Red’s Tangled Tale by Suzanna Lynn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Little Red Riding Hood is the little girl who skips through the woods to visit her grandmother and bring her treats, but who is also scared of the Big Bad Wolf, but this is not necessarily true, she actually lives with her grandmother and Red is the name the villagers who who shun her have given her because of her red cloak she wears and she isn’t scared of the Big Bad Wolf, she hunts him.

Red lives in Ravenmore in an area known as Timbergard by the Blakx forest where huge wolves prowl on a night, it is said to have been cursed by a sorceress and cut off from the rest of the kingdom by another who used a fire to burn a border, which it is said to be still burning, but out of all who live there, only Red’s father was brave enough to go hunting in those woods, now it is up to Red to do since he was killed by the wolves a year before. When Red kills a wolf the merchants are always trying to short change her from everything from the meat to the pelt, despite the fact that they would be cold and starving if she didn’t hunt, but when she brings the latest prepared kill, an old friend, Captain Hook helps her out with the pelt, but he has changed and Red is determined to find out why. After Hook tells Red his tale, she agrees to help him to through the forest and collect some of the ash he needs from the border, so they prepare what they need, albeit the pirates think that Red is just a girl, the Captain soon puts them right and they agree that they will meet at Red’s grandmother’s house and set off at first light the next day

As Red and the pirates set off, much to the dismay of her grandmother, Red explains that she will lead the way and that they must listen to her, but the pirates aren’t used to long treks in the forest and after a few hours, they stop to eat, drink and rest, this is were one of the pirates sees his first wolf print and the size of it scares him. Later on, as it starts to get dark, Red insists that they find somewhere to camp for the night, the best place she finds is a cave at the source of the river, it means they have to wade through the cold water to it, but it will be safe and somewhere they can light a fire to dry off. The next day the pirates start to complain about being tired and hungry, so they rest before they get the ash, however, because of this, they are still a ways away from the cave when night starts to fall and the wolves start to hunt them, so Red has to make a drastic decision and she decides to run and lead the wolves away from the pirates. As she does it, she falls down a hill and when she gets to the bottom, she sees a white wolf chasing her, it reminds her of the one who chased her out of the woods the night of her father’s death, but soon she sees a place ahead of her which is far from ordinary, but it is something which could save her life.

Will Red be able to lead the wolves away from the pirates and will this mysterious place be the saving grace she hopes it is, or will there be something inside which could spell the end of her existence? This is a story of secrets, revelations, bravery and magic, it is another untold story which will change your view of Red and fairy tales in general while leaving you wanting more.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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