Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
Scarlett and Rosie March have
spent years hunting the Fenris-werewolves who took Scarlett’s eye in a brutal
attack years ago. Donning blood-red cloaks and wielding deadly hatchets, the
sisters kill Fenris to protect other young girls from a grisly fate. Yet even
as the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the
wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is lethal with
an ax and is Scarlett’s only friend-but does loving him mean betraying her
sister and all that they’ve worked for?
Review:
First I want to say that I read
this in one sitting. That’s right, it’s that good. The writing is fast-paced,
and never dull. The imagery is bold and defined. For example:
“His irises were dark sienna, the
red-brown shade of Autumn leaves.” Page 2.
No matter the scene, it’s always
detailed in a way that makes you feel like you’re there. A few times when
reading about the Fenris attacks a chill went down my spine. It became
incredibly easy to see those creatures with yellow fangs and patchy fur in my
own house. This is a brilliant book to read late at night.
As for what kept this from
achieving a perfect score, it begins with the beginning. Har har. I was lead to believe this was written in
third person thanks to the prologue and later I discovered the epilogue was
also in third. Everything else was in first person with each chapter being
narrated by the sisters. I’ve never been a big fan of alternating perspectives
except with Across the Universe and it was also okay in this book.
I loved that this book was set in
Georgia, especially since so much action took place in Atlanta. It seems
childish but I’m always delighted when the setting of the book is a real-life
location near me. It just makes it easier to fall for the book.
Another minor thing. Their cat is
named Screwtape. I bet there’s a story behind that and I am so disappointed
Pearce didn’t throw in a bit more of a backstory that way. Still every time
Silas was attacked by the cat I had a good chuckle.
Sadly, the plot was a bit
predictable. I had the basic ending sketched out after the first hundred and
fifty pages or so. I’m not sure if that’s because I was on the lookout for a
plot twist or not but it was still disappointing.
The age difference between Rosie
and Silas was also a hurdle I had to overcome. If memory serves correctly, Rosie
is sixteen to Silas’s twenty-one. When they’re in their thirties five years
won’t make much of a difference but for this novel, I had to suspend my
disbelief and that’s a hard thing to do. I understand why Silas has to be
twenty-one but I don’t see why Rosie couldn’t be eighteen or nineteen. And
while I’m on this topic. The scene where Silas and Scarlett kiss. Rosie never
finds out and that irks me. It’s as though Rosie is second best to Scarlett for
his affection and that’s not okay. It completely undermined Silas as a
character.
One last piece of criticism. I
read somewhere that this book was listed in the top 100 ranking of young adult
books for feminists. Or something along that line. I just don’t see this as a
feminist book. Every female character aside from Rosie, Scarlett, and Oma March
is shown as superficial and vain. They’re overheard talking about nail polish
and described as dragonflies. Brightly colored and flitting about. I might be
missing a clue here. No doubt that Rosie, Scarlett, and Oma lead self-empowered
lives but I don’t see how this can be called a feminist book when every other
girl is so shallow.
Despite all my negative thoughts
this is a book I’d recommend and I definitely plan to check out other books by
this author.
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