When Isabelle Berger turns down her best friend’s marriage proposal in Cry Wolf, it sets off a chain of events triggered by her defiance. We ultimately pay for the choices we make, especially when those choices challenge the norm. Three books later, her life is far from normal, but it’s definitely a story worth telling. Below is my review of the third book in Isabelle and Howl’s story, Between Dog and Wolf: A Tale of Beauty and the Beast, by Jacque Stevens.
Between Dog and Wolf plot summary
It’s been months since Belle was transformed into a wolf by Jean. Since then, she has been living with her pack in the woods while protecting the town from her murderous creator. Meanwhile, Howl now lives at Belle’s farmhouse. He watches over her sheep, awaiting her return. Rene and Rosalie along with the townspeople help him out, understanding him to be their long lost count.
Howl still has a lot to learn about the human world. Though Rene helps him to acclimate, he still longs for Belle. But Belle is torn between her wolf and human sides, especially since she is in heat.
Now that she is a wolf, only silver can change her back. But that would mean transforming into her weak, human form. The human side cannot stop Jean who is on a mission to make himself king with murderous results. As always, it will take both their human and wolf sides to stop him so that they can be together in whichever form they choose.
The past resurfaces
Book 3 is very much Howl’s story. It fills in the holes of his past, from his lineage to how and why he became cursed. In the epilogue, Stevens writes about how the title of this book refers to a particular time of day when the shape of a dog becomes indistinguishable from the shape of a wolf. Howl’s personal history shares this entanglement.
Whether his shapeshifting abilities are part of his destiny or just a series of unfortunate events is inconsequential. While it’s interesting to learn how he got to where he is, the journey isn’t as important as where he lands.
While he is often confused about his place in the world and the rules of the human world especially, Howl’s inner monologue helps the reader to see that he is a unique and intelligent being. Ignorance can be confused for stupidity. In Howl’s case, his questioning of etiquette, human behavior, and the intricacies of civilization tend to make the reader question our so-called evolved behavior.
This shows how we live our lives by the rules that we are always bending, if not hiding behind. We put such a high value on our own species yet we are also its own worst enemy. In growing up in the so-called feral life that his upbringing forced upon him, Howl was able to develop a more straightforward, and ultimately more humane, code of conduct that puts the countess, the villagers, and their laws of etiquette to shame.
What it means to be a mother
Between Dog and Wolf explores parenthood, particularly motherhood, from both a human and animal point of view. Belle spends the novel suppressing her animal instincts to breed in order to stay focused on protecting her pack and her village.
Instead, it’s Howl who takes the more maternal role of the two. He’s eager to settle down and have children, whether it’s a human child or a litter of wolf pups. He practices by caring for and nurturing the sheep.
Meanwhile, Howl reunites with his birth mother, the countess, who takes on even less of a nurturing role than his wolf mother. While his wolf mother exhibits a tough love approach, it is clear that her intentions are protective rather than cruel.
The countess, however, shames her long lost son. She impatiently tries to shape him into a distinguished gentleman. Her ultimate goal is to escape to England to avoid the guillotine.
However, both try to pull him to their side rather than allow him to embrace his wolf and human sides in the balancing act that he and Belle have nearly perfected. This makes him yearn for Belle even more.
Gearing for a fight
While interesting, this book contains the least amount of action. With Belle and Howl separated for most of the story, the two main characters spend most of their time adapting to their new bodies and surroundings. Both have a lot to learn about the rules and etiquette of the human and wolf worlds. Mostly, though, they’re preparing for the ultimate showdown with Jean.
As with the previous books, sacrifices will be made. Life will change. But the best of humanity prevails. After all, if dogs can be domesticated, so can wolves.
Buy your copy of Between Dog and Wolf here (not an affiliate link)!
Check out my reviews of the previous books in the series, Cry Wolf and Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing as well!
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Interesting! I’ve never heard of this series and I don’t read much fantasy, but I love that the themes are so universal. The complexities of parenthood here sound like they would be interesting to read.
The cover is so pretty!
Yes, the whole series has really nice covers. They also help to tell the story.