Reviews

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

writings_of_a_reader's review against another edition

4.0

I couldn't put Sister’s Red down. I very much enjoyed this tale based on Little Red Riding Hood. The wolves are very creepy in a way that you don't soon forget, and the story is full of action. I did guess way ahead what would happen, but it didn't spoil anything for me. I didn't care for the age difference between the two characters that fall in love. It's just little weird to me for a 21 year old to fall for a 16 year old. I know that's only 5 years, but there is a huge difference in maturity there. But at least the romance was kept clean.

I also want to mention that I love the cover to this book. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

flotrenza's review against another edition

2.0

Loved the beginning, was extremely interested then the romance put me off and the personalisation of both main female character was so off putting, I gave up. I'm sorry.

zoesyo's review against another edition

3.0

I really really don't like how Scarlett got the bad end of the stuck the entire book. she's definitely my favorite character but she just seems so get left behind the whole time, I enjoyed the book but would've enjoyed better things happening to Scarlett.

icarriebooks's review against another edition

5.0

This book was a rather good read, Sadly I worked out what was going to happen to the character Silas about 30 pages before it happened, but this didn't spoil the book, it was still good, plus there were small characters called Jacob, Edward and Bella which made me laugh, I don't if the author put them in there on purpose or not. I do recommend this book.

emleemay's review against another edition

3.0

"I am confident, I am capable, and I will not wait to be rescued by a woodsman or a hunter. I will escape."

3.5

Hmm, this is a very difficult book to rate. One one hand, it contains most of the elements I consider important in a good urban fantasy novel: tough heroines, nice love interest - but with the story focus being on bigger things than whether or not they'll get together, mean and nasty supernaturals, touch of grittiness... yet I still had a few problems. I thought Rosie was a very dull character for 95% of the novel, but the worst part was that the whole big "mystery" would be obvious to anyone with half a brain cell from page 50 onwards (especially if you read the blurb which gives everything away).

I find it actually quite odd that [a:Jackson Pearce|2761947|Jackson Pearce|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1272168539p2/2761947.jpg] built it up as such a huge mystery, I was sure that there had to be some twist coming because, honestly, I am one of the densest readers out there and I saw it coming a mile off.

However, the story is very fast-paced and easy to read. The first 100 pages are just your standard fairytale retelling stuff, bit of background information that draws parallels between this story and the tale of Red Riding Hood, two sisters become hunters to avenge their grandmother's death and also to protect other girls from falling prey to the fenris. Things really start to get interesting after the 100 page marker when the girls move to the city and start hunting the bigger predators. There's a lot to be enjoyed in this book.

Perhaps the story's strongest aspect, for me, was the relationship between the two sisters. It was a strong, convincing bond that people only develop through sharing unspeakable and horrific experiences. But I found Scarlett - the older sister - to be the far better and interesting and just well-rounded character. After losing an eye and being left deformed in the attack that killed her grandma, Scarlett has become the scarred warrior. She is obsessed with hunting and revenge, she loves her sister and would go to extreme lengths to protect her, yet at the same time she holds a secret envy of her sister's beauty and her ability to have a normal life and boyfriend. She is the far more complex sister. Whereas Rosie is supposed to be the opposite, a romantic dreamer secretly longing for a normal life outside of hunting... I found her boring. That is, until she decided to turn out the best quote of the book (see top of review).

I was pleased to discover that the description's emphasis on the romance in the novel is not particularly reflective of the story itself. The romance is only a very small part of the plot with a male character who is kind and respectful, surprising seeing as [a:Becca Fitzpatrick|2876763|Becca Fitzpatrick|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1239907607p2/2876763.jpg] is quoted on the back of my copy.

So... this was a good book, not a great book, but I may read some more by this author in the future to see what else she cooks up. This is good if you're looking for some light - if slightly gory - entertainment.

katcanwrite's review against another edition

4.0

Sometimes it was a little ploddy, but since I'm a huge fan of fairytale retellings, I didn't really mind. Scarlett kind of needs to learn how to let go, and Rosie could do with standing up for herself a bit sooner, but all in all it was a very fun read.

erine's review against another edition

4.0

Rosie and Scarlett are dual images of Little Red Riding Hood, who are attacked (with their grandmother) by a werewolf-type creature called a Fenris. Rosie escapes relatively unharmed, but Scarlett loses an eye and becomes obsessed with killing her way through the Fenris clans. Together with a woodsman, Silas, the two sisters hunt for the next man who will be turned into a Fenris.

I am such a sucker for a reimagined fairytale, and this version of Little Red Riding Hood is pretty good. I was mildly irritated with Rosie's slavish need to repay her sister, but overall, loved the characters, and Rosie made up for it at the end. A timely story in the midst of all the supernatural tales running amok. The fairytale is modernized, but I didn't think it was dated.

Bloody. Supernatural elements.

miriminime's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

coco_lolo's review against another edition

3.0

Reading this book as a twenty-six-year-old was such a drastic experience from reading it when I was fifteen, so Sisters Red hit differently in 2021. The way the female characters are seen as "asking" to be attacked by the Fenris is just one of those things that shows this book's age, as is the number of adjectives (or maybe that's just my perspective). As for the romance: talk about cheese, and not always in a good way—I'm thinking that first kiss in the rain.

Despite me harping on things, it was fun to come back to a book I read years ago, unhauled, and then found myself still thinking about every so often. I liked the mythos around the Fenris (even though I can't remember all of it from the other books). Scarlett and Rosie were aggravating in ways that made them feel real, Scarlett especially. Being older now also allowed me to look at their relationship and see how unhealthy it was: the way Scarlett claimed Rosie, Rosie feeling as if she owed her sister everything for having saved her. Maybe if the book were written more recently, this toxicity would be discussed in detail, but I still thought it was effective since distance was ultimately encouraged.

iamhume's review against another edition

5.0

I had high hopes for this book and I was not disappointed. The constant switching narration between the two March sisters helped keep the pace of the book flowing naturally. The romance was sweet, the sisterly love was inspiring, and the action was fun and well-written. This is a book I'm going to read over and over because the characters get into my head and I can't let them go.