From the Bookshelf of Baltimore County Public Library Summer Reading BCPL SRC …

[close] What happens if Red Riding Hood fails to heed her mother’s warning and follows the wolf into the forest? In the kingdom of Gévaudan, the woods are full of forestborn, merciless immortal creatures who hunt humans, and once Rachelle steps off the path, she is marked as belonging to them and must kill or die. Wracked by guilt, she flees her small village and goes to work for the king, who keeps a squad of so-called bloodbound like Rachelle as security. Soon she is deeply enmeshed in palace intrigue and forestborn plotting, both of which center on Armand, the king’s illegitimate son, and Erec, the sexy but faithless captain of the guard. Though Rachelle’s inner monologue is often bogged down by repetitive moments of self-loathing and doubt, Hodge’s writing occasionally glimmers with flashes of brilliance: “the neckline bared her shoulders and her collarbones like a declaration of war.” Plot twists and romance keep the pages turning in this grim and intricate take on the classic tale.