Wolves and Daggers: A Red Riding Hood Retelling (The Red Cape Society #1)
Author: Melanie Karsak
4.5 out of 5 stars
The Red Cape Society protects England from the hidden supernatural world. Two of their best agents are Quinn Briarwood and Clemeny Louvel. When the werewolf packs of London begin acting unusual and start abducting scientists and tinkers, Clemeny and Quinn are tasked with investigating. After Quinn is injured, Clemeny is ordered to work with Sir Richard Lionheart, a werewolf and former Knights Templar. Will they be successful in hunting down these werewolves and stopping their plans?
This book is well written and has some great world-building. The author gave information to the reader naturally. Taking place in a steampunk version of London, the story is nicely descriptive and helped draw me into the story. There was also a good amount of action as the agents fight against the werewolves.
While the plot is serious, there are moments of light-heartedness and humor. Clemeny has an entertaining conversation with her grandmother, who often says the phrase “oranges and lemons”, that includes her grandmother trying, very obviously, to match make. And a few times, the author slipped in lines, such as “what big eyes you have,” from the original story of Little Red Riding Hood to show their connection and helped add some humor to tense situations.
I liked Clemeny. She’s a good friend to her partner, Quinn, and his wife. She’s also a loving granddaughter, and she’s very brave. Early on in the story, Clemeny remembers the time she insisted on rescuing a bear from an underground fighting ring, which shows her compassion. Her past also makes her very intriguing. She was abandoned as a baby and adopted by her grandmother, so she doesn’t know her birth family. She can always tell when supernatural creatures are around and has a resistance to magic, which makes her, and me as the reader, wonder about her birth family and if they had similar abilities. I liked the other characters too.
The only minor negative is the way some info was repeated. For example, whenever Clemeny sees the symbol of the Rude Mechanicals, the group in charge of the Red Cape Society, the symbol is described every time and their position in charge of the Red Capes is mentioned.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book so I’m rating it 4.5 out of 5 stars. By the end of the story, changes are happening, like Clemeny is getting a new boss, which are a great hook to interest the reader in the sequel. So if you’re looking for a new fantasy series to get into and enjoy stories with connections to fairy tales, then you should read this book.
Price through Amazon Kindle: $0
Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Wolves-Daggers-Steampunk-Fairy-Riding-ebook/dp/B07C86DP9J
(I do not benefit from the use of this link.)