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nicnacsmom's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book started out so slow, that I nearly lost interest. However, if you can push through & keep reading, you'll be rewarded. The story is very much both character & plot driven. While it feels a bit light at the beginning, the themes tend to get heavier & tense later on, and there are some slightly graphic descriptions. If you'r good at guessing book endings, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by this one. I definitely enjoyed this take on Red Riding Hood & the twists it entailed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
darth_twain's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book started out really slow. I was getting frustrated by what felt like a lot of exposition and not much plot. Hang in there, though. The story is super character driven and you need to understand the character at the beginning to understand the choices she later makes. Don’t read this thinking you’ll have a lighthearted read, it gets pretty heavy. I still ended up really enjoying it. I’m excellent at guessing book endings, but this one threw some unexpected twists my way, which I really appreciated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
haley49's review
4.0
I couldn’t tell if this was a masterpiece or a dumpster fire. All I know is that I read it in one day. Did I feel empty after? Yes but it did end on a bit of a cliffhanger. (No book 2 in sight) There is moral ambiguity on the part of the main character but the other characters (outside her family and love interest) are so bad to make her sacrifices seem fruitless. It was frustrating and yet so compelling. The world building wasn’t really good but I survived.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
cloudbooks's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is a retelling of The Red Riding Hood though it warps it into something new.
Adele, the main character, lives in a small village named Oakvale. All around is a forest full of monsters but unlike the other villagers, Adele has a grandmother who lives in a clearing in the forest. She is also a descendant of a long line of guardians who have watched over the villages in surrounded by the woods. When her time comes, she has to make a choice between the love of her life and the life she was destined to live from birth.
It's a quick read but well written!
The bad:
The premise sets up a typical YA story and that's exactly what you get. Adele is sixteen, stubborn and her head is full of teenage love and boys. She tries to stray away from her mother's advice and believes she knows better than all the other women before her. It's an old story at this point and quite common for YA.
The bad was mainly that the story spends so long setting up the woods as this common enemy but spends the vast majority of the time circling around the kind of love triangle and Adele's doubts about who to love and trust. It makes for a rather forgettable story.
The outcome is also rather obvious from the start and you don't really ever get convinced by Adele that she's right.
The good:
The ending! This book went where most YA won't go. I won't spoil the ending but I would have loved if the ending had been longer and we had spent a lot less time fussing over boys and teenage issues.
Would I read it again? Probably. It's not a bad book because of the ending but it's not the first book I'd reach for if I was out of books to read.
Adele, the main character, lives in a small village named Oakvale. All around is a forest full of monsters but unlike the other villagers, Adele has a grandmother who lives in a clearing in the forest. She is also a descendant of a long line of guardians who have watched over the villages in surrounded by the woods. When her time comes, she has to make a choice between the love of her life and the life she was destined to live from birth.
It's a quick read but well written!
The bad:
The premise sets up a typical YA story and that's exactly what you get. Adele is sixteen, stubborn and her head is full of teenage love and boys. She tries to stray away from her mother's advice and believes she knows better than all the other women before her. It's an old story at this point and quite common for YA.
The bad was mainly that the story spends so long setting up the woods as this common enemy but spends the vast majority of the time circling around the kind of love triangle and Adele's doubts about who to love and trust. It makes for a rather forgettable story.
The good:
The ending! This book went where most YA won't go. I won't spoil the ending but I would have loved if the ending had been longer and we had spent a lot less time fussing over boys and teenage issues.
Would I read it again? Probably. It's not a bad book because of the ending but it's not the first book I'd reach for if I was out of books to read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
chaptersofmads's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Religious bigotry
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