Author: Lili St. Crow
Published: 25 February 2015
Source: Penguin Books Australia via Netgalley
Reviewed: Sapphireddragon
SapphiredDragon Rating: ****
My Review:
I really enjoyed this dark re-imagining of red riding hood. Like the first two books in the series, this is set in a world, similar to ours, darker and dangerous, a world where magic has been warped and no one is safe.
Ruby is rootkin, destined to be the clan mother, if she can curb the wildness she has always felt inside her. Growing up with her grandmother, she is determined to try and be what her grand mother and clan want which starts with meeting a stranger, kin from across the waste, who she just may have to marry or at least be betrothed to in the future.
But Conrad is not what he seems and Ruby finds herself biting off ore than she may be able to chew, especially when the murders start.
Ultimately this is a retelling of red riding hood so we know the general direction this is heading, however what Ms St Crow, excels at is her writing style that snares the reader into its rich, richl descriptions that paint the picture of the aforementioned dark and dangerous world and leading captivatingly through the tale so that it doesn't necessarily matter that we know where this is going as the journey and what conspires with in that captures and spellbinds the reader.
Ms St Crow really makes us feel what the Ruby is feeling. The increasing isolation from friends and family, the pressure of growing up and what being an adult in the kin entails and the fear that she will be a disappointment to those that matter and it is Ruby's journey that really makes this tale. The other characters are also richly drawn fro the malevolent Conrad, with his secrets, to the Hunter and Thorne, Ruby's 'cousins' and kin, Cami and Ellie, whom we know and have com to love from previous books as well as the other characters from their tales.However this really is Ruby's story and it is great to see the world from her point of view.
I have really enjoyed this series, in truth more than i expected to, from the outset but the fact that it is so deliciously dark is what sets this re-imagining apart from all the others. I didn't want to leave this world, I want to read more about Cami and Ellie and Ruby and all the other characters and am quite sad that there is no more.
A deliciously dark and compelling tale. I give this story 4 stars.
Sapphired Dragon xx
About The Book:
Kin (Tales of Beauty & Madness #3) by Lili St. CrowDreamily dark and spellbinding with a hint of horror, New York Times bestselling author Lili St. Crow stuns with this toothsome retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.
Full moon. Glowing eyes. Red lips. And such sharp, sharp teeth…
In the kin world, girls Ruby de Varre’s age are expected to play nice, get betrothed, and start a family—especially if they’re rootkin, and the fate of the clan is riding on them. But after a childhood of running wild in the woods, it’s hard to turn completely around and be demure. Even if your Gran is expecting it.
Then Conrad, handsome and charming, from a clan across the Waste, comes to New Haven to seal alliance between their two families. The sparks fly immediately. Conrad is smart, dominant, and downright gorgeous. Yet as Ruby gets to know him more, she starts to realize something's...off.
Then, the murders start. A killer stalks the city streets, and just when Ruby starts to suspect the unimaginable, she becomes the next target. Now Ruby’s about to find out that Conrad’s secrets go deeper than she ever could have guessed—and it’s up to Ruby to save her Gran, her clan, and maybe even herself....
Prepare to become thrillingly lost in the third, final, and simply mesmerizing installment of Lili St. Crow’s Tales of Beauty and Madness series.
