Series: Fairytale Retellings
Author: Jackson Pearce
Page Count: 328
Published: June 7th, 2010
Page Count: 328
Published: June 7th, 2010
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
4 Stars ★★★★
Scarlett and Rosie's grandmother died in a werewolf attack when they were young, and Scarlett is now severely scarred and left with only one eye, as a result of protecting Rosie from the Fenris wolf. Years later, they hunt the Fenris, still haunted by memories of that fateful and traumatic day.
Silas, their family friend, woodsman, and hunting partner returns to their small town just as they find they must move cities so that they can track the wolves and save the Potential....a regular man at risk of being targeted by one of the three Fenris packs and changed into a werewolf. But as Rosie becomes distracted by life outside of hunting and questions all that she has ever known, tensions bloom. Will they be able to find the Potential in time? Or will the Fenris claim him as another of their soul-less pack members?
First of all, I really liked how the author gave Silas, Rosie and Scarlett all distinguishable, unique personalities. It made for an interesting dynamic and their interactions were never boring.
However, I didn't truly like Scarlett. I wanted to like her, to see her as a hero. After all, she saved Rosie at the price of her own appearance and health! But I found Scarlett to be extremely manipulative and uptight, and I hated how she always made Rosie feel guilty. So to me, she was not a likeable character.
Rosie was the complete opposite. Open to new experiences and far from manipulative, I got angry when she felt guilty for doing normal things, thanks to her sister. Scarlett also seemed to make Rosie feel like she owed her everything..... I understand feeling gratitude towards the person who saved your life, but to take advantage of that gratitude was unacceptable.
Silas was a great character. He was gentle and sincere, yet he was also fierce and emotional. He wasn't perfect but he was admirable.
There isn't really a love triangle, which I know some people may appreciate. I personally appreciated it, and I feel that if the author had included a love triangle, it would have distracted from the main plot points. There is a romance and some romantic allusions and actions towards a third person, but certainly not a full-blast love triangle.
I thought it was interesting that the author chose to make the Fenris werewolves true monsters. She didn't romanticize them in any way and I truly disliked them. This is a breath of fresh air when it comes to werewolves in current young adult fiction..... While I love myself a good paranormal romance and a supernatural love interest, I really enjoyed this take on werewolf mythology.
The book felt a little slow at times but the pace in general was quite good and kept me interested throughout the whole novel. The climax was crazy and the ending was perfect. Be warned: the climax and the ending will play with your emotions!
I recommend this book to those interested in werewolves and to those who want a novel that strays from the paranormal male, human female romance trend. If you like YA stories about monster hunting then this book is for you.
