Fantastic Fairytales - Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

What's old is new again. You see it when you look at fashion, trends, even toys. Why not books? Before books, tales were told orally and Fairytales were one of the first forms of storytelling. Modified with each retelling, you may find one of your favorite fairytales is now modernized and has a special twist. Here's this month's favourite to add to your list.

Audio release: June 2010

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Audio provided by: library and Overdrive

Summary: Goodreads

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris-- the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead. Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax-- but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they've worked for. Jackson Pearce delivers a dark, taut fairy tale with heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love, and a romance that will leave readers breathless.

Another wonderful book to listen to. There's something about Southern accents on audio that are just very effective to listen to. They evoke an ambience that is somehow missing when reading from a page in a book.

Sisters Red is a modern interpretation - a very loose interpretation - of the fairytale, 'Little Red Riding Hood' This is definitely not one of the sanitised versions of the fairytale - not by a long shot. It is a gritty, violent and extremely bloody retelling that doesn't pull any punches, so if you are a bit squeamish - don't bother. That said, there is also a very sweet love story that is a complete contrast to all the blood and gore.

Scarlet and Rosie are sisters left orphaned by the 'Big Bad Wolf' or fenris, otherwise known as werewolf, and as a result have become hunters on a mission - to rid the world of fenris in any way they can. Usually with a hatchet on Scarlet's part and several knives on Rosie's. They are helped in their quest by fellow hunter and friend, Silas. Scarlet is such a tortured character that it was almost painful to listen sometimes. I would be sympathetic one minute and ready to shoot her the next. She is so focused on killing fenris that she doesn't know how to live a normal life. It was absolutely tragic. Rosie, the younger sister was lovely. She was a wonderful mix of strength and beauty and I loved her. Her relationship with Scarlet is very strong, but as the story progresses several things happen to test that.

Silas is a wonderful friend and great hunter, but he is not as focused on the hunt as the sisters. He is of course the love interest, but I'm not going to tell you which sister he ends up with. You'll have to read, or listen yourself. I really enjoyed the complexities of this novel and there is a huge twist that I did not see coming. Great fun to listen to.





Christinabean tells me that Ms Pearce has another book coming out in June 2011, called 'Sweetly' which will be a retelling of Hansel and Gretel. If it's even half as good as 'Sisters Red' cracked fairytale fans are in for a real sweet treat! (no pun intended). I did a bit of hunting and came up with this cover for 'Sweetly'. Isn't it superb?