A Tale of Red Riding: Rise of the Alpha Huntress

by Julianne Snow:

About the Book:

In this action-packed twist on the beloved Grimm Fairytale, Red Riding will not only face dangerous wolves; she will have to face the wolf within herself. Gifted with the power to transform into a werewolf, she will rise to become a legendary warrior known as the Alpha Huntress. Accompanied by bad-boy heart-throb Wolfgang Helheim, Red will lead a tribe of loyal followers armed with mystical powers of their own against a vile lunar deity, who plans to thrust Wayward Woods into eternal night.

My Review:

I will preface this review by stating I did not realize this book was aimed toward a young adult audience before I started to read it. While I found it less age appropriate for myself, I do believe A Tale of Red Riding: Rise of the Alpha Huntress will be a book that many will enjoy.

A Tale of Red Riding: Rise of the Alpha Huntress is an interesting take on the tale of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. Edmund’s retelling is action packed and intriguing with descriptive settings and characters that quickly immerse you in the fantasy world of Wayward. There are chase scenes and fight scenes a plenty with a good amount of supernatural characters and elements mixed in for good measure.

The character development was just deep enough for the intended audience, but in all truthfulness I found myself wishing Edmund had gone just a little deeper. Red is a heroine that holds her ground in tense situations and she’s perfectly imperfect enough to be totally relatable to the teen persuasion. She’s an orphan turned bad-ass with elements of witticism, resourcefulness, spunk, bravery, and intelligence. The other characters are just a cleverly constructed and you cannot help but be drawn in by them.

In all, A Tale of Red Riding: Rise of the Alpha Huntress was an enjoyable and quick read. If you’re a fan of Twilight, The Hunger Games, and reconstructed fairy tales, I would suggest giving this book a try.

DarkMedia contributor Julianne Snow was first lulled into the horror genre by her parents during an ill-advised viewing of Alien when she was only 4 years old. Since that date, it’s been a given that Julianne will watch and read anything that is horror related. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies from Sirens Call Publications and Open Casket Press, as well as The Sirens Call and various other websites showcasing short fiction. She is the author of the Days with the Undead series, which can be found on her website dayswiththeundead.com. Her first novel, Days with the Undead: Book One was published in early 2012 and is based on her popular web serial. Find her on Twitter @CdnZmbiRytr.