What do you think?
Rate this book
Spellbound #1
The Changeling Prince
Welland was less than a slave. Slaves are human, and he was wolf, allowed to assume human form only when it suited the sorceress Daria.
Daria kept an army of changelings mostly wolf but some lynx or weasel, a bear or two, and at least one rat. She used them to hunt and kill. And sometimes to pretend to be human, so she could pretend to be a lady.
Weiland hated the lie almost as much as he hated the truth. Then he met a burglar, a thief named Shile, who offered to help him steal what he had never owned. His own troubled soul...
290 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
768 people want to read
About the author
Vivian Vande Velde
51 books995 followersVivian Vande Velde (born 1951, currently residing in Rochester, New York) is an American author who writes books primarily aimed at young adults.
Her novels and short story collections usually have some element of horror or fantasy, but are primarily humorous. Her book Never Trust a Dead Man (1999) received the 2000 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel. She says that she really likes to write for children. She likes to do school talks to children. She does many book conventions and also gives writing classes.
Her novels and short story collections usually have some element of horror or fantasy, but are primarily humorous. Her book Never Trust a Dead Man (1999) received the 2000 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel. She says that she really likes to write for children. She likes to do school talks to children. She does many book conventions and also gives writing classes.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 6, 2015
2.5 stars
I only really enjoyed about a third of the book. I like the two main characters, but I mostly only read this volume to find out the background of the characters for when they are met in The Conjurer Princess.
I only really enjoyed about a third of the book. I like the two main characters, but I mostly only read this volume to find out the background of the characters for when they are met in The Conjurer Princess.
September 3, 2010
This and The Conjurer Princess are two of my favorite books of all time.
July 27, 2025
Truly more of a 3.5
August 30, 2017
A good ol' classic style fantasy novel. The ending was too convenient for me, though.
September 24, 2019
A really fun little romp. Reminds me why VVV is one of my favorite authors.
July 28, 2025
Plot twist, Kedj was as much an underthinker as Weiland was an overthinker
July 10, 2016
Weiland, a lonely, subdued teenager, has been serving the sorceress Daria in her isolated mountain household for as long as he can remember. There are very few solid facts he knows about his life: one, is that he’s probably around 16 years old. Another, is that he may have been born a wolf. But the thing he definitely knows for certain is that each and every day, his life, and those of his fellow servants, is constantly in mortal danger.
His mistress, the sorceress Daria, is a terrible human being. Her hobby is to change animals into humans to act as her servants, and then torture them for her amusement. Now, no longer content with her woodland home, she relocates her household to the nearby town of St. Celia, where she plots to seduce an influential baron and discreetly kill off his wife and children, one by one. When Weiland figures out what she plans to do, he’s horrified, but fears her wrath if he confronts her.
Then, unexpectedly, Weiland is offered the opportunity to challenge his mistress, at the possible expense of his own life. Will he be brave enough to take up the challenge?
A blend between morality tale and fairy tale, The Changeling Prince is by no means the most stunning work of fantasy you will ever read, but it’s certainly worth checking out if you ever come across it. It’s a relatively quick read, and the characters are all compelling and believable, even if their actions aren’t always agreeable to the reader. A downside to the novel is that the ending is a bit sudden, and we’re left with some important questions that go unanswered. This may be because The Changeling Prince is a companion volume to Vande Velde’s 1997 novel, The Conjurer Princess, which I have not read.
Although I recommend it for Ages 15-up, it’s a dark tale with its fair share of gore, so tender-hearted readers looking for romance or comedy should avoid at all costs. Also recommended for older readers, particularly fans of dark fantasy and the not-so-faint of heart.
His mistress, the sorceress Daria, is a terrible human being. Her hobby is to change animals into humans to act as her servants, and then torture them for her amusement. Now, no longer content with her woodland home, she relocates her household to the nearby town of St. Celia, where she plots to seduce an influential baron and discreetly kill off his wife and children, one by one. When Weiland figures out what she plans to do, he’s horrified, but fears her wrath if he confronts her.
Then, unexpectedly, Weiland is offered the opportunity to challenge his mistress, at the possible expense of his own life. Will he be brave enough to take up the challenge?
A blend between morality tale and fairy tale, The Changeling Prince is by no means the most stunning work of fantasy you will ever read, but it’s certainly worth checking out if you ever come across it. It’s a relatively quick read, and the characters are all compelling and believable, even if their actions aren’t always agreeable to the reader. A downside to the novel is that the ending is a bit sudden, and we’re left with some important questions that go unanswered. This may be because The Changeling Prince is a companion volume to Vande Velde’s 1997 novel, The Conjurer Princess, which I have not read.
Although I recommend it for Ages 15-up, it’s a dark tale with its fair share of gore, so tender-hearted readers looking for romance or comedy should avoid at all costs. Also recommended for older readers, particularly fans of dark fantasy and the not-so-faint of heart.
September 2, 2018
Several people have referred to this as a fairy tale, and I just want to clarify: this is not your Disney-happily-ever-after fairy tale; it is a Brother's Grimm style fairy tale, with darkness and suffering. Weiland is a wolf in a human body who is essentially a slave to Daria, a mistress who is unpredictable and often cruel. Much of Weiland's time is spent just trying to dodge her moods (and the pain that accompanies them), and the best he hopes for out of life is that Daria will let him die as a man and not a wolf.
All that begins to change when Daria moves to the city and brings her company of beasts masquerading as men-at-arms with her. Suddenly Weiland is surrounded by humans, and he has to learn to behave like them. He meets people that he starts to care about, and is forced to make a decision: obey Daria at the cost of his new friends, or do what he believes is right and suffer Daria's wrath for it.
Much darker than Vivian Vande Velde's other books, I also found this one to be more mature. I was fascinated by Weiland's character, and the situation he's in. Shile lightens the mood a bit, and like most of Vivian's books the story ends with one door opening even as others close. The sarcasm and humor typical of Vivian's books is mostly lacking in this (it does have it's moments though), but it ended up being one of my favorites anyway. If you are familiar with her books, this one is most similar to The Book of Mordred. If you liked that one you will probably like this, and vice versa. While this book is not for everyone, if you like dark fantasy, I recommend you give it a try.
All that begins to change when Daria moves to the city and brings her company of beasts masquerading as men-at-arms with her. Suddenly Weiland is surrounded by humans, and he has to learn to behave like them. He meets people that he starts to care about, and is forced to make a decision: obey Daria at the cost of his new friends, or do what he believes is right and suffer Daria's wrath for it.
Much darker than Vivian Vande Velde's other books, I also found this one to be more mature. I was fascinated by Weiland's character, and the situation he's in. Shile lightens the mood a bit, and like most of Vivian's books the story ends with one door opening even as others close. The sarcasm and humor typical of Vivian's books is mostly lacking in this (it does have it's moments though), but it ended up being one of my favorites anyway. If you are familiar with her books, this one is most similar to The Book of Mordred. If you liked that one you will probably like this, and vice versa. While this book is not for everyone, if you like dark fantasy, I recommend you give it a try.
November 4, 2014
Quick summary: An enjoyable fairy-tale style book about shapeshifters, a wicked sorceress, and following your conscience, aimed at young adults.
Long version:
I'm a bit of a kid at heart. I love fairy-tale style stories, where magic is a real force and the idea that one doesn't have to be strong, but more often brave and clever. I suppose I never outgrew them. As such, I really enjoyed this book. The plot is well-conceived, though as an adult, one of the twists at the end wasn't much of a surprise to me. The book is written in a third-person limited POV, so the character we follow (Weiland) is very well fleshed-out. Unfortunately, the drawback of this approach is that the antagonist, Daria, is a bit one-dimensional. Because Weiland doesn't understand her motivations, the reader doesn't get as much insight as I would have liked (thus the 4 stars instead of 5). The book is suitably exciting, and did keep my interest up, so that I kept wanting to know what happened next. Overall, a quick and enjoyable read for tweens and up.
TW, for those who need/want such (warning, contains spoilers):
Long version:
I'm a bit of a kid at heart. I love fairy-tale style stories, where magic is a real force and the idea that one doesn't have to be strong, but more often brave and clever. I suppose I never outgrew them. As such, I really enjoyed this book. The plot is well-conceived, though as an adult, one of the twists at the end wasn't much of a surprise to me. The book is written in a third-person limited POV, so the character we follow (Weiland) is very well fleshed-out. Unfortunately, the drawback of this approach is that the antagonist, Daria, is a bit one-dimensional. Because Weiland doesn't understand her motivations, the reader doesn't get as much insight as I would have liked (thus the 4 stars instead of 5). The book is suitably exciting, and did keep my interest up, so that I kept wanting to know what happened next. Overall, a quick and enjoyable read for tweens and up.
TW, for those who need/want such (warning, contains spoilers):
November 6, 2021
I kind of knew going back into this re-read that the book wasn’t going to live up to my memories, but surprisingly I ended up rather enjoying the book despite its weaknesses. The story centers around Weiland, a shape-changed wolf under the control of an evil sorceress, who must choose between continuing to live in thrall to his mistress or potentially becoming a wolf forever. Vande Velde’s story and characters are a bit shallower than I’ve come to expect from fantasy novels, but the suspense of Weiland struggling with his dilemma is still engaging enough that I wanted to find out how his story ended. It’s pretty obvious to readers part of the way through the book that Weiland is not a shape-changed wolf, but actually a man who can be transformed into a wolf, but it is still satisfying to see his evil mistress Daria taken down in the final pages and to see him get his happy ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2016
I believe this is one of the first of Vande Velde's books, and it's alright. There were some things that were predictable, and some rather large things that were unexpected but made sense. I feel like many of Vande Velde's later books are a little bit recipe-style, with a young lady who gets into trouble, meets a handsome young man, gets into more trouble, and gets out of it by wits and sheer dumb luck. This story is not at all like that; mainly because there is no real romance going on and the main character is a male who does not meet any females except the one enslaving him. And small children. It is an interesting story. I would say that it would have been nice if the main character had turned out to be a lost heir, but that would've been cliche, no?
April 2, 2013
Weiland is a wolf who was turned into a human by the sorceress Daria. Now he is her slave who must do her bidding. He is not alone. There is a small army of animal-humans beneath Daria's power. However, when Weiland meets a thief named Shile, he begins to think that he can save himself from his servitude.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a cute story that revolves around believing in yourself. Shile helps teach Weiland that he decides who he will become, not Daria. As Weiland begins to believe in his individuality then he has the power to free himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a cute story that revolves around believing in yourself. Shile helps teach Weiland that he decides who he will become, not Daria. As Weiland begins to believe in his individuality then he has the power to free himself.
April 5, 2014
Overall, "The Changeling Prince" was a good book. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and writing style. The only thing I didn't like, and the reason I gave it three stars, was the abrupt and rather anti-climactic ending. Most of the book detailed a complex problem (Weiland being forced to serve Daria - it sounds simple, but really is not). In comparison, the solution was easy and over incredibly quickly, which left me feeling a bit disappointed.
February 5, 2009
This book was a good afternoon read. The main character is likeable and his experiences are interesting. Not an extremely challenging book (possibly written for Young Adults) although there are some graphic sections. It was still a wonderful book with a very wicked sorceress. A book that can adequately quench a thirst for a little bit of fantasy.
January 14, 2016
This story was about a man forced to change into a wolf by an immoral sorceress and his fight to regain control of his life. I enjoyed this book and I am glad I read it, but I won't be rereading it. It is a quick read that is sometimes a bit depressing though I admired the tenacity of the main character, Welland.
March 11, 2014
This book was much darker than those I usually enjoy, but the main character, Weiland, pulled me in and kept me reading. He is a servant to an evil sorceress, but wants to be free of her. It is actually a prequel to another book, Conjurer Princess, where Weiland is a supporting character.
April 10, 2015
A fun, short read. The main character was a little bland and predictable, but having the whole story told through one person's perspective worked for this book. Overall it was enjoyable, just don't expect too much from it.
July 21, 2015
The ending was obvious, but not as early on as I would have expected (and the sort of twist at the end I didn't see but wasn't terribly surprised by either). It's always happy when the random paperback I grab because it was so conspicuously misshelved turns out to be good.
May 27, 2011
I really love Weiland and his moral ambiguity. It and Conjurer Princess (second bk, kinda) were fantastic.
June 24, 2011
I really loved this book, and I'm not really into fantasy all that much.
December 29, 2013
quite good fun! a fairy tale-esque jaunt with evil queens and lovable rogues.
March 20, 2015
VVV gets props for being the most unique writer. Her plots and ideas are so different. And yet, familiar. Writing was, as usual, fantastic.
graded an A
graded an A
June 7, 2016
The ending seem pretty abrupt, but overall a good story.
May 2, 2011
Overall I thought it was OK, but I was having a hard time relating to the main character.
September 28, 2015
Very good fantasy novel.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews