reading mid-series. Sometimes it’s not as important to know what’s happened prior but in this case, it would’ve helped me to know what was going on. Overall, I enjoyed the book but did feel a little lost at time since there were so many characters and I was just entering the scene. For example, the story begins with Janner recovering from being attacked by his now-wolf brother, Kalmar. In one of the other books Peterson explains why Kalmar is a wolf and there’s a conversation between Janner and Kalmar where I learned a little bit of what happened. However, in order to know the full details, I’ll have to go back and read the other books (which I intend to do). I really appreciated the short chapters since I like to stop at a chapter when I need to put a book down. I liked the twists Peterson threw in to keep me guessing. When Nia claims turalay to spare Kalmar’s life, thereby sentencing herself to any punishment Kalmar may receive for any of his actions, I knew that would come into play somehow but at the same time, Peterson couldn’t get rid of two of the main characters so he had me curious until I saw it play out. After reading the last page, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the final book, The Wolf King and the Warden.

You can learn more about the book, the series, Andrew Peterson and read other blogs in the tour by clicking any of the below links:

Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Jennifer Bogart
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
Cynthia Dyer
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
Eve Nielsen
Joan Nienhuis
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Rachel Wyant

I received a copy of this book from CSFF blog tours for my honest opinion.