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Elemental Masters #9
Blood Red
The ninth novel in Mercedes Lackey's magical Elemental Masters series reimagines the fairy tale Red Riding Hood in a richly-detailed alternate Victorian worldRosamund is an Earth Master in the Schwarzwald, the ancient Black Forest of Germany. Since the age of ten, she has lived with her teacher, the Hunt Master and Earth Magician of the Schwarzwald Foresters, a man she calls “Papa.” Her adoptive Papa rescued her after her original Earth Master teacher, an old woman who lived alone in a small cottage in the forest, was brutally murdered by werewolves. Rosa herself barely escaped, and this terrifying incident molded the course of her future. For like her fellow Earth Masters of the Schwarzwald Lodge, Rosa is not a healer. Instead, her talents lead her on the more violent path of protection and defense— “cleansing” the Earth and protecting its gentle fae creatures from those evil beings who seek to do them harm. And so Rosa becomes the first woman Hunt Master and the scourge of evil creatures, with a deadly specialty in werewolves and all shapeshifters. While visiting with a Fire Master—a friend of her mentor from the Schwarzwald Lodge— Rosa meets a pair of Elemental Magicians from Hungary who have come looking for help. They suspect that there is a dark power responsible for a string of murders happening in the remote countryside of Transylvania, but they have no proof. Rosa agrees to help them, but there is a one of the two men asking for aid is a hereditary werewolf. Rosa has been taught that there are three kinds of werewolves. There are those, like the one that had murdered her teacher, who transform themselves by use of dark magic, and also those who have been infected by the bite of these magical werewolves—these poor victims have no control over their transformative powers. Yet, there is a third those who have been born with the ability to transform at will. Some insist that certain of these hereditary werewolves are benign. But Rosa has never encountered a benign werewolf! Can she trust this Hungarian werewolf? Or is the Hunter destined to become the Hunted?
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
159 people are currently reading
2185 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
432 books9,562 followersMercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 335 reviews
August 11, 2014
DNF page 235 of 312
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters? No, it's 'Little Red Riding Hood: Werewolf Hunter.'
Honestly, they're both ideas with plenty of potential. But I admit that I fell asleep on the movie, and well, Mercedes Lackey phoned this one in. I really liked her other recent release (House of the Four Winds) but this book completely lacks any kind of plot structure or dramatic tension. It doesn't even have much action... it's a lot of blah blah blah about what people wore, ate, etc.
Basically, Mary Sue, I mean Rosa, aka Little Red Riding Hood, discovers her Earth Magic, is brought into a protective supernatural Brotherhood, and goes around kicking the ass of the paranormal baddies. When she's not having dinner, or learning how to apply makeup, or taking a train...
And at this point, I realized that even Lackey clearly hadn't read back her own work:
page 155:
"What becomes of your clothing? When you change, I mean?"... "You shift nude!" she chortled.
..."Well... er...yes... Wolves don't wear clothing after all."... "If we are going somewhere, we carry a change of clothing in a harness on our back."
...
"But what if you... want to chase rabbits or something?"...
"Unless we absolutely must, we do not hunt for game...That is not advised. The more we act like wolves...the harder it is to remain human within the wolf. Hunting - and especially killing - these evoke particularly powerful instincts. So we don't risk it. I had money with me when I ran here. When I got hungry, I shifted, found an inn, and ate like a civilized man."
OK, got that?
page 180 (same two characters, shortly afterwards):
"You never did tell me... what happens to your clothing when you change?"
"...I don't wear any... I bundle the clothing up and strap it to a harness... with the bundle on my back."
page 182 (still the same two characters, same conversation):
"It's easy hunting, with a wolf's instincts and a man's brain, and obviously, once I catch my dinner, I eat it right there with no fuss."
Argh.
OK, I didn't hate this book. It's very... good-natured and congenial.
But I'm not going to finish it, either.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters? No, it's 'Little Red Riding Hood: Werewolf Hunter.'
Honestly, they're both ideas with plenty of potential. But I admit that I fell asleep on the movie, and well, Mercedes Lackey phoned this one in. I really liked her other recent release (House of the Four Winds) but this book completely lacks any kind of plot structure or dramatic tension. It doesn't even have much action... it's a lot of blah blah blah about what people wore, ate, etc.
Basically, Mary Sue, I mean Rosa, aka Little Red Riding Hood, discovers her Earth Magic, is brought into a protective supernatural Brotherhood, and goes around kicking the ass of the paranormal baddies. When she's not having dinner, or learning how to apply makeup, or taking a train...
And at this point, I realized that even Lackey clearly hadn't read back her own work:
page 155:
"What becomes of your clothing? When you change, I mean?"... "You shift nude!" she chortled.
..."Well... er...yes... Wolves don't wear clothing after all."... "If we are going somewhere, we carry a change of clothing in a harness on our back."
...
"But what if you... want to chase rabbits or something?"...
"Unless we absolutely must, we do not hunt for game...That is not advised. The more we act like wolves...the harder it is to remain human within the wolf. Hunting - and especially killing - these evoke particularly powerful instincts. So we don't risk it. I had money with me when I ran here. When I got hungry, I shifted, found an inn, and ate like a civilized man."
OK, got that?
page 180 (same two characters, shortly afterwards):
"You never did tell me... what happens to your clothing when you change?"
"...I don't wear any... I bundle the clothing up and strap it to a harness... with the bundle on my back."
page 182 (still the same two characters, same conversation):
"It's easy hunting, with a wolf's instincts and a man's brain, and obviously, once I catch my dinner, I eat it right there with no fuss."
Argh.
OK, I didn't hate this book. It's very... good-natured and congenial.
But I'm not going to finish it, either.
September 29, 2014
The main character, Rosa-not-Mary-Sue, is awesome at everything, most especially magic and hand-to-hand combat.
Both activities burn a lot of calories, which is lucky, because when she’s not being 100% awesome with her ability to do anything, especially take down monsters, she’s constantly eating the dense cuisine of Eastern Europe.
But using magic and hunting down bad guys quickly burns up what she eats, so she has no trouble fitting into her either her fighting-time leather corset or party-time silk corset.
She snacks and is awesome for about ¾ of the book, then there is an actual plot in the last 4th which borrows a lot from Game of Thrones north-of-the-Wall parts.
Oh well. Could have been worse – but could have been a lot better.
February 27, 2017
Another in the Elemental Masters series. The first chapter was included in the Elementary collection.
Rosa is an Earth Master and Hunt Master. Having been rescued from a half-form werewolf as a young girl, she was recruited into a brotherhood of forester magicians, who protect those who live in, near, or travel through their forest.
She has traveled to Transylvania, to deal with a vampire preying on small villages with one of her fellow hunters. He decides to stay and she travels back. On her way, the train is forced to a stop by a massive tree which has been hit by lightning at its base to fall across the tracks. Working with a water mage, she kills a rogue air magician. On arriving in a city, she is invited to the local White Lodge and encounters the water mage again, who had been on a mission for the head of the lodge. Graf, the lodge master, takes her under his wing, educating her so that she can be blend in society as needed.
While on the estate, another attack - it turns out the air magician had a twin sister, and Rosa fights the possessed sister, rescued by water elementals.
Two Romanians come to the estate, as something has been preying on outlying villages for many decades, with a person disappearing every week. Rosa agrees to accompany them.
The one frustration with the series is that there are these really intricate stories, backgrounds, but we only get one novel of each. Where does Rosa go after? Does she bump into the cousins again?
Rosa is an Earth Master and Hunt Master. Having been rescued from a half-form werewolf as a young girl, she was recruited into a brotherhood of forester magicians, who protect those who live in, near, or travel through their forest.
She has traveled to Transylvania, to deal with a vampire preying on small villages with one of her fellow hunters. He decides to stay and she travels back. On her way, the train is forced to a stop by a massive tree which has been hit by lightning at its base to fall across the tracks. Working with a water mage, she kills a rogue air magician. On arriving in a city, she is invited to the local White Lodge and encounters the water mage again, who had been on a mission for the head of the lodge. Graf, the lodge master, takes her under his wing, educating her so that she can be blend in society as needed.
While on the estate, another attack - it turns out the air magician had a twin sister, and Rosa fights the possessed sister, rescued by water elementals.
Two Romanians come to the estate, as something has been preying on outlying villages for many decades, with a person disappearing every week. Rosa agrees to accompany them.
The one frustration with the series is that there are these really intricate stories, backgrounds, but we only get one novel of each. Where does Rosa go after? Does she bump into the cousins again?
August 11, 2015
I found this to be a good, refreshing entry in Lackey's long-running Elemental Masters series. Like all of Lackey's books, this series is "hit or miss." I can't quite decide yet if this book was a strong "hit" for me, but it felt a little too slow. It takes a long while for the major plot to get started, but all of the character building that comes before it is also necessary. I honestly didn't know where the novel was going to go in several places. Since Lackey is occasionally terribly predictable, that helped to elevate this novel among her other works.
I am going to have to think about this book carefully and mull it over before I can give it a full review.
One of the things that I liked most about this book was rather subtle: the attention to travel details. As anyone who has read Dracula knows, the characters pay constant attention to the train schedule, to the path they will take, and the difficulty of getting where they need to go. If I didn't know what Lackey was doing by focusing on the travel details so extensively, I might have found it annoying. Since I did know, I found it charming.
I am going to have to think about this book carefully and mull it over before I can give it a full review.
One of the things that I liked most about this book was rather subtle: the attention to travel details. As anyone who has read Dracula knows, the characters pay constant attention to the train schedule, to the path they will take, and the difficulty of getting where they need to go. If I didn't know what Lackey was doing by focusing on the travel details so extensively, I might have found it annoying. Since I did know, I found it charming.
June 7, 2014
Turns out Little Red Riding Hood was an Elemental Earth Master, who managed to call out to other Masters who came and rescued her and, in turn, taught her how to hunt the bogeyman. Now, Rosa leads hunts herself, against the evil creatures. She has been called to Romania to kill a vampire and also finds a werewolf who is unlike any she has ever seen. After dispatching the, she returns to Germany and meets the Master of the White Lodge who asks her to join his group. Her first task is to travel back to Romania in the company of an hereditary werewolf and another Earth Master to slay another vile creature. But, what they find there is different than anything any of them has ever dealt with before. A tad too clichéd and predictable. Not as good as last year's entry in the series.
Read
July 19, 2024Preface: I love most of this series. But I'm the weird fantasy reader who doesn't enjoy drawn-out, grimdark battle scenes or academy-type stories. In this story, you get both. The major battles are pure horror, and happen only at the beginning and at the end. But the bulk of the book felt to me like a sort of My Fair Lady/tutelage story with lots of luxury train rides and splendid clothes and food described in loving detail. And the Hunt Master being turned into a lady passes every test and enjoys every minute of the training. So not my favorite story.
October 18, 2024
DNF- page 189
September 29, 2014
Blood Red has good bones. That is to say, it has a decent plot, fairly good characters, and a nice original setting. What it suffers from is a distinct overabundance of narration. WAY TOO MUCH explaining, over-analyzing, navel-gazing, dead-horse beating, info-dumping, you name it, this book has it. Which is too bad, because premise-wise this was one of the better Elemental series entries lately.
If you trimmed out all the endless explanations of what every character had done, was doing, and was going to do, this book would be down to novella-length. A shame, since I remember Mercedes Lackey's older books fondly. Were they always like this, and I just never noticed? It kinda bums me out.
There was also a recurrent grammatical error that apparently no one noticed: the lack of a comma after introductory words. Ex: 'Well I've been there before.' 'Well I read about that in a book.' However, this error is for the editors to correct, not Ms. Lackey.
I'll keep trying to read these, but with sinking heart AND expectations.
If you trimmed out all the endless explanations of what every character had done, was doing, and was going to do, this book would be down to novella-length. A shame, since I remember Mercedes Lackey's older books fondly. Were they always like this, and I just never noticed? It kinda bums me out.
There was also a recurrent grammatical error that apparently no one noticed: the lack of a comma after introductory words. Ex: 'Well I've been there before.' 'Well I read about that in a book.' However, this error is for the editors to correct, not Ms. Lackey.
I'll keep trying to read these, but with sinking heart AND expectations.
August 8, 2015
Blood Red is probably my second favorite book in the Elemental Masters series so far (second only to Phoenix and Ashes). Little Red Riding Hood grows up and hunts werewolves (and the occasional vampir) in Transylvania and Romania. There is also (of course) a romantic element, but the book ends with
Somewhat predictable at times, and I would also mention a trigger warning as rape and incest are mentioned (they are presumed to have happened off screen to non-major characters), but overall I quite enjoyed the book. It was nice to read about a female Earth Master whose job is cleansing, not healing (as she puts it).
Recommended to fellow fans of fairy tale retellings.
Somewhat predictable at times, and I would also mention a trigger warning as rape and incest are mentioned (they are presumed to have happened off screen to non-major characters), but overall I quite enjoyed the book. It was nice to read about a female Earth Master whose job is cleansing, not healing (as she puts it).
Recommended to fellow fans of fairy tale retellings.
March 19, 2015
I liked this retelling of Red Riding Hood. I believe it's just as dark as the original. Add some magic and you have this book.
December 1, 2021
Not quite as good as the others I've read in this series, and not quite as preachy, but still worth a read. VERY bloody battle scenes.
July 17, 2023
I think my disappointment with this book ultimately stems from one main issue in writing this: laziness. So much of this book shows how incredibly lazy this book is. Honestly, I ought to expect it at this point. I keep thinking this series will turn back to the amazing tale that was The Serpent's Shadow but it fell into mediocrity soon after that book and has never really found it's footing again. It's incredibly disappointing. There are so many interesting things that could be done in this world of strong elemental magic, and yet we get none of that.
What we did get is a mild Red Riding Hood retelling (the actual retelling part is just the prologue), in which Red grows up to be a Hunt Master of the Schwarzwald. Most of the story follows our Red (named Rosa) as she engages in success after success, vanquishing shapeshifters and vampires and basically being the most powerful and most intelligent and most interesting person in all of Central and Eastern Europe. Seriously, she can do no wrong. Any potential foe she runs into barely lasts a few pages. She is a very "not like other girls" type woman, engages in a ton of patriarchal and sexist thinking (e.g. "I'm not affected by this particular elemental because I am a woman and everyone knows no woman would ever be lured in" or "the old men came to play chess this morning but the old women wouldn't come until later as they still had to take care of the home"). (Also we got the horrible "every wolf pack is lead by a male alpha and everyone follows them or is kicked out" trope again).
Honestly, this kind of writing wouldn't even bother me so much if Rosa didn't feel so entitled to her own privilege as a "not like other girls" type woman. It's all good and well for her to wear pants and not have to worry about marriage and what people might think but every other woman should adhere to those norms. At least that is the impression I got while reading this.
Rosa never changes from her childhood to the end of the book. Apparently she hates shifters a bit less (but only the "good" kind she personally met). The other characters are all just hollow shells.
Ultimately the plot was lazy and barely had any real connection between section, the characters were hollow lazy shells (including our protagonist), and the whole novel leans on stereotypes and assumptions that have been proven false in order to deliver us a lazy hollow world that ultimately felt like Lackey had a publication deadline to meet rather than giving us further explorations of this magical world.
I am disappointed and annoyed and I hope that the latest Valdemar griffon book she's written is better than this drivel.
What we did get is a mild Red Riding Hood retelling (the actual retelling part is just the prologue), in which Red grows up to be a Hunt Master of the Schwarzwald. Most of the story follows our Red (named Rosa) as she engages in success after success, vanquishing shapeshifters and vampires and basically being the most powerful and most intelligent and most interesting person in all of Central and Eastern Europe. Seriously, she can do no wrong. Any potential foe she runs into barely lasts a few pages. She is a very "not like other girls" type woman, engages in a ton of patriarchal and sexist thinking (e.g. "I'm not affected by this particular elemental because I am a woman and everyone knows no woman would ever be lured in" or "the old men came to play chess this morning but the old women wouldn't come until later as they still had to take care of the home"). (Also we got the horrible "every wolf pack is lead by a male alpha and everyone follows them or is kicked out" trope again).
Honestly, this kind of writing wouldn't even bother me so much if Rosa didn't feel so entitled to her own privilege as a "not like other girls" type woman. It's all good and well for her to wear pants and not have to worry about marriage and what people might think but every other woman should adhere to those norms. At least that is the impression I got while reading this.
Rosa never changes from her childhood to the end of the book. Apparently she hates shifters a bit less (but only the "good" kind she personally met). The other characters are all just hollow shells.
Ultimately the plot was lazy and barely had any real connection between section, the characters were hollow lazy shells (including our protagonist), and the whole novel leans on stereotypes and assumptions that have been proven false in order to deliver us a lazy hollow world that ultimately felt like Lackey had a publication deadline to meet rather than giving us further explorations of this magical world.
I am disappointed and annoyed and I hope that the latest Valdemar griffon book she's written is better than this drivel.
March 8, 2022
Triumphant Hunt Mistress
Blood Red is a masterful work, set in the Black Forests of Germany and the mysterious mountains of Transylvania. All of the smells of peasant and city life arise from the pages of the book.
Rosamond Von Schwartvard, a young woman raised in the Black Forest, discovers herself to be an Earth Elemental Master upon being attacked at a young age.
Rosa, as she comes to be known as, is raised by the Brotherhood of the forest. She becomes a very powerful Master, and the first female leader of the Hunt.
As Rosa's mentor, Graf, sees her immense potential, she is introduced to a Fire Master who trains her in the finer arts of fitting into society and strengthens her mastery of her Earth Magic.
From this point on, Rosa's life changes dramatically. All of her skills are tested as she faces evil in it's most horrifying form. Thundering to the conclusion of the book, unsure of Rosa's survival, you'll bite off every fingernail.
Blood Red is a masterful work, set in the Black Forests of Germany and the mysterious mountains of Transylvania. All of the smells of peasant and city life arise from the pages of the book.
Rosamond Von Schwartvard, a young woman raised in the Black Forest, discovers herself to be an Earth Elemental Master upon being attacked at a young age.
Rosa, as she comes to be known as, is raised by the Brotherhood of the forest. She becomes a very powerful Master, and the first female leader of the Hunt.
As Rosa's mentor, Graf, sees her immense potential, she is introduced to a Fire Master who trains her in the finer arts of fitting into society and strengthens her mastery of her Earth Magic.
From this point on, Rosa's life changes dramatically. All of her skills are tested as she faces evil in it's most horrifying form. Thundering to the conclusion of the book, unsure of Rosa's survival, you'll bite off every fingernail.
Read
June 18, 2014I don't use star ratings, so please read my review!
(Description nicked from B&N.com.)
“Rosamund is an Earth Master in the Schwarzwald, the ancient Black Forest of Germany. Since the age of ten, she has lived with her teacher, the Hunt Master and Earth Magician of the Schwarzwald Foresters, a man she calls “Papa.” Her adoptive Papa rescued her after her original Earth Master teacher, an old woman who lived alone in a small cottage in the forest, was brutally murdered by werewolves. Rosa herself barely escaped, and this terrifying incident molded the course of her future.
For like her fellow Earth Masters of the Schwarzwald Lodge, Rosa is not a healer. Instead, her talents lead her on the more violent path of protection and defense— “cleansing” the Earth and protecting its gentle fae creatures from those evil beings who seek to do them harm.
And so Rosa becomes the first woman Hunt Master and the scourge of evil creatures, with a deadly specialty in werewolves and all shape¬shifters.
While visiting with a Fire Master—a friend of her mentor from the Schwarzwald Lodge— Rosa meets a pair of Elemental Magicians from Hungary who have come looking for help. They suspect that there is a dark power responsible for a string of murders happening in the remote countryside of Transylvania, but they have no proof. Rosa agrees to help them, but there is a catch: one of the two men asking for aid is a hereditary werewolf.”
Well, I’m happy to see that the Elemental Masters series has bounced back after a couple of sub-par books. It’s not that the writing has been bad, it’s just that the plots have been a bit, shall we say, meandering. With Blood Red, Lackey has done something a bit different: the original fairy tale, “Little Red Riding Hood”, is merely the jumping-off point to the novel. It’s an origin story for the main character, if you will. By establishing Rosa’s genesis in the prologue, the author is then free to spin her tale from there, far beyond the restrictions of the classic story.
Another welcome change is the setting. Most novels in this series take place in cities, or at least in more populated areas. The only real exception was Home From the Sea, which was one of those entries in which nothing really happened. There’s nothing wrong with that, and Lackey certainly changed things up by putting her characters in theaters and London backalleys. This time, our main character does spend some time traveling through cities, but ultimately ends up in the forests of Eastern Europe.
And that’s another change that I approve of: this story has moved beyond the bounds of Western Europe for what I think is the first time. It puts the story squarely into the lands that spawned vampire mythology and the places where werewolves were said to roam. It gives the characters the opportunity to encounter foreign cultures and unfamiliar customs and superstitions. I have no clue about the accuracy of anything written about in the book, but it was nice to see something different.
Rosa herself is one of the stronger female heroines in this series. She defiantly refuses to conform to gender norms and is eventually appointed a Hunt Master, and this is a time where a woman wielding a weapon would send most people into apoplectic shock. She habitually wears breeches and boots, has no trouble in the wilderness, and has earned the respect of men for whom a competent female hunter is something like a unicorn—heard of but never seen. Refreshingly, there’s really no romance at hand either. Oh, Rosa occasionally has thoughts like “Wow, that guy is cute!” or “Dresses aren’t my thing, but this is actually kind of nice”, but they’re less rather than more prevalent. I like Rosa just as she is—no nonsense and tough.
With its strong female main character and some welcome deviations from other books in the series, Blood Red is a fairy tale adaptation that I can heartily recommend. Lackey seems to have gotten her spark back with regards to this series, and I find myself looking forward to future installments more than I have in a while.
This review originally appeared on Owlcat Mountain on June 4, 2014.
(Description nicked from B&N.com.)
“Rosamund is an Earth Master in the Schwarzwald, the ancient Black Forest of Germany. Since the age of ten, she has lived with her teacher, the Hunt Master and Earth Magician of the Schwarzwald Foresters, a man she calls “Papa.” Her adoptive Papa rescued her after her original Earth Master teacher, an old woman who lived alone in a small cottage in the forest, was brutally murdered by werewolves. Rosa herself barely escaped, and this terrifying incident molded the course of her future.
For like her fellow Earth Masters of the Schwarzwald Lodge, Rosa is not a healer. Instead, her talents lead her on the more violent path of protection and defense— “cleansing” the Earth and protecting its gentle fae creatures from those evil beings who seek to do them harm.
And so Rosa becomes the first woman Hunt Master and the scourge of evil creatures, with a deadly specialty in werewolves and all shape¬shifters.
While visiting with a Fire Master—a friend of her mentor from the Schwarzwald Lodge— Rosa meets a pair of Elemental Magicians from Hungary who have come looking for help. They suspect that there is a dark power responsible for a string of murders happening in the remote countryside of Transylvania, but they have no proof. Rosa agrees to help them, but there is a catch: one of the two men asking for aid is a hereditary werewolf.”
Well, I’m happy to see that the Elemental Masters series has bounced back after a couple of sub-par books. It’s not that the writing has been bad, it’s just that the plots have been a bit, shall we say, meandering. With Blood Red, Lackey has done something a bit different: the original fairy tale, “Little Red Riding Hood”, is merely the jumping-off point to the novel. It’s an origin story for the main character, if you will. By establishing Rosa’s genesis in the prologue, the author is then free to spin her tale from there, far beyond the restrictions of the classic story.
Another welcome change is the setting. Most novels in this series take place in cities, or at least in more populated areas. The only real exception was Home From the Sea, which was one of those entries in which nothing really happened. There’s nothing wrong with that, and Lackey certainly changed things up by putting her characters in theaters and London backalleys. This time, our main character does spend some time traveling through cities, but ultimately ends up in the forests of Eastern Europe.
And that’s another change that I approve of: this story has moved beyond the bounds of Western Europe for what I think is the first time. It puts the story squarely into the lands that spawned vampire mythology and the places where werewolves were said to roam. It gives the characters the opportunity to encounter foreign cultures and unfamiliar customs and superstitions. I have no clue about the accuracy of anything written about in the book, but it was nice to see something different.
Rosa herself is one of the stronger female heroines in this series. She defiantly refuses to conform to gender norms and is eventually appointed a Hunt Master, and this is a time where a woman wielding a weapon would send most people into apoplectic shock. She habitually wears breeches and boots, has no trouble in the wilderness, and has earned the respect of men for whom a competent female hunter is something like a unicorn—heard of but never seen. Refreshingly, there’s really no romance at hand either. Oh, Rosa occasionally has thoughts like “Wow, that guy is cute!” or “Dresses aren’t my thing, but this is actually kind of nice”, but they’re less rather than more prevalent. I like Rosa just as she is—no nonsense and tough.
With its strong female main character and some welcome deviations from other books in the series, Blood Red is a fairy tale adaptation that I can heartily recommend. Lackey seems to have gotten her spark back with regards to this series, and I find myself looking forward to future installments more than I have in a while.
This review originally appeared on Owlcat Mountain on June 4, 2014.
June 15, 2014
http://openbooksociety.com/article/bl...
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar
This is the tenth book in the Elemental Masters series and the story gives a new portrayal to the tale of Little Red Riding Hood.
Like the story of Little Red Riding Hood, Rosamund or Rosa goes to see her teacher Grossmutter Helga (Grandmother in German) to find her dead by the hand of a werewolf. She is able to call for help and is saved by the Hunt of the Bruderschaft (Brotherhood in German) of Master Elementals. They see potential in Rosa and take her in, to become years later the first Earth Hunt Master Woman.
I liked the part where Rosa has a sudden fear of her future. Everybody has had that moment in their lives. We fear what lies ahead of us: the unknown. We fear the trust and confidence that others have placed upon us because we don’t always think that we are up to their expectations. We don’t see what other sometimes see in us.
There are moments when you would think that the story is going slow, but be assured that everything has its purpose and it helps the story that will come ahead. Because Blood Red is part of a series that has a new main character within every book, the story has to explain more about the character and how he/she thinks and acts. The story doesn’t have much romance, a few parts, but it is more of a story of believing in yourself and understanding your power and the world outside your comfort zone.
Blood Red has a lot of mythical creatures, some of them were old and others had different names for me. I have read of some of them in other books, but didn’t remember their names, like Cernunnos the Lord of the Hunt with other names like Woden or Herne. This is the first time I place a name and title to that creature. I like a good book that makes me do research about the characters, creatures, or the places the story talks about.
Mercedes Lackey changes the Little Red Riding Hood story her own way to create the formidable hunter that is Rosa von Schwarzwald. This story tells us that there are three types of werewolves: those who are born, those who are bitten or cursed, and those who use blood magic to shift. I think that this is the first time I read of a person using blood magic to turn into a werewolf, I have read of other uses for blood magic, but this is the first case I see.
Another thing that I liked of this story was how with the help of elementals an Earth Master can learn the language of the place they are in in one night.
The cover was appealing. I tend to judge a book by its cover and summary, but in this case both were good enough to catch my attention. The artist for the cover is Jody A. Lee. The cover gives a glimpse of what the story offers, alike Rosa as the Red Cloak.
I recommend you read Blood Red, read of a world of magic and creatures that hunt in the shadows, and learn to give the benefit of the doubt to those who earn it.
Would you like to be an Earth Master? Tell us in the comments.
*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar
This is the tenth book in the Elemental Masters series and the story gives a new portrayal to the tale of Little Red Riding Hood.
Like the story of Little Red Riding Hood, Rosamund or Rosa goes to see her teacher Grossmutter Helga (Grandmother in German) to find her dead by the hand of a werewolf. She is able to call for help and is saved by the Hunt of the Bruderschaft (Brotherhood in German) of Master Elementals. They see potential in Rosa and take her in, to become years later the first Earth Hunt Master Woman.
I liked the part where Rosa has a sudden fear of her future. Everybody has had that moment in their lives. We fear what lies ahead of us: the unknown. We fear the trust and confidence that others have placed upon us because we don’t always think that we are up to their expectations. We don’t see what other sometimes see in us.
There are moments when you would think that the story is going slow, but be assured that everything has its purpose and it helps the story that will come ahead. Because Blood Red is part of a series that has a new main character within every book, the story has to explain more about the character and how he/she thinks and acts. The story doesn’t have much romance, a few parts, but it is more of a story of believing in yourself and understanding your power and the world outside your comfort zone.
Blood Red has a lot of mythical creatures, some of them were old and others had different names for me. I have read of some of them in other books, but didn’t remember their names, like Cernunnos the Lord of the Hunt with other names like Woden or Herne. This is the first time I place a name and title to that creature. I like a good book that makes me do research about the characters, creatures, or the places the story talks about.
Mercedes Lackey changes the Little Red Riding Hood story her own way to create the formidable hunter that is Rosa von Schwarzwald. This story tells us that there are three types of werewolves: those who are born, those who are bitten or cursed, and those who use blood magic to shift. I think that this is the first time I read of a person using blood magic to turn into a werewolf, I have read of other uses for blood magic, but this is the first case I see.
Another thing that I liked of this story was how with the help of elementals an Earth Master can learn the language of the place they are in in one night.
The cover was appealing. I tend to judge a book by its cover and summary, but in this case both were good enough to catch my attention. The artist for the cover is Jody A. Lee. The cover gives a glimpse of what the story offers, alike Rosa as the Red Cloak.
I recommend you read Blood Red, read of a world of magic and creatures that hunt in the shadows, and learn to give the benefit of the doubt to those who earn it.
Would you like to be an Earth Master? Tell us in the comments.
*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*
April 21, 2016
It's always fun to return to one of my favorite series, and it's even better when that series manages to consistently surprise you. Though there have been some departures, Lackey's formula for her Elemental Masters series has been "Traditional fairy tale retold in historical (mostly British) urban fantasy setting and concludes with female elemental master living happily ever with male elemental master of appropriate opposing element."
Blood Red, though it happily exists in the same world as the rest of the series, takes that formula and happily shakes it around a bit. In this retelling of the "Little Red Riding Hood" story, Rosamund is a badass earth master who hunts monsters for a living and has a particular grudge against werewolves. But the fairy tale allegory ends early on in this novel, and we're left with the story of the main character growing up and coming into her own.Read more...
The formula changes that I appreciated most in this novel were (1) shifting the geographical focus to eastern Europe and away from the familiar settings of England and France and (2) shifting away from the traditional love story.
Lackey has obviously done tremendous research on the cultures and lifestyles of multiple countries and social classes for this novel, but never quite falls into the trap of "All this research I did; let me show you it." She brings Germany, Romania, and Transylvania to stunning life, subtly contrasting what we have been familiar with in England while also showing how much is still the same (such as a very familiar bias against female Elemental Masters in the upper echelons of the Lodges).
Rosa's relationship with a certain Hungarian also does not end neatly with certain wedding bells in the future. This frees up the plot to focus very specifically on the (really rather terrifying) Big Bad rather than also having to hit all of the requisite developing romance tropes along the way. But the ending closes on a hopeful note, and I found myself almost wishing that I get to follow along as Rosa and [redacted for spoilers] get the chance to further develop their relationship in a future installment of the series.
Some moments in the book read a bit slow, and there is a certain amount of narrative dedicated to either naval-gazing or immersing the reader a bit too much in day-to-day life in between the moments that actually move the plot along. At this point, this is a style that should be familiar and almost expected for any Lackey fan, so I feel comfortable commenting on it without necessarily making it a negative critique.
As usual, I can't wait to read the next book in this series. This installment gives me hope that she will continue to branch out into different (non-Western) cultures and fairy tales as influence for her source material.
Blood Red, though it happily exists in the same world as the rest of the series, takes that formula and happily shakes it around a bit. In this retelling of the "Little Red Riding Hood" story, Rosamund is a badass earth master who hunts monsters for a living and has a particular grudge against werewolves. But the fairy tale allegory ends early on in this novel, and we're left with the story of the main character growing up and coming into her own.Read more...
The formula changes that I appreciated most in this novel were (1) shifting the geographical focus to eastern Europe and away from the familiar settings of England and France and (2) shifting away from the traditional love story.
Lackey has obviously done tremendous research on the cultures and lifestyles of multiple countries and social classes for this novel, but never quite falls into the trap of "All this research I did; let me show you it." She brings Germany, Romania, and Transylvania to stunning life, subtly contrasting what we have been familiar with in England while also showing how much is still the same (such as a very familiar bias against female Elemental Masters in the upper echelons of the Lodges).
Rosa's relationship with a certain Hungarian also does not end neatly with certain wedding bells in the future. This frees up the plot to focus very specifically on the (really rather terrifying) Big Bad rather than also having to hit all of the requisite developing romance tropes along the way. But the ending closes on a hopeful note, and I found myself almost wishing that I get to follow along as Rosa and [redacted for spoilers] get the chance to further develop their relationship in a future installment of the series.
Some moments in the book read a bit slow, and there is a certain amount of narrative dedicated to either naval-gazing or immersing the reader a bit too much in day-to-day life in between the moments that actually move the plot along. At this point, this is a style that should be familiar and almost expected for any Lackey fan, so I feel comfortable commenting on it without necessarily making it a negative critique.
As usual, I can't wait to read the next book in this series. This installment gives me hope that she will continue to branch out into different (non-Western) cultures and fairy tales as influence for her source material.
June 22, 2015
First off, let me say that I really like the Elemental Masters series. The world that Mercedes Lackey has built for these books fascinates me. When I saw this one in the new paperbacks section of my local bookstore, I bought it immediately. I didn't even read the back, because I knew I wanted to read it regardless of the blurb text. And I wasn't wrong.
Each of the books in the series borrows heavily from a fairy tale. They aren't retellings exactly. But they do take a premise or a character or themes from a particular tale and run in new directions with them. You can clearly see the original story underneath but it is equally clear that Ms. Lackey's story isn't just the same old tale with a twist. That's part of the fun for me, I think, because I like seeing how she takes the traditional blocks and plays with them in her own style. And this particular installment did even more of that than the others I have read.
Ms. Lackey also has a flair for description. The setting in these books feels very grounded, almost historical, thanks to this talent. In fact, she spends more time and energy describing the aspects of her world that are historical the the parts that are magical and imaginary. Normally this is a good thing and, as I said, makes the story seem "real." But normally the characters pretty much stay in one place, one she can get you settled into at the beginning of the book. Unfortunately, in Blood Red the main character Rosa spends most of the book traveling across Europe. There ends up being a great deal of description of the houses and clothing and landscape and travel conditions of Romania and Germany and Transylvania. (One description of the train schedule is enough thank you very much.) You had to wade through them to get to the very enjoyable story inside.
I liked the character of Rosa a lot. She was smart, smarter than most of the people around her without quite realizing it, exceptionally competent, and practical without being rebellious. Don't get me wrong, I love a good rebellious character, but it was nice to experience one that was simply too practical to let social mores keep her from doing what needed done.
All in all, I enjoyed this book but it wasn't my favorite of the series. I hold Mercedes Lackey to very high standards because I know she more often than not meets them. If this book was by someone I'd never heard of, I would probably have given it five stars.
Each of the books in the series borrows heavily from a fairy tale. They aren't retellings exactly. But they do take a premise or a character or themes from a particular tale and run in new directions with them. You can clearly see the original story underneath but it is equally clear that Ms. Lackey's story isn't just the same old tale with a twist. That's part of the fun for me, I think, because I like seeing how she takes the traditional blocks and plays with them in her own style. And this particular installment did even more of that than the others I have read.
Ms. Lackey also has a flair for description. The setting in these books feels very grounded, almost historical, thanks to this talent. In fact, she spends more time and energy describing the aspects of her world that are historical the the parts that are magical and imaginary. Normally this is a good thing and, as I said, makes the story seem "real." But normally the characters pretty much stay in one place, one she can get you settled into at the beginning of the book. Unfortunately, in Blood Red the main character Rosa spends most of the book traveling across Europe. There ends up being a great deal of description of the houses and clothing and landscape and travel conditions of Romania and Germany and Transylvania. (One description of the train schedule is enough thank you very much.) You had to wade through them to get to the very enjoyable story inside.
I liked the character of Rosa a lot. She was smart, smarter than most of the people around her without quite realizing it, exceptionally competent, and practical without being rebellious. Don't get me wrong, I love a good rebellious character, but it was nice to experience one that was simply too practical to let social mores keep her from doing what needed done.
All in all, I enjoyed this book but it wasn't my favorite of the series. I hold Mercedes Lackey to very high standards because I know she more often than not meets them. If this book was by someone I'd never heard of, I would probably have given it five stars.
August 14, 2014
I have not read any of the other books in this series. This book did just fine as a standalone, balancing between explaining the rules of the world and moving forward with the story. I very much enjoyed it and plan on picking up some of the other books in the series now.
Rosa shares an origin story with Little Red Riding Hood, but that's all these two really have in common. Rosa is an Earth Master in a world where all magic is connected to one of the four elements. When she finds the woman who is "grandmother" murdered by werewolves and is herself threatened, she calls on the Earth Elementals for help. The Earth Elementals respond, along with the Hunt, other humans with Earth magic at their beck and call. These are the people who hunt down the things that go bump in the night. Once the Hunt saves Rosa, she joins them. The rest of the book is more of her life.
The weakness in this book is the lack of a great journey or overcoming adversity; I believe that the book was trying to have these things. Rosa battles against prejudice against her gender, her own prejudice against werewolves, and fighting an Uber Werewolf. It just doesn't get to that level of writing or storytelling to make this an epic "coming-of-age" journey, overcoming physical and mental adversaries. I suspect if the author told how Rosa became the first female Hunt Master and tied in the Uber werewolf story, it might've resonated more.
I can see where the novel might be setting up for more books about Rosa in the future. If it isn't, it's still a fun, light read, it's just not going to take you anywhere significant or philosophical.
Rosa shares an origin story with Little Red Riding Hood, but that's all these two really have in common. Rosa is an Earth Master in a world where all magic is connected to one of the four elements. When she finds the woman who is "grandmother" murdered by werewolves and is herself threatened, she calls on the Earth Elementals for help. The Earth Elementals respond, along with the Hunt, other humans with Earth magic at their beck and call. These are the people who hunt down the things that go bump in the night. Once the Hunt saves Rosa, she joins them. The rest of the book is more of her life.
The weakness in this book is the lack of a great journey or overcoming adversity; I believe that the book was trying to have these things. Rosa battles against prejudice against her gender, her own prejudice against werewolves, and fighting an Uber Werewolf. It just doesn't get to that level of writing or storytelling to make this an epic "coming-of-age" journey, overcoming physical and mental adversaries. I suspect if the author told how Rosa became the first female Hunt Master and tied in the Uber werewolf story, it might've resonated more.
I can see where the novel might be setting up for more books about Rosa in the future. If it isn't, it's still a fun, light read, it's just not going to take you anywhere significant or philosophical.
Read
March 1, 2021BLOOD RED is a retelling of Little Red Ridinghood. However, the Little Red fairy tale part is essentially over in the first chapter or two of the book. (In my favorites, the fairy tale spans the entire story.) This is fine for the worldbuilding and background, but after that, the entire story depended on a new plot. And the plot that was provided was amusing, but not fantastic.
It was a fun read, don’t get me wrong. But I saw few to no flaws in the main character, and that makes for a boring story. Rosa, by the time we really get to meet her, is already a kick-ass monster hunter, with lots of tools and weapons to help make her job easier. She has mastered her magic. Her only hang-up is with werewolves: she has a hard time believing that any werewolves can be good. So when she meets someone she’s been told is a good werewolf, she has a bit of a “what should I do?” moment, and that’s about it. Even when she runs into the Big Bad Wolf, so to speak, she’s had no problems with any of her other adversaries so far, so there’s no belief in the reader’s mind that she might be in trouble this time, either.
I still recommend this to fans of the series, or to people who are huge fans of the fairy tale. However, don’t expect an awesome read with this one. It’s a fun read, maybe a beach read. If that’s all you’re expecting, you’ll be fine.
It was a fun read, don’t get me wrong. But I saw few to no flaws in the main character, and that makes for a boring story. Rosa, by the time we really get to meet her, is already a kick-ass monster hunter, with lots of tools and weapons to help make her job easier. She has mastered her magic. Her only hang-up is with werewolves: she has a hard time believing that any werewolves can be good. So when she meets someone she’s been told is a good werewolf, she has a bit of a “what should I do?” moment, and that’s about it. Even when she runs into the Big Bad Wolf, so to speak, she’s had no problems with any of her other adversaries so far, so there’s no belief in the reader’s mind that she might be in trouble this time, either.
I still recommend this to fans of the series, or to people who are huge fans of the fairy tale. However, don’t expect an awesome read with this one. It’s a fun read, maybe a beach read. If that’s all you’re expecting, you’ll be fine.
January 6, 2018
This entire book just felt like a misfire. Lackey had concept (BA werewolf-huntress!!!) and a cool magic system on her side. But her characters are incomplete and her plot is indecisive. I held on for the romance... and that too ended inconclusively.
Rosa had no flaws, got along with everyone, and would have been as boring as sliced bread if she hadn’t been a werewolf huntress.
Also, what the heck was going on with that plot? It was like a rambling travel journal punctuated with fights and good food. Which could have been interesting if there had been a point to all those events or if the characters were more interesting.
I will give Lackey this, though. It’s not often that I read a book where a guy has to be saved by a girl with a weapon. Sure, in some stories men get saved by a woman’s kiss or clever plan... but rarely by force.
Rosa had no flaws, got along with everyone, and would have been as boring as sliced bread if she hadn’t been a werewolf huntress.
Also, what the heck was going on with that plot? It was like a rambling travel journal punctuated with fights and good food. Which could have been interesting if there had been a point to all those events or if the characters were more interesting.
I will give Lackey this, though. It’s not often that I read a book where a guy has to be saved by a girl with a weapon. Sure, in some stories men get saved by a woman’s kiss or clever plan... but rarely by force.
August 1, 2016
A new way to look at little red riding hood, that's for sure! I enjoyed this story as it incorporates what I like most about the Grimm Fairy Tales. Rosanna is no shy little girl. She's an Earth Master who will become a threat to those who are corrupt. I enjoyed this book from start to finish. The training, fighting and suspense all worked for me. Not an overly complicated book, but a well developed world. This is a bit different than the other books in this series and I liked this direction. I like Rosanna the Hunt Master. The images conjured up in this tale are vivid and dark. I nice Sunday afternoon read.
May 7, 2015
This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.
Rosamund is the first female Hunt Master. When her first elemental teacher is killed by a werewolf, Rosa is spirited away to a Hunt Lodge where she will make her fame and fortune hunting down others like it. She doesn’t expect to met anyone friendly who might ever have been a werewolf, and holds this prejudice against all werewolves – even cute ones
Rosamund is the first female Hunt Master. When her first elemental teacher is killed by a werewolf, Rosa is spirited away to a Hunt Lodge where she will make her fame and fortune hunting down others like it. She doesn’t expect to met anyone friendly who might ever have been a werewolf, and holds this prejudice against all werewolves – even cute ones
February 6, 2015
Contrary to most of Lackey's works, there isn't a nicely wrapped up romantic ending (spoiler?). Even though it is pretty implied - you know who is going to end up together - it was nice that story ended on a more independent note. Still, I think I'll be taking a break from Lackey. Sometimes I admire her ability to just churn respectably written books out, like Terry Brooks, but lack of editing and continuity gets a little ridiculous
November 5, 2024
Red Riding Hood and the Werewolfes -that could be another fitting title for this book. The heroine in it is a special kind of Earth Master - a Hunt Master, dedicated to eradicate Dark Sorcery in any form. Mostly through killing of Vampires, Werewolfes or whatever else gets her attention.
Problem - she mets a Werewolf who doesn't fit the Cliche of being on the dark side. Worse - she has to rely on him with her life in a hunt in Transsylvania. Oops!
Enjoy the book!
Problem - she mets a Werewolf who doesn't fit the Cliche of being on the dark side. Worse - she has to rely on him with her life in a hunt in Transsylvania. Oops!
Enjoy the book!
April 11, 2019
Loved it to begin with, and was pretty sure I'd end up giving it five stars. But it quickly started to drag, and was absolutely stuffed with needless filler. Things all came relatively easily to the characters, and I don't feel like there was much growth at all. It's a shame, because I really wanted to like this! In the end it was a struggle to get through, though.
January 1, 2015
Straight forward read. Not enough magic. Lots of violence & gore. Not much romance, some mild flirting.
August 6, 2014
Female Van Helsing versus werewolves! Fun read!!!
January 19, 2015
Great story. The tone was significantly different from the other books in the series, which was surprising at first.
June 15, 2025
I know this was one that it seems like either people enjoyed it quite a bit or they just absolutely hated it. I have to say for me. I am on the side that says I really enjoyed this book. I did not feel like the main character is a Mary Sue, like a lot of other reviewers mentioned And not because she isn’t you know powerful and competent, but because she’s freely admitting throughout the book that she has spent a lot of time training to do exactly what she’s doing in the book. But at the same time she’s also admitting to the reader that there are things she doesn’t believe she’s good at or that she’s uncomfortable doing and that she is in fact scared. So is she powerful yes, but not in the way that you usually see in a fantasy book with a magic user. Her power comes from decades of training on how to use her weapons and her body as a weapon but also when to use magic and how. She’s not throwing spells around all willy-nilly. She’s essentially putting her magic out there and asking for assistance from magical beans of a higher power. So while she might be considered a master, we don’t actually see her really showing anything that says she is actually magically powerful she is using her magic essentially as a bargaining chip asking for assistance and is the outside magical entities power who we see most in the book.
Now I know a lot of other people seem to get frustrated by the fact that the majority of the book was her in town at the accounts place and learning how to be a fancy woman. But that didn’t bother me so much because it gives you time to understand the character more. We got a little bit of the Red Ridinghood aspect at the beginning, which was essentially what we learn leads up to her becoming who she is. We get to see her competence again shortly after that during the first essential battle of the book. But then we get a large section of the book which is showing her in settings where she’s not comfortable and she’s not necessarily competent or powerful. So it giving you a moment to show Where she’s weak at things and that she acknowledges she is weak in these settings before it sends her back out into the settings where she’s more comfortable more competent and knows how to use. Her power is more to her advantage.
So while a lot of people seem to have either been frustrated aboard by the book, I very much enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the books that come after it that link into this one and I hope that I get to read more about her and the other characters that appeared in this book.
Now I know a lot of other people seem to get frustrated by the fact that the majority of the book was her in town at the accounts place and learning how to be a fancy woman. But that didn’t bother me so much because it gives you time to understand the character more. We got a little bit of the Red Ridinghood aspect at the beginning, which was essentially what we learn leads up to her becoming who she is. We get to see her competence again shortly after that during the first essential battle of the book. But then we get a large section of the book which is showing her in settings where she’s not comfortable and she’s not necessarily competent or powerful. So it giving you a moment to show Where she’s weak at things and that she acknowledges she is weak in these settings before it sends her back out into the settings where she’s more comfortable more competent and knows how to use. Her power is more to her advantage.
So while a lot of people seem to have either been frustrated aboard by the book, I very much enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the books that come after it that link into this one and I hope that I get to read more about her and the other characters that appeared in this book.
July 18, 2022
This is a very good retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, but with werewolves and Elemental Magic and fighting. I was honestly going into this book not really liking it, but after I read the whole entire thing, I was in love with how the story went, how Rosa is the Hunt Master and is always learning all the time about what’s going on before she judges, and also how they took down the shifter that was killing all of those people in that village.
I liked how Mercedes Lackey made sure she respects the romani people in the book (even though the characters uses the slur, I will not write said slur down) and I also liked how she showed Rosa taking the train and seeing how taking the train can affect her magic and how she dealt with people and how she was serviced on the train. Even though half the book she was at Count Graf’s home, I also love how comfortable she was as she went through the Graf’s tests (which was very weird, tbh). But when Dominic and Markos showed up, and Markos revealed that he’s a werewolf, but he shifts, I really enjoyed how Rosa asked questions and she kept getting reassured that he isn’t going to harm her in anyway.
When they went to the village to hunt down the shifter, I liked how they did it together, and when Markos left to hunt down the shifter and didn’t come back (after their whole ass argument about it) Rosa jumping into action immediately was a really good point in the book, and how she calls for the forest spirits to help her drag each and every werewolf out before going in and finding Markos and fighting the huge werewolf shifter.
I got worried when I thought Dominic was dead, but then I got scared when Rosa was almost killed. But they survived and now Rosa went back to Count Graf’s place and Markos and Dominic is staying in the village to make sure those shifters never come back to harm the village. Another thing I loved about this book was that Rosa showed the mayor of the town a tiny bit of magic, something simple and easy that even I could do if I ever lived in this world.
I liked how Mercedes Lackey made sure she respects the romani people in the book (even though the characters uses the slur, I will not write said slur down) and I also liked how she showed Rosa taking the train and seeing how taking the train can affect her magic and how she dealt with people and how she was serviced on the train. Even though half the book she was at Count Graf’s home, I also love how comfortable she was as she went through the Graf’s tests (which was very weird, tbh). But when Dominic and Markos showed up, and Markos revealed that he’s a werewolf, but he shifts, I really enjoyed how Rosa asked questions and she kept getting reassured that he isn’t going to harm her in anyway.
When they went to the village to hunt down the shifter, I liked how they did it together, and when Markos left to hunt down the shifter and didn’t come back (after their whole ass argument about it) Rosa jumping into action immediately was a really good point in the book, and how she calls for the forest spirits to help her drag each and every werewolf out before going in and finding Markos and fighting the huge werewolf shifter.
I got worried when I thought Dominic was dead, but then I got scared when Rosa was almost killed. But they survived and now Rosa went back to Count Graf’s place and Markos and Dominic is staying in the village to make sure those shifters never come back to harm the village. Another thing I loved about this book was that Rosa showed the mayor of the town a tiny bit of magic, something simple and easy that even I could do if I ever lived in this world.
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