Hello hello! Welcome back to Adele Is Reading. Today I have my book review of:

Red the Were Hunter, by Rebekah R. Ganiere.

Red the Were Hunter is the first book in the Fairelle series.

I believe each book can be read as a standalone. However there may be spoilers for the companion novels in the Fairelle series. I definitely recommend reading the books in order (even though I’ve only read Red the Were Hunter so far).

Trigger / Content Warnings: mentions of Parent Death, Parent Betrayal, Blood, Fighting, Stabbing (on more than one occasion), Beheading (Decapitation), Slavery, Sex, Sex scenes.

What if you were the key to an ancient prophecy that would begin to heal your lands, but fulfilling your destiny meant you had to turn your back on everything you’d been taught to believe in?

Redlynn of Volkzene, member of the Sisterhood of Red, is heartbroken to discover another girl kidnapped and her best friend slain by werewolves. Defying the head of her order, she sets out to kill the beast she believes responsible. The King of the Weres– But there are worse things in Wolvenglen Forest than the wolves.

Adrian, reluctant heir to the throne of Wolvenglen, and his band of wolf brothers are bound to protect the humans; especially the Sisterhood. Finding Redlynn unconscious in his woods, awakens in him a passion he’s never before experienced and a protective instinct that has him ready to turn on his own men. Problem is, a female is the last thing Adrian needs complicating his life.

But all is not as it seems in Wolvenglen Forest and to save the missing girls before time runs out, Redlynn and Adrian must move past their inner demons and learn to trust each other. In the search for vengeance however, sometimes you must give up what you desire most.

Red the Were Hunter is definitely a fairy tale retelling involving Vampires, Werewolves (and other shifter species), Mages, and Neieds.

RTWH is an alright book *shrugs shoulders.* I liked the twist that this story had compared to the more widely known story.

Ganiere created their own personal twist on this story that I actually quite liked! I genuinely thought that there wouldn’t have been as many links between the two stories (the original and Red the Were Hunter). Ganiere brought a fresh look to the story.

With that said, there were a few things that I definitely saw coming. ..but there was something else that caught me off guard entirely. So while I found Red the Were Hunter to be predictable at times, it wasn’t all that predictable in the end.

There’s a slow-build romance in the story that some people may enjoy. However, because the romance is a slow-build, some might not like that–but with the flow and the building of the plot, I think in comparison it makes sense that the romance is slow to grow.

Going more into the romance aspect of Red the Were Hunter, the romance is absolutely not a ‘we spoke once and now I can’t live without you!’ scenario. The romance between these two main characters are more…instant lust and attraction, which I find to be more realistic. Yet these two don’t act on it right in that moment, haha.

That’s not to say there wasn’t anything that happened between the two. There are moments (stolen, maybe?) that build up to the tension. When things collide and their getting together happens, the tension absolutely snaps and explodes between them.

Oh speaking of sex scenes.. I found that their last sex scene in this book was unrealistic. I’m talking an almost insta-orgasm between them.

Nevertheless I read this book without reading too much into it (aka, I didn’t think about what could happen in the book and spoil it for myself), and I believe I was better off for it!

Overall, I gave Red the Were Hunter, 2 stars.

Have you read Red the Were Hunter? Or any other Red Riding Hood retelling?

I personally adore retellings, and when I come across them I’m so happy that I read them almost instantly.

See you soon, and Happy Reading!
Adele