(Review #386)
The cover of Red by K.D. Miller gave me a YA dark adventure vibe so I was not expecting erotica with fantasy elements (curses, witches) being only secondary in the plot.
Then I showed the cover to my husband and he has guessed horror genre lol.
Anyways I gave this standalone retelling a 3.9/5 stars. It’s written in one point of view in first person narrative.
Here’s my thoughts while reading:
Red, AKA Sloane, (age 24) lives with a distant relative in a town that must give a sacrifice to the beast in the woods so it won’t bother their village. Her life is mundane as a hungry bartender, but she’s satisfied enough with the average life & her fling she has some midnight fun with.
However when a wretched man returns to town & attempts to rape her (trigger: shown on page in chapter 2) then she decides to flee to the woods and risk the beasts wrath than let the man touch her.
Isn’t it outrageous that a big, buff, attractive, man in the woods saves her from a wolf attack and gives her sanctuary in his manor, which is protected by the Beast? I mean… come on romantasy… get a little creative…
Sometimes it’s confusing in the formatting style for who is saying what so I need to reread.
The “falling fast” and immediately attracted to one another is a little annoying but in my own writing I’ve found that if you want any decent plot other than romance then slow burns need so many more pages…
I’m enjoying it much more after they transition to an attempted friendship state but there’s a bit too much summarizing of the weeks going by without experiencing it. Well, the treehouse scene was fabulous and the tracking to hunt scene was great. So maybe there is enough moments sprinkled in.
At the halfway point I’m loving the slow burn. There’s just enough depth to it where it doesn’t feel like only erotica. I still wish I knew more about the Beast, but the spicy scenes are doing their job and working well.
They have nothing to do but lay around, talk and have sex. Oh and neither of them have other options/competition. Of course they’re gonna be into each other.
His accent is a bit distracting how it’s written and not very attractive to me, honestly. Hearing it aloud and reading it feel different.
Chapter 25….Woah!
A good retelling mix with Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood. The second half was much better. I liked it more than I thought I would.