I got sucked into this immediately- I loved the slow burn and chemistry between Ruby and Rafe! I cannot wait to read more by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for the ecopy.

A Curse of Blood and Wolves was an interesting retelling of Red Riding Hood. I enjoyed the supernatural aspect and the spooky vibes this novel gave.
The characters I felt were well rounded and made the story come together.
I enjoyed this read, it felt different from other retellings.

This read is a fantasy one full of magical creatures fierce characters. I enjoyed the slightly spooky vibes and quirky characters as well as the budding romance between the two main characters. The action and magical creature politics added interesting elements which will have you craving to read more about this world and it’s characters.

The book follows the story of Ruby, a seemingly ordinary girl and Rafe, a werewolf. One day as Ruby is walking home through the woods she senses that someone is following her. Rafe sees Ruby walking home and decides to follow her home, intrigued by this human girl, having a desire to keep her safe. Their paths cross when Ruby is attacked by another werewolf and Rafe defends her, ultimately showing her what he is. The story then progresses with Ruby and Rafe working together to find out who is attacking her and why.

This isn't your typical werewolf story. It has some aspects of a regular werewolf story but with a twist, and it is loosely based on Little Red Riding Hood. What added to the story was the introduction of other mythical creatures like witches, nymphs, and seers.

Unfortunately, even though the story had unique aspects to it, the pacing of the plot was its downfall. There wasn't much buildup to Ruby and Rafe meeting. Then once they started investigating the werewolf attacks, the suspense seemed lacking. There was no true suspects or answers. Whether that was purposefully done for book 2, it made this book slightly boring. But I believe once the plot is more developed and written at a more concise pace, the rest of the series could have great potential.

Thank you to NetGally and HarperCollins UK for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a well rounded story with some great characters. I could have used a little more world building but overall fantastic! A modern retelling a Little Red Riding Hood with some of my favorite tropes!!

This is the first book that I have read of this author and I’m excited for book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an opportunity to read this as an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is tough to review - a red riding hood retelling sounded SO cool and I was really excited going in but unfortunately this fell flat for me and I won’t be continuing the series.

For as old as he is and to have experienced what he’s supposedly has, Rafe just seemed too immature for me. The biggest gripe was how easily he told her about himself and his backstory and how she was just like EH OK MAKES SENSE. I found the FMC to be a little annoying and the world building and character development to just be surface level.

This is a pulse-pounding reimagining of the classic little red riding hood tale that tells a beautiful dark love story, full of intrigue, mystique and romance. However, it falls short in terms of worldbuilding and character building, though the relationship remains strong. This would be good for fans of dark romance, or anyone who is looking to break into the fantasy genre.
2/5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley for gifting this arc for an honest review.

Rafe a werewolf meets Ruby in the woods as she is walking home from a work shift and he has this need to protect her. Ruby’s sister might be a seer and is having visions. Rafe realizes these sisters might be in harms way but he cannot leave them be alone unprotected against the supernatural. Rafe is your typical protective Alpha. This romance is a little bit on the slower side, perhaps a slow burn burn with spice. This is a paranormal romance with a fated mate trope. I would rate this a 3.5 out of 5- I would have liked the pace of the book to be faster I felt like the chemistry was far outpacing the storyline. Netgalley provided this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️

A Curse of Blood and Wolves
Melissa McTernan

“You take care of everyone. That’s clear right away.” He held her stare. “It’s time someone took care of you.”

This re-imagining of little red riding hood did it for me. I read it entirely in one night….. 😮‍💨🌶️ 🐺
Like COULD NOT put it down.

The cat and mouse between the two main characters had me hook, line, and sinker.

I’ll be over here waiting for book two!!!

I absolutely loved this modern take on the red riding hood story into a dark spicy romance with fated mates and werewolves! The story gripped me from the beginning and all the characters felt rea and so alive. Even though the world stayed small it felt so well developed and left me excited to see what’s to come. The cliff hanger at the end makes me looking forward to the next one!!

Disappointing. I somehow managed to finish reading this book even though I found it quite terrible to be honest, perhaps I was hopeful it would improve, however it never did. It lacked a well thought out plot, the writing itself felt very naive; I got the impression a lot of the story developed as an afterthought, the characters were one dimensional & it felt very repetitive. Another reviewer put it perfectly: A rinse & repeat plot of ‘oh I want you, but I can’t be with you, insert somewhat spicy scene, then rejection, then brooding and back to square one’.
1 Star.

I didn’t love this book. It was really hard for me to get through, there was never a time where I felt drawn into the story and I found myself trying to skip over the descriptions to get through the pages. It seemed like a lot of rinse and repeat plot, ‘oh I want you, but I can’t be with you, insert somewhat spicy scene, then rejection, then brooding and back to square one’. I felt like Lena was a one dimensional character and could have had so much more personality to her. Rafe made me infinitely irritated with his holding back and worries over Scarlet from over 100 years ago. I did finish the story, but it was so tough and not enjoyable.

The concept of this book intrigued me from the very first time I read the synopsis. It was so good, and had me wanting to not put it down. The urge to keep going page after page to find out what happens was so strong. Not to mention the cover is gorgeous as well.

I have never read a red riding hood retelling before, and this was incredible and steamy!

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book.

I never thought I would read a Red Riding Hood retelling as intense as this one! If you like:
🌶️Slow Burn
😈Villain Gets the Girl
🩷Fated Mates
🏰Retellings
💀Touch Her And You Die

...then you'll absolutely love this epic, spicy retelling of a favorite classic fairytale. Ruby walks through the woods one day, and senses something eerie. Someone is watching her. Turns out, she likes the thrill of the chase, and our Big Bad Wolf isn't as bad as he seems. Through immense world building and incredible descriptive language, watch as Melissa Mc Ternan turns a beloved fairytale into one of the best fated-mates stories told in recent years.

For some reason, I have always been a vampire girl and tend to favor vampire romance/smutty books—no, it did not stem from twilight series which I cannot stand, in all honesty.

However, I think I’m getting back into my werewolf romance, thanks to this book! Red riding hood retelling mixed with a steamy romance between the beautiful Ruby (Red Riding Hood) and the sexy Rafe (the Wolf).

The chemistry between these two is off the charts! From the beginning, the two of them know that there is something more between them other than pure infatuation or lust. Of course, the smut is a bit part of their relationship and the book but I love that we see so much cuteness between them, especially when Rafe treats her like she deserves to be treated after years of being labeled a freak or a weirdo.

One of the changes that Melissa McTernan made to the original story that I absolutely love is that Ruby lives in the woods with her older, very-ill sister Lena whom she is very close with and feels very protective of. Although I wish we could have seen more interaction between the sisters, I know that this is the first book in a series featuring the sisters as well as Rafe and his brothers so I have a feeling that we will get to see more of these complex sibling relationships.

I highly recommend you guys try out this stunning novel and I promise you that it won’t disappoint—especially with the comedic, just-as-sexy side-character of Theo, the younger half-brother to Rafe.

From werewolves to nymphs to witches, there is a lot about this novel to appeal to a lot of readers out there so make sure to try it out!

Note—I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It is now available to buy from Amazon and other vendors and trust me, you will not regret purchasing it!

🐺Spicy, easy read, paranormal romance🐺

Thank you One More Chapter/NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

A Curse of Blood and Wolves was a dark yet pleasant and easy read that any reader can happily get through in one sitting. I found the FMC to be very likeable and relatable (she's a goth girlie!) and enjoyed how she was written as being strong and a protector in her own right. The MMC however was a little annoying and leaned heavily into the self-sacrificing trope, constantly going back-and-forth between deciding to be with Ruby then deciding he needs to stay away. Although I found this to be repetitive, he's still a likeable character, particularly when he was with Ruby.

The spicy scenes are entertaining (2.5/5🌶️) although the build up at times was a little lacking, so I feel this book is more suited to readers looking for romance over smut. I thoroughly enjoyed the dual POV also as we got to explore the story from both MC's perspectives.

Although it generally lacks some depth, this book would be a great starting point for those looking to dip their toes into paranormal romance or anyone looking for an easy read. The book ends on a cliff hanger and I would definitely be up for reading the next one in the series.

A Curse of Blood and Wolves is a paranormal retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.

Ruby works at a bar and walks home through the woods every night. She feels eyes on her almost every time and once she confronts the stranger following her. But she doesn't fear when she sees him. Rafe is a werewolf, living alone, away from his pack. He keeps following Ruby trying to keep her safe, cause he feels drawn to her.

I love the premise of the story, it's a fun take on the fairytale, and I like the paranormal aspect. The writing is very easy to get into and read, the story really comes alive before your eyes and the characters feel real. But where I had trouble was the storyline, I just couldn't get into it., I kept putting it down.

finally finished this ARC and it was a fun werewolf romance. no complaints besides some minor grammatical errors, and the overall plot not going very far. however, this is the first in a series so that’s probably why.

the main character was fun and quirky, and she even surprised me a couple times by NOT doing the cliche shifter romance-runaway from him-thing.

rafe was hot and and he’s got some serious daddy issue which made his character more dimensional. if you like shifter romance books you should check this book out😊

3.5⭐️s / 2.5🌶️s

★★★.5/5

I wanted to love this book so bad. A dark red riding hood retelling sounded so good! If you know me, you know I’m a sucker for Fated Mates. I like Instalove if it’s not done correctly and cohesively. But this one wasn’t.

There was untapped potential throughout the story. I felt the characters weren’t fleshed out enough to actually care about them. And it became quite repetitive.

It wasn’t all bad though! I liked the pacing of the story and the suspense. Even with the repetitiveness, I still wanted to know about the wolf pacts and family dynamics. We were introduced to a few different paranormal types and I’d love to know how they tie into the story more.

It ends on a cliffhanger which I don’t mind at all. And I am definitely intrigued enough to read the next installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.

Anyone who likes a good retelling of Little Red Riding Hood this would be for you. I enjoyed this story with the steamy scenes and the story kept me turning pages. This is a quick fantasy read with strong romance. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc. 3.5 Stars for me.