44. Red Riding Hood

Red Riding Hood
By Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
Poppy, 2011

Genre
Fairy Tale

Awards
None Known

Review
Inspired by the movie of the same name that was released later in 2011, Red Riding Hood has many things: romance, mystery, paranormal (werewolves), and fanatic religious zeal.  The young heroine, a tomboy apparently unaware of good looks everyone else seems to notice, finds the idea of falling in love alluring but confusing, wondering if there's even a point to it if you don't marry the one you love or you stop loving the one you marry.  Not long into the book though, there is not one, but two, love interests for this fickle teenage: the blast from the past "bad boy" and the son of the wealthy blacksmith.  The town has been in an uneasy peace with a werewolf who they give livestock sacrifices to at the full moon.  Heroine Valerie witnesses a sacrifice being taken by the wolf when she was a child and it forever changed her.  She later is accused of witchcraft and offered as bait for the wolf when the uneasy peace was broken when he killed Valerie's sister.  This book is enticing for those who particularly enjoy supernatural romance, but has disappointing follow through with flat characters, a capricious heroine, and an incomplete plot.

Opinion
I enjoyed the idea behind this book, though it is not unique.  However, Valerie soon wore my patience thin.  Though being indecisive is a human trait, it is very overplayed and makes her a frustrating character.  Aside from her struggle with love, mixed with her sudden desires to be eternally alone or chase the werewolf on her own, she has no depth.  There is also no depth to the two love interests and the other villagers are just as flat.  Seemingly the person with the most character is the religious fanatic that comes into the story about half-way through.  There is a difference between an ending that wraps many things up but leaves a full conclusion to the imagination and an ending that is carelessly written, leaving many loose ends; unfortunately this book ended sloppily.

Ideas
This book is a good suggestion for those who like books similar to the Twilight Saga and other supernatural romances, but mostly I would suggest recommending something else.