The Princess and the Bear (The Hound Saga, #2)

The Princess and the Bear (The Hound Saga #2)

3.55 of 5 stars 3.55  ·  rating details  ·  2,121 ratings  ·  238 reviews
He was once a king, turned into a bear as punishment for his cruel and selfish deeds.

She was a once a princess, now living in the form of a hound.

Wary companions, they are sent--in human form--back to a time when magic went terribly astray. Together they must right the wrongs caused by this devastating power--if only they can find a way to trust each other.

But even as each...more
Hardcover, 327 pages
Published April 28th 2009 by HarperTeen (first published April 17th 2009)
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Anne Osterlund
The Hound was born a hound and only recently rescued from an enchantment as a princess.

The Bear was born a prince, who suffered from his own inadequacy, became a bad king, and was punished with two hundred years in the body of an animal whose language he cannot speak.

Neither is what they once were.

Nor able to fully embrace what they are now.

Until the Wild Man sends them on a quest.

A quest in which the Bear will have to face his past and the Hound will have to decide her future.

And in which the f...more
Kristi (The Story Siren)
Harrison has a very unique story telling ability. One of the things I love about reading so much is being exposed to different writing styles. Harrison has one of the most lyrical and beautiful writing style. The writing itself feels like a fairy tale. Which makes absolutely no sense at all, but I just can't think of how else to describe it. The writing alone is enough to lull you into the story, regardless of what it's actually about.

This is more of a companion novel to The Princess and the Hou...more
Alicia
I think I've figured out what makes the difference between being able to suspend my disbelief and not when I read fantasy/magic books. It's the way the author treats it. When the author makes things overly complicated or tries to explain every little detail, it drives me crazy. It's like the author is trying to justify that this really is real and really could happen. Just like a liar does when they tell a tale.

Mette doesn't do that. Not at all. Magic is taken totally for granted in her books....more
Rosemary
From the get-go I was horribly, horribly confused.
I understand that the author was trying to write as if they were the thoughts of a bear and a hound but it was just so. bad.

Apparently there is this evil person of some sort who is terrorizing the forest. And he leaves behind gray matter that kills everything it touches. As the bear and the hound were walking through the forest, they came around a deer that was decomposing because of the gray matter. Pretty terrible, right? That wasn't it: the de...more
Rosalia
The Princess is a Hound that switched bodies with a princess. The Bear is king who was turned into a bear by the wild man. The two unlikely companions must travel back in time to the time right after Richon became a bear and try to head the unmagic off in the past. Richon muyst also deal with his shame regarding his previous behavior and lack of knowledge.

So this is actually the second book in a series, but if you don't read the first one I think it is very possible to read and enjoy this book....more
Mara
People told me that you could read this one without reading The Princess and the Hound, but I don't recommend it. You won't entirely understand some of the things that are discussed, nor will you have a prior "connection" to the characters in it. This isn't a stand-alone sequel.

The Princess and the Bear is good, but not nearly as good as The Princess and the Hound. George is in it for a very brief moment, then never appears again, and Richon (the bear), while a good character in his own right, i...more
Shra
Feb 15, 2013 Shra rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teenagers who have done very little reading and won't know why it's not a good book
Recommended to Shra by: This website
There is no such thing as unmagic! That is NOT a word, you cannot use such a term in a book, it makes no sense. A void, a place without magic, but this is like the whole matter/antimatter dynamic, they can't be here at the same time. You could use dark magic, or death magic, or twisted magic, or the cat man might have been a necromancer... at most I could admit to him being "the unmaker" or "the unravaler", but only if it is a position like a god and goddess of creation and destruction, a necess...more
Karen
This is the princess book for girls who don't do princess books. You probably need to read the first book first (which I don't really remember clearly, but wished the whole time that I did), but I don't remember liking it as much as I liked this book. Like the first book, this is an original fairy tale. It has so many elements of old Native American animal tales that I have read before, but it also feels a tiny bit like King Arthur.
This 'princess' is tough as nails and smart and so very logical...more
Kathy
I actually couldn’t finish this one, so I probably shouldn’t even write a review. All I will say is that it was just very bland and hard to get into. The first 130+ pages were told from the perspective of the Bear and the Hound. I never really got how the two “fell” for each other in this form. It was just a given I guess. I kept hoping that once they transformed into humans it would get better…it didn’t. In fact, Chala (the hound), still seemed too much like a hound. I guess I didn’t like heari...more
Jennifer
I enjoyed the author's structuring of characters within the confines of their "rules" -- the bear is sentient and initially born a human with an interesting history but cannot speak to the dog in a language per se and the dog is a dog with a dog's view and language but once spent time as a human. These two characters travel together to resolve a need that has arisen which threatens their society -- which is torn between magic and unmagic. Various themes are struggles between good and evil, the v...more
Shannon
This book continues the story found in the Princess and the Hound, now following the Hound and the Bear. It is a different book, unique as it is not in anyway a retelling of a story. But, it does have the elements of a fairytale--magic, a prince, etc. The main difference is that the magic is animal/nature magic, not wizardry.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I started it on Sunday and kept trying to find ways to escape from the laundry and other tasks of the day on Monday to be able to get back i...more
Summer
Aug 23, 2009 Summer rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fantasy/animal lovers
I was wrapped up in it from the very beginning. In the story of a once princess, who was never really human, now returned to the form of a hound, and a king now turned bear, these two protagonists seek to satisfy their vauge wants and needs as human and beast.

The story is told from both perspectives in an odd mix of human and animal thinking. I really got were the style was comming from, because the author has studdied Germanic lititure. I have read her previous book, the Princess and the Hound...more
Jaclyn
An interesting take on the fairy tale genre; however, I found the logic a little hard to get past. I normally enjoy a good fantasy and have no trouble getting into that world and believing the story even if it is seemingly unbelievable; however, I had difficulty in dealing with this story. A bear and a dog being friends? And then falling in love when there humans? It was hard to understand the logic behind this. I also had a hard time believing the characters, Chala was a bit too masculine and R...more
Kim (magicsandwiches) Lawyer
If you're familiar with the Brothers Grimm, you know that the classic fairy tales of old are dark and strange and full of stories within stories. So, too, is The Princess and the Bear. I had to set aside all my notions of modern fairy tales, fractured fairy tales, and fairy tale retellings to not be freaked out by this story. Once I abandoned all my preconceived notions, I enjoyed this book a lot. It's a beautiful story about finding and embracing one's true self and the sacrifice one makes for...more
Holly
I read the summary of this book after reading The Princess and the Hound, and it didn't really sound that interesting to me so I didn't read it. Then I saw there was a third book, and I didn't want to read the third before reading the second, so I gave it a try. I ended up really, really liking it. For me, it drew me right in by the first page or two. I remember the first book being a little slow, and I think the pace of this one was just as slow, but it didn't feel slow. I had a hard time putti...more
Kelly
This sequel to The Princess and the Hound features the other pair from that story - King Richon and the Hound. Beginning at the end of the previous story, the Bear and the Hound discover an evil cat/man who is poisoning parts of their forest with "unmagic". In order to combat the unmagic that is spreading throughout their forest and killing everything in its path, the Wild Man sends Richon and the Hound back to the time immediately after Richon was transformed into a bear. I enjoyed the book, an...more
Shelby Mc.
I know many think of this as a book parallel to The Princess and the Hound, even the author herself, so I read this one without reading the first. It was confusing at first, but after figuring out the basic premise of the first one I really started to enjoy this one. I loved the beginning chapters and the author's way of writing their senses and thoughts as animals and later as humans. Some part of the story felt like something was missing though, so I give it 4 stars instead of 5. The book was...more
Kayla
The Princess and the Bear by Mette Ivie Harrison was a very interseting book that took you into a fairy tale land full of magic, enchantment and more. The characters where fun to read about though at times the book can be slightly confusing it was still good. The writing style was nice and simple and easy to read. It was fun to read the book because it brought you into a whole new world full of many imaginative thigs which I love. All and all I recomand if you love fairy tales type books and for...more
JoLee
The Princess and the Bear is a companion novel to Mettie Ivie Harrison's The Princess and the Hound. In this book, the Hound and the Bear of the first novel must embark on a journey through space and time to thwart the unmagic that is destroying their forest. The Bear must once again face the Wild Man who changed him as a young, arrogant king into a bear. Both the Bear and the Hound take on human form and in doing so discovery that they are more than just a Hound or a Bear, a Princess or a King....more
Mandi Ellsworth
It has been a long while since I read "The Princess and the Hound" and I don't remember much, but this book's jacket said that this book wasn't a sequel, and could be read by itself. There are a number of references to "Hound", but I remembered enough to make "Bear" an enjoyable read. It took a while for me to get into the rhythm of the words (I'm not sure how else to describe it). Ms. Harrison's style is different than I'm used to, and I thought it was a little hard to follow in some plot point...more
Saral
That was a lovely book... I personally was over the moon with the alternative change in perspective... FOR ONCE we could understand both POV gradually and not wait until the end of the book to know the hero/heroine full POV of the many situations they passed through.

My only problem was that I didn't read The Princess and The Hound... So I was utterly lost at som points... (I have this horrible tendency of judging a book by its cover and not want to read the summary so it won't ruin it for me......more
Janyse
Though this book wasn't the best thing ever, I give it 4 stars for being something clean that I can recommend to everyone. The basic plot contains magic between humans and animals with the main characters being human some of the time and bear/hound the other part.

Chala and Richon go back in time to right some wrongs and to stop the "unmagic". After spending so much time as animals, they have a challenge in dealing with each other and navigating the human world that needs their help. Though not d...more
Kristen Rudd
Dec 13, 2011 Kristen Rudd marked it as to-read
Hey, you know what would have been awesome? Knowing this was book two in a three-part series before I got almost 200 pages into it. That explains why I am so effing confused half the time.

Several things happen that make absolutely NO SENSE if you haven't read the first book. I was getting pretty irritated about it, but was forging on, expecting things to become clearer as it went along. Except that it didn't. I have been pretty disappointed with it so far. Now I can stop slogging through it and...more
Melanie
Picking up where the Princess and the Hound left off, we learn more about the Wild Man, the unmagic, and the past. I definitely wouldn't recommend reading this without reading the first in the series.

I liked how this was written - there is a stark quality about it that I found engrossing. It was the exact opposite of the dreaded purple prose, and did so beautifully. The hound, Chala, was a difficult character to sympathize with, but it isn't at all surprising - she's a hound, not a human. One th...more
Mel
So, the first book wasn’t totally what I expected, but I disliked this one. It was a bit boring and it kept dragging on, while nothing spectacular happened. In the end, there wasn’t so much going on and it was fixed in a rather easy way.

This story is told from the POV of the dog and the bear; every chapter switched between them. The story picks up where the first one left. They are staying together and after a while, there is a friendship between the two. When they find ‘Unmagic’ in the woods, t...more
Mimi
This was a wonderful sequel, and I am excited to read the third in the trilogy. In this story, we get to continue the story of the hound and the bear. The story of George and Marit is mentioned, and completely not resolved, so I assume that is what will play out in the third novel. Which is good. I need to know how that ends. :)

This book deals with the never-ending battle between magic and unmagic. Magic essentially ends up being life, in a way, and everyone has it. If they do not have it, they...more
Deborah Andreasen
He was a king, but 200 years ago a wild magic man turned him into a bear as punishment for his cruelties against animals and magic. He's had two centuries of loneliness to think about the pathetic ruler he was.

She was a hound who lived as a human for a year in the body of a princess. Now she's a hound again, and she's found companionship in the oddest of places: an enchanted bear.

The two live in peace until a strange death of unmagic plagues their forest home. The only person who can help them i...more
Lotusgirl
Why I bought it? It is the sequel/companion book to The Princess and the Hound that I loved. I had been keeping tabs on when it came out.

Synopsis: A hound that was a princess for a while and a bear, who was once a human king changed into a bear because of his wicked deeds, are companions in a forest that is under attack by "unmagic." They must end the invasion of the "unmagic" to save their world from destruction. In the end, they must go back in time to when the bear was king and stop the "unm...more
Heather
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Ashley
Originally reviewed on my blog (with the other two books in the trilogy). You can read it at Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing.

The Princess Trio by Mette Ivie Harrison begins with The Princess and the Hound, continues with The Princess and the Bear, and then finishes with The Princess and the Snowbird. The series takes one main story arc and follows it between three very different women.

The trilogy takes place in a kingdom rich with magic. The aur-magic, also referred to as animal magic is a...more
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The Princess and the Bear (Paperback)
The Princess and the Bear (ebook)
The Princess and the Bear (The Hound Saga, #2)
The Princess and the Bear (Paperback)
The Princess and the Bear (ebook)

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My name is pronounced "Metty" like my mother's "Betty." It is Danish, and we were all named after ancestors. I guess by the time they got to number nine (out of eleven), it was getting tricky. So I got the funny Danish name no one knew how to prounounce. In Denmark, it should be "meta" like "metaphysical." It's from the Greek for "pearl." And no, it's not short for anything. Not even Mediterannean...more
More about Mette Ivie Harrison...
The Princess and the Hound (The Hound Saga, #1) Mira, Mirror The Princess and the Snowbird (The Hound Saga, #3) Tris & Izzie The Rose Throne (The Rose Throne, #1)

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