The Bear House by Meaghan McIsaac || Historical Fantasy World Based on Constellations

The Bear House (#1)

In a gritty medieval world where the ruling houses are based on the constellations, betrayal, intrigue, and a king's murder force the royal sisters of the Bear House on the run!

Moody Aster and her spoiled sister Ursula are the daughters of Jasper Lourdes, Major of Bears and lord of all the realm. Rivals, both girls dream of becoming the Bear queen someday, although neither really deserve to, having no particular talent in... well, anything.

But when their Uncle Bram murders their father in a bid for the crown, the girls are forced onto the run, along with lowly Dev the Bearkeeper and the Lourdes's half-grown grizzly Alcor, symbol of their house. As a bitter struggle for the throne consumes the kingdom in civil war, the sisters must rely on Dev, the bear cub, and each other to survive--and find wells of courage, cunning, and skill they never knew they had.

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Perfect for readers who want:

• Historical fantasy medieval world based on constellations and stars as gods.
• A squad of young characters who need to save the day.
• Many adorable animal sidekicks of all different kinds.
• An adventure that just pulls you in and sweeps you along.
• Mild mystery with some twists and turns.

Many thanks to Holiday House and Rockstar Book Tours for an eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.

I knew I had to read this book the moment I read the first paragraph of the blurb! Yes! Absolutely, yes! It sounded like the perfect book for me, because not only am I a giant astronomy geek, I also happen to love betrayal, intrigue, and murder. The perfect combination.

The Bear House pulls the reader into a world where religion is based on constellations and a revolution is underfoot. Follow our young squad of heroes and their animal companions as they unravel the lies from the truth.

For the most part, The Bear House ended up being exactly what I wanted! While I had a little trouble getting into it due to the many characters and point of view shifts, it didn’t take long for me to figure out who everyone was and get into the swing of things. It was smooth sailing from then on, and I just didn’t want to put it down! There were places that I wish had received a little more world-building and explanation, but I really enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait to continue the series.

The book starts with Aster and Ursula, two sisters who have been spoiled and doted on their entire lives, who realize that they’ve maybe not lived up to society’s expectations.

Usually, I’m all for ditching expectations and doing your own thing, but in this case, it’s a hard blow for the girls when they realize what everyone actually thinks of them. After all, their father is essentially the ruler of the land they live in, and Ursula, at least, is expected to take over his seat . . . or she would be, if she hadn’t spent most of her life shirking her duties. Oops?

I love the way the book balances societal pressures with the idea of character improvement. Not everything society says about any of the young leaders is true . . . but some of it is, and sometimes that can be a force for positive change and character growth. And the rest? They just need to learn to ignore.

There’s a whole squad of young characters on this adventure together, and while it might take a minute to get used to all of them and their different perspectives, I absolutely loved each and every one!

Well . . . maybe not everyone, but close! There’s Dev, keeper of the Great Bear, whose job it is to protect the young great beast from a tragic fate. There’s Lorc, one of five brothers of the House of Hounds, with baggage of his own thanks to public rumors and beliefs. We also have Quintin Wyvern, last of the House of Shadow Dragons. Then there’s Urusla and Aster’s cousin Bernadine, who’s hot garbage, but I’ll mention her here anyway even though she definitely doesn’t deserve it.

Each character is struggling with their own personal demons while, at the same time, attempting to work together to save the kingdom. Which is no small task, as I’m sure you can imagine. They’re also not particularly thrilled to be working together, which complicates things a bit. Still, I absolutely adore this small squad of characters, their big dreams, and all the struggles they go through together.

There’s not just one animal sidekick in this book, but many different ones! A little of something for every reader.

Yes, bookwyrms, even a dragon! These animal sidekicks have personality, too. Even the giant bear killing machine (don’t let him fool you, he’s a little softy on the inside). Each house has different ways of interacting with the animals they represent, of course, especially since a bear is different than a hound. Not to mention the different cultures within each house. I thought it was really unique and fun to get to see all these different cultures and houses and animals all working alongside each other, each with something unique to offer.

This is a world that has its share of dark and spooky things, but also its share of beauty, and McIsaac does a wonderful job balancing the two.

There’s some mild gore in this, which I think is to be expected when you add a bear into the mixture, of course. There are also dark creatures, like Nightlocks, though I do wish there was a little more world-building around them. There’s also betrayal and backstabbing and murder, as the blurb promises. Still, despite all these, there’s a lot of warm, uplifting moments, too. Coming of age stories are really good at that, and because this is a squad of characters, there’s plenty of coming of age to be had by everyone!

I thought the idea of having a historical fiction where the world is structured based on constellations was pretty unique, and I enjoyed the way McIsaac executed it. Sometimes it was hard keeping characters and houses apart because there were a lot of them, but if you know anything about astronomy, it wasn’t too hard, because McIsaac basically uses the big, well-known constellations.

About Meaghan McIsaac

Meaghan McIsaac is the author of several books for young readers, including The Boys of Fire and Ash, which was shortlisted for the Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award; and Movers, which was a Shining Willow Finalist for the Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Awards. Meaghan lives in Toronto, Ontario with her two dogs.

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3 winners will win an eBook of THE BEAR HOUSE, US Only.

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