Book Review: Sisters Red; Jackson Pearce.

I really didn't think I would manage it but considering the amount of reads I had to get through, I'm so glad I managed two reads in one day! This was the first of them and a story that I definitely appreciated given my own love for 'Little Red Riding Hood' as a Fairy Tale. It gave the story a unique twist and I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts!

SOURCE: Bought
TYPE: Paperback

TITLE: Sisters Red
AUTHOR: Jackson Pearce
SERIES: Fairy Retellings (#1)
PUBLISHER: Little Brown Books For Young Readers
PAGES: 338
GENRE: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

RATING: 2/5 Stars

Blurb:
Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris-- the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an axe -- but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they've worked for.

Twenty-five-year-old Jackson Pearce delivers a dark, taut fairy tale with heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love, and a romance that will leave readers breathless.

What I Liked:

• Jackson Pearce writes a really gripping plot, I found it hard to actually put the book down at times. In a way it was a little simple and didn't blow me away with it's fairly obvious twists, but I really liked the pacing of it. Jackson made a good decision when he chose alternating POVs to come from the two sisters, Rosie and Scarlett, because a dual narrative worked really well in this story.
• I think the most interesting thing about Pearce's book was the character-work, and I loved the relationships between characters. If you're a fan of books that explore sibling relationships then this is definitely one to consider! I loved the idea that Rosie felt indebted to Scarlett because of something that happened so long ago and the two very different POVs on responsibility was very interesting to read. I also liked reading chapters with Rosie because of her relationship with Silas. The romance was fun but didn't take over the plot, which was nice.

What I Disliked:

• While this book was good, it didn't blow me away for a number of reasons. It wasn't just the basic plot (which I've already mentioned) but at times I had problems with the characters too. Especially Scarlett. Firstly, I loved that Pearce chose such a badass heroine with a missing eye because far too much YA is unrealistic in that it's main heroines are too pretty and don't have any physical or mental blemishes. Scarlett was 'damaged' and it made her an interesting character. However, she was cold. I got frustrated with her constant bitterness and anger, and her conversation felt like a stuck record at times as she proclaimed the same thing over and over again. I wish Pearce had given her more vulnerability and a little bit of deeper thinking beyond her love for hunting.

Overall Conclusion:

This was a great book that I enjoyed very much. It had plot, pacing, interesting characters and a pretty good idea when it came to the world-building. However, it just didn't blow me away because none of those things were amazing. I liked them, but didn't love them. I'm glad that Pearce didn't go down the romanticising the werewolf route which is common in books like this because it made things feel a bit different, but at the same time I'm disappointed that the Fenris weren't a more thought out enemy with a proper leader to despise, not an Alpha we meet halfway through the book who doesn't really do all that much.