A Curse of Blood and Wolves is for fans of Red Riding Hood who want a steamy shifter story. It’s a quick, spicy read and the start of a series if you love the world! Red Riding Hood is sometimes not my thing, but this took me back to my paranormal romance days! Keep reading this book review of A Curse of Blood and Wolves for my full thoughts.
Summary
Is it possible to be drawn to someone you’ve never met? When Ruby feels the eyes of a stranger in the woods, she knows she should be scared, that she should run away, but she can’t. Instead, she feels a thrill, feels drawn to this stranger who follows her in the woods. Yearns for his eyes on her every night as she walks home, hoping to hear the crunch of leaves under his feet that signals he’s there. Will he ever reveal himself? After all, fate doesn’t make mistakes . . .
Review
A Curse of Blood and Wolves needs to be dual perspective, because how else are we going to justify Rafe’s obsession with Ruby? All in all, this one felt quick paced and at the risk of feeling just a tad too cliche? So many pieces felt a bit recycled, which might be the dangers of a Red Riding Hood retelling meets mates and certain shifter tropes? That being said, it feels very par for the course in terms of shifter paranormal romance, so it’s a bit of a pro and con?
I don’t know if I’m fully over the whole stalking thing even if it’s because you’re mates? But that trope is rarely ever for me, it’s honestly only 10% of the time something I can get behind. And in terms of pacing, all of A Curse of Blood and Wolves felt a bit too quick. We were just stalking someone for goodness sakes?! And now he’s on your couch? We love a protective helpful man – especially when the bar is so low – but A Curse of Blood and Wolves was a bit too bare boned for me.
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Maybe a sequel would allow the series and Ruby and Rafe to stretch their wings into more space than the traditional Red Riding Hood framework. There’s only so many times I can explore the whole “I believe I’m a monster, but could you love me even if I was” and combined with the pacing, it just felt a bit like whiplash? I enjoyed the theme of finding someone who doesn’t make Rafe choose between wolf or human though? In general, A Curse of Blood and Wolves was a bit too quick, and convenient, for me to fall for it.
But it did make me nostalgic for my mass market paperbacks I read as a teen. Find A Curse of Blood and Wolves on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.