Eric Luper’s The Haunted Howl (Key Hunters #3)
Description
Tonight is the full moon, and Evan has just been bitten by a werewolf.
Cleo and Evan discovered a secret, magical library that transports them into the stories of books. They have already lived through two stories, and while searching for their missing librarian, now enter another. They must give it a proper ending before they can get back to the real world, and for this story, that means breaking the werewolf curse. But to do that, they must face an angry mob, ghosts, and monsters – all while Evan is slowly turning into a werewolf.
Disclosure
I borrowed this book for free from our library system, it was provided for my personal use. There was no agreement with the author, publisher, or any third party that I would publish a review. The following review is unsolicited, unbiased, and all opinions are my own.
Review – Spoiler Free
Another fun read from the Key Hunter series (read my review of the first book here). I loved the story line, there were a few expected turns, but they weren’t painfully obvious and didn’t pull you away from the story. The pace starts off pretty casual, then as soon as Evan and Cleo get into the Library, it picks up and is fast through to the end.
Repeat characters continue to grow in depth through the series, with little bits of information being added in each story. We also begin to learn more about the magical libraries and the librarians that use them, I’d love to keep learning more about them in the next books.
I was a little hesitant with Cleo and Evan going into a horror story this time around. I wasn’t sure how our kids would receive it, and I didn’t want to have to skip this book with them. I was pleased to find that if you’re reading this aloud, by playing with certain pauses or other emphasis, it isn’t strictly horror and is very easy to read it as action/ adventure.
As with books 1 and 2, Cleo and Evan are crucial to the story line, not just observers; this is awesome. Luper does a fantastic job of getting a good, full story crammed into a little book. Also, a few new or confusing words are explained in text without breaking the story. Quality isn’t sacrificed just because it’s shorter, or because there is a younger intended audience.
And again, as with the previous books, there is very little that I didn’t like. There were a few spots where I was confused about how a character knew something, but it’s not a big problem. There was also some teasing between Cleo and Evan that I didn’t like – it was good-natured ribbing between two close friends and isn’t used in a degrading way, this is just a personal preference. I’m also a little bummed that there is no chapter heading image with just Cleo and Evan walking/ running in their in-story costume, this has absolutely nothing to do this the story, I just really enjoyed those illustrations from the last two books.
Overall, this is another great book in the Key Hunters series. I would definitely recommend it and we will continue to check out the remaining books in the series.
Quote
“The fever has clouded is mind,” the boy said. “We must act quickly.”
Cleo touched Evan’s cheek. “What fever?”
“He has been bitten.”
“Bitten?” Evan said. “Like by a mosquito?”
The boy looked stern. “Evan, You’ve been bitten by a werewolf.”
The Haunted Howl, Eric Luper
Ratings
- Quality of Writing – 4
- Plot – 4
- World Building – 4
- Characters – 4
- Ease of Reading – 5
- Pictures/ Illustrations – 3
- Appropriate for Intended Age (Chapter Books and Middle Grade, ages 6-12; could be read to Kindergarten age) – 4
- Overall Enjoyment – 4
- Final Rating – 4 (Actual: 4.1) – Really Liked It
Want to learn more about the numbers I use for rating, and the qualities I’m thinking about when writing a book review? Check out my post How I Rate and Review.