Lonely Werewolf Girl

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A series of novels by Martin Millar who also wrote the award winning The Good Fairies of New York. A teenage werewolf named Kalix is alone in London, and the best case scenario for a lone werewolf is to stay hidden. Otherwise hunters tend to come after you. Of course, Kalix has just sold the charm that was designed to keep her hidden, because she lacks any skills that would allow her to hold down a job, and has a laudanum addiction. What's worse is that a new vote has come around for the new leader of the clan and, whether she's there or not, she has a seat on that council, and will until she dies. When it comes down to a tie, the council has a problem, and when you hold a seat for life, people start thinking the obvious.

The eponymous first book of the series was released in 2007. The Second book in the series called Curse of the Wolfgirl was released at the end of July 2010. In this The Avenaris Guild takes a collective level in badass, Kalix and Agrivex try to attend college as normal human students, Markus throws a charity event, Thrix tries to keep her fashion house solvent in the recession, and Malveria's past comes back to haunt her.

Word of God from Millar's blog is that a third book is in the early stages of being drafted, but still needs a lot of work. A long wait seems likely.

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Tropes used in Lonely Werewolf Girl include:

• Abusive Parents: Both of Kalix's parents (Physical from her father) and Mental and Emotional from her mother.
  • Malveria is also emotionally abusive to her adopted niece, in her case it is unintentional and gets better when she is called on it.
  • In Curse Kalix's mother, Veresa, does lament how she screwed up her kids and is shown to be trying to make amends, just too little and too late.
• Adorkable: Daniel.
• Aerith and Bob: Moonglow and Daniel (and you could argue Markus for the MacRinnalch Clan as it is just an Xtreme Kool Letterz version of "Marcus" a rare, but normal name, compared to the clan names of Thrix, Sarapen, Dominil, Kalix, etc).
• Aloof Ally: Dominil (and to a lesser extent Thrix)
• Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny!: Agrivex
• Axe Crazy: Not that any of the Werewolves wins a prize for mental stability, but Sarapen really excels in this Trope.
• Badass Adorable: Kalix.
• Badass Bookworm: Dominil, especially in book 2.
• Batman Gambit: The plot of the Big Bad in Curse of the Wolfgirl. And it worked, the only reason it fell apart was Albermarle's attack of Bond Villain Stupidity in stopping for some Evil Gloating, and Distikka's underestimating just how unstoppable Kalix's Unstoppable Rage is.
• Becoming the Mask: Dominil becomes Beauty and Delicious's band manager first because she's told to keep an eye on them and to try and bribe them to support Markus, but genuinely comes to like them and her job.
  • Werewolf hunter Easterly in book 2 sets out to make Thrix fall in love with him, with predictable results.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Dominil and Sarapen
  • in book 2 Decembrius and Kalix also have a fair degree of this after the former's Heel Face Turn. Theirs is a more comedic Takahashi Couple version as opposed to Sarapen and Dominil's more dramatic and sinister version.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Moonglow verges on Badass Normal when she knocks out Princess Kabachetka with a bottle.
• Big Screwed-Up Family: This Trope could be made for the MacRinnalch clan.
• Bishonen: Markus
• Bonnie Scotland: The Werewolf castle is located somewhere in a Theme Park Version of the Scottish Highlands, and the Werewolf King is called "Thane", an old Scottish title.
• Bottle Fairy: Werewolf wannabe musicians Beauty and Delicious, rarely sober.
• Britain Is Only London: For much of the book one; it gets better in book 2.
• Brought Down to Normal: A lunar eclipse does this to all werewolves, see the WMG for some Fridge Brilliance on how this applies to Kalix.
  • Fire-Princess Kabachetka works a spell that simulates an eclipse for the set-piece battle for book 2.
• Bunny Ears Lawyer: Malveria may seem to be a brainless fashion obsessed Ditz, but she climbed to power through ruthless, bloody ,battles and rebellions; is an extremely capable administrator of her realm.
  • Her Ditziness does get her into trouble in book two when someone from her Complete Monster days comes back to haunt her.
• Caustic Critic / Your Werewolves Bite: Kalix reviewing a werewolf comic book for class:

"The artist has no idea what a werewolf looks like and should be forbidden to draw anything ever again, and also sent to prison. The editor of this comic is obviously mentally defective for letting such rubbish go into print. The story is the most stupid story ever written, and the heroine, Arabella Wolf, is the most annoying person ever. She should be punched in the face. Also, it's not true that werewolves eat children. Very few children have ever been eaten by werewolves. Maybe one or two, but it's not a big problem. The comic should be withdrawn from sale before it poisons people's minds."

• Changed My Mind, Kid: Malveria leaves before the big set piece battle with Sarapen citing it not being her fight and being almost out of magic, to no one's surprise she uses the last of her magic to return with a big club deciding it is her fight too.
• Chekhov MIA: Thrix's mentor Minerva MacRinnalch the most powerful werewolf sorceress to have ever lived, mentioned freely throughout both books before making an appearance in the final third of Curse.
• Chick Magnet: Would someone please tell me Sarapen, the second-most psychotic, Axe Crazy and sociopathic werewolf in the clan (Absolute most of all those goes to Kalix) managed to have Dominil, Marwanis, and Kabachetka pining after him?
• Christmas Cake: Thrix
• CMOT Dibbler: The Merchants MacDoig are a more sinister version of this.
• Combat by Champion: The Thaneship is eventually settled when Markus decides it is something he needs to do himself by beating a giant Werewolf in single combat to prove worthy.
• Covers Always Lie: They're not trying to get her vote, they're trying to kill her. And thereby get her seat.
• Cricket Rules: Daniel accidentally causes 'Vex to pass out when he tries to explain the rules.
• Crossdresser: One of Kalix's brothers alternates between being villainous and wholesome.
• Dating Catwoman: Thrix and werewolf hunter Easterly from book 2.
• Deal with the Devil: Moonglow (a human Perky Goth) does a deal with the queen of the fire demons to save Kalix's life at the cost of her right to romantically pursue Daniel.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Dominil, still quite chilly at the end of book 1, but her Pet the Dog moments increase and her lack of empathy moments decrease.
• Demon Slayer: The Avenaris Guild of Werewolf Hunters. They kill werewolves simply for being werewolves regardless of any actual wrongdoing or lack thereof. This is just as full of Unfortunate Implications as it sounds.
• The Dragon: Decembrius is Sarapen's somewhat more sympathetic aide.
• Drowning Our Sorrows: Thrix and Gawain get drunk lamenting their pitiful love-lives, or course this leads to the inevitable What Did I Do Last Night?. The answer for Thrix is: Gawain.
• Drugs Are Bad: Kalix and Dominil, although it may be a Broken Aesop.
• Eat The Dog: Kalix in an Unstoppable Rage after being attacked by some werewolf hunters mistakes a family pet for an attack dog.
• Emotionless Girl: Dominil.
• Enemy Mine: In book 1 Kalix, Dominil, and Sarapen team up to kill a load of hunters who have arrived to kill Dominil and the twin's band. That was also Sarapen's goal as well, but he wasn't going to let a bunch of humans do it. After the hunters are killed they call a brief truce until the next time they meet.
• Everyone Can See It: Hell, even Kalix can see that Daniel is absolutely spoony over Moonglow (and tells him word for word to his face), and that Moonglow has feelings for him as well.
• Evil Chancellor: Distikka in Curse.
• The Fair Folk: The elementals for whom justice and horror are but a whim, but shoes are deadly serious.
• The Fashionista: The Hat of the Fire Demon with the dueling fashions of Malveria and Kabachetka being an important subplot in book 1. Being a fashion desginer this is pretty much justifed in Thrix's case. And then there is Markus...
• Freudian Excuse: In Curse Distikka's is pretty good. Malveria had killed her entire family after all.
• Gambit Pileup: in book one. Kabachetka uses Sarapen to destroy Malveria's clothes, Sarapen is using Kabachetka to spring a trap on Kalix, Beauty and Delicious, Thrix is using Kalix, Daniel and Moonglow to hide her designs, Dominil is using the sisters to get a chance to kill Sarapen, Markus and his Mommy dearest are using everyone to gain the Thaneship or so Markus thinks as it's his mommy using him to use everyone else, Malveria is using Agrivex and Daniel to get Moonglow to confess her love for Daniel knowing that Moonglow traded that earlier in the book for [Malveria's] entertainment value, and Thrix is using Gawain to to work out her issues about being a Christmas Cake.
  • Book 2 goes for a more straightforward Batman Gambit and a stronger villain.
• Genki Girl: 'Vex tends to come across as one.
• Good Is Not Nice: Dominil, has no patience, and tends to be brusque at the best of times. However Curse reveals she was genuinely nice to Kalix when she was a child, singing her nursery rhymes and playing with her, and does her best to look after Beauty and Delicious even if it is in a snarky way.
  • She did want to kill Sarapen with a forbidden weapon, but we're guessing that probably applies to a lot of people where Sarapen is concerned. He's that kind of guy.
• Grey and Gray Morality: No one is really heroic in this tale, Kalix killed her father, Sarapen is batshit insane, the rest of the werewolves downright callous and manipulative, Moonglow cheats on her boyfriend, Daniel is trying to be a Dogged Nice Guy to Moonglow, Malveria a Retired Monster, and the Avenaris Guild are trigger happy sociopaths.
• Deadly Change-of-Heart: Easterly had just decided that he loved Thrix more than his job as a werewolf hunter and then they Dropped An Angry Werewolf On Him.
• He Is Not My Boyfriend: Moonglow insists she has no feelings for Daniel and they are Just Friends, to the point she willing trades her love for him to go unrequited (see Deal with the Devil). As soon as she's made the deal Malveria starts playing Shipper on Deck for entertainment value.
• Hello Kitty: Agrivex has a number of Hello Kitty clothes, including the pyjamas she wears to Camden Market for shopping with her aunt.
• Heroic BSOD: Gawain has one when he sees Kalix kissing Daniel, Markus has a Villainous BSOD/Heroic BSOD^[1] when his girlfriend is killed.
• Hypocritical Humor: Dominil has just got done telling Susi about how werewolves are actually very civilized when Susi asks what Dominil does for a living. Her response: "I kill people for money."
• Hypercompetent Sidekick and Servile Snarker: Ann, Thrix's indispensable secretary.
• I Just Want To Be Rid Of My Crazy Werewolf Family: Thrix
• It Has Been an Honour: Malveria thanks Thrix for being a good friend and making all her lovely clothes just before popping off to a battle that will almost certainly be her death. Thrix tells her to stuff it as she is coming with.
• Kissing Under the Influence: While under the influence of her Laudanum Kalix kisses Daniel. This leads to Gawain having a minor Heroic BSOD and having having his own Kissing Under the Influence moment with Thrix (see Drowning My Sorrows)
• Lady Drunk: Thrix indulges herself a bit much, probably understanding her place in the universe.
• Last-Episode New Character: The Fairy Queen Dithean shows up in one of the last scenes in book 1, then gets an expanded role in book 2. Susi Surmata in book 2 also has shades of this, though since there's no word on a third book yet, who knows?
• Les Yay: Thrix and Malveria all the way. To the point they would make a pretty decent Takahashi Couple.
• Loads and Loads of Characters
• Magic A Is Magic A
• The Man Behind the Man: By the end of the book Kalix's mother becomes this. Though it leaves it open as to whether she will stay this.
• Manipulative Bitch: The Mistress of the Werewolves, so manipulative she'd give Gendo Ikari a run for his money.
• The Masquerade: as per standard in this genre, Lampshaded by the werewolf hunters acknowledging "but I thought they were a werewolf" not working as a defence in court if they nail a human instead of werewolf-in-human-form.
• The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life: It is a sub-plot in Curse that none of the MacRinnalch women have a dating life. This hits home hardest with Thrix, who ended up in a Dating Catwoman situation with a werewolf hunter.
• Middle Child Syndrome: Thrix gets hit pretty hard by this the clan not really contacting her unless they want something, her father preferred Sarapen, her mother Markus, but at least she isn't treated like her younger sister Kalix.
• Morality Pet: in book 2 Kalix is adopted by a kitten.
  • And Agrivex to Kalix, who goes out of her way to be... well, herself to keep Kalix from dropping out of college.
• Mugging the Monster: When a pair of bullies target Agrivex they do get away with it due to Vex's inherent niceness, then Kalix finds out.
• Mundane Fantastic: Not too "mundane," but this is the kind of series where two college students trying to get cable shares as much page space as the politicking for a new leader of the high clans of the werewolves.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: Sarapen's approach to diplomacy and negotiation.
• Never Found the Body: Sarapen. Killed on page with a magic knife that leaves people Deader Than Dead, but no body is able to be recovered for a funeral.
  • In Curse it transpires that Fire-Princess Kabachetka is keeping his body in an Only Mostly Dead state in the basement of her volcano until she gets the power to bring him back.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Herod: Back in her Complete Monster days Malveria ensured her conquest of her realm by killing all the children of her family. She missed one.
• Not So Above It All: Dominil in Curse, her one night stand with the band's guitarist Pete in book 1 really comes back to haunt her.
• Only Mostly Dead: Malveria brings Kalix back from the outskirts of the Forest of the Werewolf Dead.
• Our Demons Are Different: Fashion obsessed, although still willing to steal someone's ability to love for a favour.
• Our Dragons Are Different: There are no dragons left in the Fire Elemental's realm because Malveria killed tham all and turned them into dragon-scale dresses. A fact that Distikka's half-dragon co-conspirator really ought to have borne in mind when he goes all One-Winged Angel in Curse.
• Our Werewolves Are Different: In this universe werewolves may have issues but they are not the Ragemonkeys that are seen in other media.
• Parental Favouritism: Sarapen was the favourite of the late Thane (both being Ax Crazy Jerkasses), Markus is Momma's Boy, leaving Thrix and Kalix a little cold.
• Parental Incest: It's hinted that Markus's relationship with his mother flirts with this trope, whether the line is crossed or not Markus definitely has Mommy Issues.
• Performance Anxiety: One of the biggest problems Dominil has acting as manager for werewolf punk-rockers Beauty and Delicious is preventing them getting completely drunk due to their stage fright. Yep, werewolves with stage fright.
• Puppy Dog Eyes: A curiously literal version is performed by Kalix in Lonely Werewolf Girl when she transforms fully into her wolf form to look cute for Moonglow at one point.
• Raised By Werewolves: Kalix. Also Agrivex (Malveria's adopted niece) who was raised by a fire-demon.
• Random Events Plot: Epically. It seems sometimes that every last plot twist is an Ass Pull, Diabolus Ex Machina, or Contrived Coincidence. Somehow, it still works, despite repeated Fridge Logic moments.
• Retired Monster: Malveria, she only has time to be a fashion obsessed ditz because all her serious enemies are long dead. One of her titles is Persecutor of Mankind, but that is a bit old hat these days.
• Revenge Before Reason: Gawain in book 2. Kalix in the same book, after Gawain is murdered.
• The Rival: Fire-Princess Kabachetka is The Rival (and more than a bit of the Alpha Bitch) to Malveria.
• The Runaways: Kalix loves there music, and it was Daniel having a Runaways Album that helped her to think about giving up her homeless lifestyle. She also likes to fantasise that Joan Jett is her real mother.
• Rummage Sale Reject: Agrivex, mostly as rebellion against her Aunt, Malveria.
• Sacred Hospitality: Whenever Werewolves meet it is considered absolutely essential that they offer each other some whisky. Refusing to do so is considered as bad as murder.
  • This is also the moral of the Werewolf fairy tale of Robber-Wolf and Poor-Wolf. While Poor Wolf got into trouble by helping Robber-Wolf, because she gave him shelter he comes back in the middle of winter with a meat feast to repay her Hospitality.
• Self-Made Orphan: Kalix through murdering her father. We never hear his side of the story but by other characters descriptions, he probably deserved it.
  • His ghost is briefly met in book 2, yeah he deserved it.
• Shallow Love Interest: Gawain, who is defined primarily by his longing for Kalix, his somewhat creepy feelings for Kalix (he had sex with her when he was 18 or so and she was 14.) and the fact that he Cannot Spit It Out. Possibly why he dies early in book 2 to make room for the more interesting relationship between Kalix and Decembrius.
• Snark Knight. In book one this is Thrix's role, but by Curse she has been replaced in this by Dominil.
  • Daniel likes to think he is one, but really is fooling no one but himself.
• Songs of Solace: Kalix and Daniel both indulge in this at various times.
• Spot of Tea: New drinking game, take a shot everytime a character is offered a cup of tea, if you are still alive at the end of the book call an ambulance for a stomach pump.
• Squishy Wizard: Averted with Thrix, who can more than handle herself hand-to-hand. Averted even harder with Malveria: Deprived of her magic in book 1, she starts beating up werewolves with a club.
• Stalker with a Crush: Gawain's "feelings" for Kalix tend to come across as more than a little creepy. Especially by the start of Curse^[2]
  • And of course Albemarle for Dominil.
• The Stateroom Sketch: In Curse of the Wolfgirl, fashion designer Thrix is preparing for a date and is visited by almost every non-villain character.
• Sympathetic Murder Backstory: Part of Kalix's backstory is that she killed her father. It's part of the reason she is so lonely.
• Team Mom: Moonglow is so Kalix, Daniel, and Agrivex's mother-figure.
• Took a Level in Badass: In Curse the Avenaris Guild take a collective one from the more or less ineffectual villains of book 1, and at the climax Agrivex in both her defence of Malveria's realm and the cancelling of the curse on Moonglow and Daniel.
• True Companions: Kalix, Daniel, Moonglow, Agrivex, Malverie, and Thrix eventually make a pretty good group despite a lot of Teeth-Clenched Teamwork along the way, as does Dominil with Beauty and Delicious.
• Tsundere: Kalix, she shifts from type A to type b over the course of the book.
• The Messiah: Agrivex. Loves everyone and everything, especially deranged, self destructive werewolves? Check. Constant inspiration to others? (Well, just Kalix so far.) Check. Acting on most pure motivations and values in world of Black and Gray Morality ? Check.
• Undead Tax Exemption: The Fire Demons and centuries long lived werewolves can live and integrate just fine with human society, no questions asked.
• The Unfavourite: Kalix. Although this seems to be changing a little by book two, but even then it is noted in narration her mother has pretty much given up on any sort of relationship.
• Unfazed Everyman: Daniel, see Spot of Tea for his default response to every situation.
• Unstoppable Rage: Do not make Kalix angry. You won't like her when she's angry.
• Urban Fantasy: On a scale normally only seen in vampires ... who are conspicuously absent.
• Villain Exit Stage Left: Distikka in Curse lets her lover face the music while she dissapears.
• Waif Fu: Kalix. Even her werewolf form is painfully thin.
• We Have Become Complacent
• What Did I Do Last Night?: This question is asked by Thrix after a night of Drowning Our Romantic Sorrows. The answer is, her sister's boyfriend.
• White-Haired Pretty Girl: Dominil, the white haired arctic werewolf.
• Yandere: Male version, Albermarle from book 2, an Adorkable friendly comic-book Otaku who is also a creepy Stalker with a Crush on Dominil who just wants her to admit he was attractive at University (and that she stole his place on the quiz team), and then to humiliate and kill her.
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Beauty and Delicious, though via hairdye
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Sarapen's spy and werewolf wannabe Madrigal is surprised to find Sarapen pulling this one out the villain's handbook.
• You Are Not Alone: A Finnish werewolf is discovered near the end of Book2 and is overjoyed to discover she is not the only one.

1. ↑ being a Gray and Grey Morality Character it's hard to pin down which he has
2. ↑ Not that Kalix's feelings for Gawain are that much better