3.75 stars

I'm not usually a western reader, but if there's a twist to it, then I can get behind a good story. This had some definite creepy vibes, like fanatical religious leaders and mysterious sounds at night. I also enjoyed the main character as a strong girl, forced to pretend to be a boy so she doesn't lose her family's land.

The pacing was slower than I liked, taking a long time to get to the horror aspects. I wanted more strange happenings, more close calls, more edge-of-your-seat action. Overall, it was still an interesting read with plenty of side characters to help bring the story to life.

Also, if you're an audiobook listener, the narrator is Emily Woo Zeller and you can never go wrong there!

<i>I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the copy.</i>

I didn't love the way this book was written and had a hard time getting into the story. It was a slog to get throught even though it was a very interesting premise.

2.5 rounded to 3
"𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞, 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐱, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝."

Honestly? I am kind of disappointed with this one. I know that it's labeled as a YA horror book, but it comes off as magical realism with murder. Just because it's for young adults does not mean it can't have truly scary elements. In addition to that, there was absolutely no need for the romance arc (if you could call it that) that just randomly happens about 60% through. It could've been left as a found family trope and I would have had a much better time reading. I think had this been advertised correctly, I would have enjoyed it more. All that being said, I think that McBride's idea here was somewhat unique... unfortunately for me it didn't seem to be as fleshed out as I had hoped it would be.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Red in Tooth and Claw by Lish McBride in exchange for an honest review. This book had a great old Western/fantasy feel. I really enjoyed it and the characters. I love it when fantasy books can make you feel for the characters and want to be with them and adventure with them. This book was able to accomplish that.

Faolin is now an orphan. However, because she is not yet 18 and because the town thinks she is a boy, she is sent out to a remote fort for outcasts. Once she gets there, she stumbles across a body that has been attacked by something that Is clearly not human. She must now not only survive this fort but also this creature.

I thought this concept was really interesting. I liked the setting of the kind of alternate western. I do think though it was pretty slow, especially for the setting and the description. A spooky western to me makes me feel like I should be riveted and not want to put it down. I also think after reading this that horror is not quite the best genre. There were some elements of that, but I don't think it really felt like a horror novel.

I honestly don't know what's been going on this book.
Just seems like nothing really happens. Feels like the main character kind of joins a cult

I had an eARC of this book on NetGalley but I ended up listening to the finished copy on audiobook. I had a hard time getting into this story. It just didn’t hold my interest. I think I was hoping for more of a horror story, and instead, this is more of a fantasy/mystery. The female main character seemed very immature and annoying. There was an instalove romance between her and another character that got on my nerves. I thought the story was too long and boring. I did like the mystery aspect and I thought the setting was interesting, but overall this book just wasn’t for me.

This was such a unique story and one I feel like I haven’t read before. It was very atmospheric and strange but I really enjoyed it. The pacing was a bit slow and I do feel like it took me a bit to truly get into the story but overall it was so creative and well put together.

This book was hit and miss for me. This is through no fault of the author. I think YA novels just don’t vibe with me well anymore. I did enjoy the story at times but I was hoping for more horror. There were times when I thought the story was a little slow but then it would pick back up. Overall I did like the book enough to finish it and I would be open to reading more from this author.

Original yet quite strange. I loved the vibes in this!

The story follows Faolan Kelly, a young woman torn between independence and survival in a world determined to control her every move. After losing her grandfather and with no family left, she is cast out by the local authorities, who believe she isn’t mature enough to manage the homestead—especially since they think she’s a “young man,” as her grandfather had led everyone to believe. When they send her off to the mysterious Settlement, a fort for social outcasts, things take a dark and suspenseful turn.

Faolan’s struggle to survive in the eerie Settlement, led by the enigmatic Gideon Dillard, is a masterclass in building suspense and intrigue. The author creates a chilling atmosphere with the Settlement’s strange inhabitants, Dillard’s unsettling influence, and the eerie sounds echoing through the night. You’ll find yourself right alongside Faolan, desperate for answers. When the first body is discovered, torn apart by something inhuman, the tension ratchets up. The stakes are life-or-death as Faolan races to uncover what—or who—is hunting the Settlement’s residents.

I loved the cast of characters, while there are many, the focus remains on a small core group, with Faolan at the center. I did enjoy getting to know everyone!

I should have dnf'd this, but I kept thinking it was going to get better. The plot was all over the place and hardly made and sense.

I can't say that I've read a paranormal western before, but I have now. McBride does a good job of capturing that western feel from the start when Faolan is forced to become a ward of a mysterious settlement after their grandfather's death because they are not yet 18 and the town leaders want the grandfather's land. But Faolan has the deed secreted away. They also have a bigger secret. Everyone knows Faolan as a boy, but she's really a girl, hidden by her grandfather to avoid her being taken away and married off against her will.

The Settlement is quite cult-y, and Faolan is doing her best to get along and get through until she can find a way to escape and claim her grandfather's land. But something weird is going on, complete with a mysterious creature that roams outside the fence at night.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I quite liked it. It took me a little bit of time to get into it, and sometimes I had trouble telling the different settlement members apart, but once the story started moving I had a hard time putting it down.

This is not what I was expecting at all. The synopsis made it sound like it would contain a lot of horror/terror, but there really wasn't. I wouldn't classify this as horror; paranormal yes, but there is not enough here that I feel it qualifies as horror. There is an uneasy feeling throughout the book, and unsettling moments, but not as much as I expected.

I do think that the characters really helped this along. Faolan is a great main character, and all the side characters helped bring more to the story. I wish there had been more world building though. I knew this was supposed to take place in some sort of Western era, but it was hard to picture at times. There wasn't a lot of description on the town Faolan came from, or much about her land. The Settlement did have a little more description to it, but not enough to really feel satisfying. And we knew the Rovers were a wandering tribe, but not much else. Having even a little more in the descriptions and world-building would have helped a lot, especially when it came to HisBen and the Shining God. I'm guessing it was a cult? Or some dark religion? I don't really know. There wasn't enough information.

This isn't a bad book. It had a lot of potential, but fell short in the execution.

Red in Tooth and Claw is a dark and gripping YA Western fantasy that blends monsters, secrets, and survival in a harsh, blood-soaked frontier.

Faolan Kelly is thrown into a deadly world when her grandfather dies, leaving her vulnerable and alone. Disguised as a young man to survive, she’s forced to relocate to a remote settlement full of strange noises, mysterious wealth, and even darker creatures lurking in the shadows. As people start turning up dead, Faolan must uncover the truth before she becomes the next victim.

Lish McBride crafts a chilling, atmospheric novel full of monsters, mystery, and a heroine who must fight for her life in a brutal world. If you love gritty, eerie Westerns with a supernatural twist, Red in Tooth and Claw will keep you hooked.

more fantasy western than horror, red in tooth and claw centers on a settlement for orphans and wayward youth. following the death of her last living relative, faolan is sent away to join this settlement. she is only a few months away from adulthood and anticipates a short stay before she can return home to claim her grandfather’s homestead, but it quickly becomes clear that something evil lurks beneath the settlement’s veneer of safety and civility.

i quite enjoyed the western vibes here but i can’t say it was a particularly memorable read for me. the magic system was too vague and the commentary was a little heavy-handed for my tastes (yes, even by YA standards). the romance was cute but the ending felt rushed and as a result, unearned—i honestly don’t even think the romance was necessary? this book has a serious case of “pair the spares” and i wish some of that time had been spent on world building instead. that could have bumped this book from “generic YA that i won’t remember three months from now” to something more unique.

Not the book I was expecting, but one I certainly enjoyed once my expectations were put aside. While the nearly-Western setting is charming, the real draw is watching the prickly Faolan open up and form bonds with the other people caught in the Settlement’s shadow.

I don’t think I’d classify this as a true horror but more of a combination of several genres. The magical realism aspect was unexpected but it definitely worked. It was just the right mix of things tossed together – I loved it! I highlighted so, so many sections of this story it was difficult to decide which ones to share.

"A wildcat never pretends that it wouldn’t eat you.

People lied like the sun shone."

Faolan’s character hit home with me and if I were in her era, I could see us sharing a lot of similarities. Her overcoming her own shortcomings to build a foundation family was a delight. They rounded her character and complemented each other very well.

"He’d worn me down like a long spring rain hitting parched dust, relentless and inevitable, but soaking into the dirt, bringing forth green and budding things. Something that rearranged the very configuration of the soil at your feet, sowing the promise of growth and good harvest. In a way that didn’t diminish but expanded."

I would highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy frontier type books (not cowboy western), spooky forest vibes, and found family. I would like to thank Penguin Teen & Lish McBride for the opportunity to read this gifted copy. I’ve found a whole new genre type to watch out for.

I recieved a copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was hit and miss for me. I really loved the depiction of Faolan and I loved how the characters were depicted in general but the plot fell flat for me about half way through the book. I think partially I had really high expectations for the book from the awesome beginning and then it didn't deliver. I was hoping for more T. Kingfisher and this wasn't that.

This is a terrific Western/dystopia/werewolf book! A young woman living in a fraught world where power is concentrated in men, is sent to a brutal outpost where colonizers and religious despots have created a system of exploitation and abuse. POsing as a man for her own safety, Faolan uncovers the truths of the place, including the creatures that attack it. There's a lot of ingenuity on her part, and courage, and persistence, as well as some romance and friends. The world-building is excellent and the novel is well-paced. I know this is one I'll be re-reading.

Red in Tooth and Claw sets up a unique premise. Mysterious deaths, western like horror, which increased the creepy isolated vibes. I enjoyed Faolan as a character, she was sharp and dynamic. However, throughout there were parts that were confusing and the world building was murky. I don’t know that I would classify this as a horror, though it works as a mysterious fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.