Rating: 
Summary: I am struggling to finish this installment
Review: Way, way, way too much filler material, and I keep imagining this story being told by Professor Klarvin, the pretentious "Lover" played by Will Ferrell, on Saturday Night Live. "Her only adornment...was a sheathed hunting knife in whose pommel gleamed a large, deep red, cabochon cut garnet." Yawn.
I liked the first book. This second one appears to be a Victorian romance novel masquerading as fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Strong coming of age quest
Review: When Queen Gustin abdicated the throne she fled with three magical artifacts that she plans to use to regain her power. However, others, some much nastier than Gustin want the relics as well. For instance, self-centered sorceress Melina Shields is forging an alliance to gain the artifacts that will restore, at least in her mind, her "natural place" of power following the recent tarnishing of her image.While intrigue swirls around these items and competitors, Firekeeper continues to adapt to living among humans after being raised by wolves, though she finds the difference between the two packs as insignificant. Firekeeper is surprised when she and her companions (Doc, her humanizing transition teacher Derian, and future baroness Elise) begin a quest to obtain the magical artifacts before they are used as weapons of destruction by malevolent beings. Though a sequel (see THROUGH WOLF'S EYES), WOLF'S HEAD, WOLF'S HEART is a stand alone quest tale that readers will want to journey on because it is loaded with action, fast-paced scenes, but also contains a strong coming of age character study to freshen and strengthen the plot. The cast is further developed from where they stood in the debut novel. Though unnecessary to enjoy this story, it is easier to understand their motives if the audience reads that book first. Fans of fantasy quest novels will appreciate Jane Lindskold's second Wolf's book while rereading the first novel and desiring future stories in this beguiling realm. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Another good one from the author of Through Wolf's Eyes
Review: Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart is a worthy addition to my book shelf. I loved the first book called Through Wolf's Eyes, and this one is easily as good. Buy it now. Mark E. Cooper
Author of The Warrior Within (ISBN: 0954512200)
Rating: 
Summary: Wolf-raised woman romps through evil folks with lots of help
Review: Wolf-raised Firekeeper has her hands full with her obligations to the royal (human) family and to the royal animals. The evil Queen Gustin/Valora has stolen magical items and intends to use their forbidden powers to reclaim her thrown. Evil Lady Melinda Shield may have the ability to unlock those magical powers--but do her ambitions allow her to share control with another? Somehow, Firekeeper, along with assorted young noble friends, must protect the royal family from the Queen's assasination attempt, recover the magical artifacts, and resolve the budding conflict between animal and human. WOLF'S HEAD, WOLF'S HEART is a huge novel--the hardback edition is over 600 pages of small print--but the action doesn't really begin for the first couple of hundred pages. Author Jane Lindskold manages a balance between action and the romantic entanglements of her young characters. Interestingly, the male characters play the secondary role that female characters play in many traditional fantasy novels. In contrast, Lindskold's primary protagonists are all females. Lindskold does a good job rendering Queen Valora's ambassador, Baron Waln (Walnut) Endbrook sympathetically, despite his amoral character and occasionally evil behavior. Lindskold is a talented enough author to know that humanizing the antagonists can help strengthen the novel. Unfortunately, WOLF'S HEAD, WOLF'S HEART needs a lot of help. From the botched assassination (Firekeeper asks why such a public and doomed assassination was attempted but no one ever answers this question) to the overblown concerns over the assault on a lighthouse (are we really supposed to believe that a dozen pirates trapped in a lighthouse are a threat to two kingdoms), Firekeeper's friends are too powerful (and just in time, new friends appear whenever things look dicey) and her enemies too pathetic to add much suspense.
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