This is not the story that you were told as a child...at least, not JUST that story. This is the story of one girl's fight to keep her freedom, save her friends and family (even those that never gave a reason to be saved), and find true love if the option exists...all while trying to stay alive.

Yes, the big bad wolf exists in this version, after all you can't REALLY have a Little Red or in this case Scarlette, without a wolf...but the beastie may not be all or whom you'd think. There are greater things to fear in this story than simply the glinting teeth of the wolf...and some are even more dangerous because of their immediacy.

Story wise, we have a winner! Character wise...same situation, though some were more infuriating than others. From Scarlette herself to Francois and Louis, grandmother to her loopy mother and her friend Jeanne, at some point or another, we meet them all and each has a role to play...whether or not they all survive to see another day after having been introduced though, is another story.

In the end, another rendition of a classic most have heard since childhood but told in such a way that it doesn't completely feel like deja vu; in fact, it'll have you on the edge of your seat as you try to discern just who is who, what is what, and where the wolf will pop up next! For those of you that count yourselves among the history buffs or prefer a bit of reality in their fiction, the ties ins to actual historical events included will really spark your interest and perhaps the researcher in you granting the story yet another life after you flick the final page.Recommended read for teens through adults; if you have even the slightest interest in the fate of Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf, this one's for you.


**review copy received in exchange for my honest review - full post can be seen on my site**
( )

WARNING SOME SPOILERS!

I really enjoyed this book a lot! I love how the author, Juroe, combines the Grimm Brothers version of "Little Red Riding Hood" with the actual historical events of an incident in Europe in 1764 that an unidentified wolf-like animal ferociously mauled dozens of peasants in the Gévaudan region of France. I thought it was a clever and unique twist for setting up the story. Juroe keeps the historical setting of time accurate (you can tell she's done her research well) ,but chose to make the language more modernized in order for the novel to be more mainstream and easier to understand (which I also appreciated). The new edition of the novel includes two short stories as well, and those were also fun to read!

We have our main character Scarlette, who's (I want to say) around her late teens or early twenties. She lives with her sweet ole grandma and her incredibly mean mother (who is even worse than Cinderella's step-mom, seriously she's that bad). Scarlette does her best to keep her mom happy, takes care of grandma, does the house chores, pays the bills, and works. (Sounds like Cinderella when I put it this way, doesn't it?) Anyways, there are a whole bunch of scary wolf attacks and so the government brings in these woodcutters to help save the day, except people keep getting killed. Scarlette's grandmother "dies" and she decides she needs to put an end and find out what is going on.

The story is very suspenseful and I personally felt the chapters ran a bit short (that could be because I read this book on my Kindle). Juroe's writing is detailed and paced perfectly. When reading the novel I was constantly kept on my toes, for what was going to come next. The ending was great and I felt happy with it. The only problem I had with this book is when Scarlette gets googly eyed for the royal baron, Louis, and falls in love with him immediately. (On no! The dreaded insta love!) Her woodcutter friend Francois, constantly tries to tell her that things won't work out. Of course falling under the spell of insta love, she doesn't listen until bad things happens and then it's too late. On the positive, Scarlette does get redeemed, in my eyes, when she acquires skills of bad-assery when learning how to fight the wolves and defend herself (which comes to her naturally). ( )

This is not the story that you were told as a child...at least, not JUST that story. This is the story of one girl's fight to keep her freedom, save her friends and family (even those that never gave a reason to be saved), and find true love if the option exists...all while trying to stay alive.

Yes, the big bad wolf exists in this version, after all you can't REALLY have a Little Red or in this case Scarlette, without a wolf...but the beastie may not be all or whom you'd think. There are greater things to fear in this story than simply the glinting teeth of the wolf...and some are even more dangerous because of their immediacy.

Story wise, we have a winner! Character wise...same situation, though some were more infuriating than others. From Scarlette herself to Francois and Louis, grandmother to her loopy mother and her friend Jeanne, at some point or another, we meet them all and each has a role to play...whether or not they all survive to see another day after having been introduced though, is another story.

In the end, another rendition of a classic most have heard since childhood but told in such a way that it doesn't completely feel like deja vu; in fact, it'll have you on the edge of your seat as you try to discern just who is who, what is what, and where the wolf will pop up next! For those of you that count yourselves among the history buffs or prefer a bit of reality in their fiction, the ties ins to actual historical events included will really spark your interest and perhaps the researcher in you granting the story yet another life after you flick the final page.Recommended read for teens through adults; if you have even the slightest interest in the fate of Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf, this one's for you.

**review copy received in exchange for my honest review - full post can be seen on my site** ( )

Actual rating: 3.5

(This review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)

I'm not sure, but I think Scarlette is the first fairy tale retelling that I read. Based on Little Red Riding Hood, I expected something simple, so this one's a very nice surprise.

Scarlette lived with her hateful mother and loving grandmother. Times were hard in their little town because of wolf attacks, but they survived. At least until her grandmother became the next victim.

Scarlette was an okay character for me. She had a good heart and a wise mind, but problems kept coming for her one after another, testing her resolve to save her grandmother and complicating her already tragic circumstances even more. Still, I felt like I wasn't able to connect to her.

My mind probably skipped through it when I read the blurb, so I was surprised to find the romance that later turned into a love triangle. Don't be put off by that, though, because it's very minimal, not occupying even a quarter of the book I think, but it was good. Scarlette wasn't torn by love more so than trust, but as the reader, truths were more transparent for me than her.

Up until the end, Scarlette was full of mystery and suspense, and almost everyone of the secondary characters became prime suspects for me. The ending was a little bit rushed, but it still had me at the edge of my seat.

MY FAVORITE PART was the epilogue. ( )

This book crawled underneath my skin from the very first pages. It's spooky... gripping... downright FREAKY... and yet I couldn't look away. Lol.

Scarlette is a fun character. The story begins with her and her relationship with her mom, which is so twisted and painful, I just wanted to hide Scarlette out of her mother's sight. Scarlette's grandmother begins as an oasis in her harsh world... and then everything goes haywire.

So... Scarlette's mom is eerie. There's a couple guys who are so (nicely) frustrating... and then surprising. I kept waiting for one of 'em to settle into something predictable, but no... this story isn't predictable anywhere. The magic got a little heavy for me when the "witches & warlocks" come on the scene mid-book, but the story is spookily complete with 'em.

I recommend this book for anyone who likes a gripping thriller and paranormal with a dark twist. I enjoyed the writing and I LOVED the pace. ( )