Hardcover, 324 pages
Released: June 7, 2010
Published by: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Fairy-Tale Re-tellings #1
Source: Library
For fans of: YA, Action, Romance, Retellings, Werewolves
Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris–the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She’s determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.
Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls’ bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett’s only friend–but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they’ve worked for?
*MY THOUGHTS*
Let’s start with the most impressive thing about this book; the cover. Its AMAZING. And call me crazy, but I just recently realized that there were hidden images on it smh lol But at the bottom you can see the scary looking wolf with the red eyes and above him you can see the two faces of the girls that are across from each other. The black of the wolf makes up some of her hair and the red makes up the other girl’s hair. And the colors all look great together, the red is so radiant and the black is brings it out. The white seems to purify it some way. Most importantly, everything on the cover is a huge part in the story and is there for a reason.
The next most impressive thing is the idea and writing style of this story. The idea of turning around a fairy tale and turning it into a paranormal romance kind of story really blew me away. This version of Little Red Riding Hood is one that you’ve never read before. In the prologue the wolf makes its first appearance and the girls, Scarlett and Rosie, both narrowly escape and their grandmother dies. In the next seven years, the girls are hunters and there is a friend of theirs who returns from visiting his siblings. Its Silas, who happens to be the woodsman. They go on fighting these werewolves looking for the Potential (can’t elaborate without spoilers, so I’ll just leave it at that.) until the relationship of the three of them is tested when Rosie and Silas fall for each other.
I also liked the use of fairy tales. For example, the setting was modern day Atlanta but it was also a fairy tale world that only a handful of people knew about. Then there was the mentioning of the other fairy tales, like Scarlett saying Rosie looked like Sleeping Beauty while she slept. And I liked the fact that she stayed so true to the original Little Red Riding Hood. All the characters were there; the wolf was even saying “The better to see you with my dear.” I thought that was pretty cool.
However, there were a few things that didn’t impress me as much. For instance, when the romance came into play it was a kind of insta-love. Also, when the plot twist came in, she knew it instantly. Like there was no thinking about it, guessing, or anything it was like BINGO! I guess what I’m saying, is there were no surprises. I always knew what was coming.
I also didn’t like the characters. Rosie was too afraid to stand up to her sister and do whatever she wanted to do. Granted her sister saved her life, but she doesn’t have to spend the rest of her life doing whatever it is that she wants her to do. Where does that leave you to be happy? Then there was Scarlett… I definitely didn’t like her because she was too obsessed with the hunt. Although she may have a reason to (i.e. the scars and eyepatch), the things she was doing was way tooooo much. She didn’t give her sister or Silas a chance at having a life. She wanted them to be just as unhappy as she was. I understand why she was the way she was, but I also didn’t like the fact that she wasn’t listening to their side. Only complaining about why they weren’t on hers.
Lastly, I didn’t like the plot the entire time either. I kind of felt like there wasn’t much going on. Don’t get me wrong, the scenes where Scarlett, Silas, and Rosie are fighting are soooooo cooooolll, and there was alot of kick ass moments and bloodshed, but other than that I was like “……..Oooookkkkkk…. What’s next?” It seemed a little boring in the middle. I seemed to only like the story when there were Fenris around. Then when the romance came up, it was like all Rosie could think about. I understand that you like him, but he should NOT be your only concern.
Overall, it was a good read. I definitely like the era of fairy tale retellings, and this one didn’t disappoint!
Overall, I gave this
