RedAuthor: Kate SeRine
Series: Transplanted Tales #1
Published by: eKensington
Publication Date: August 2, 2012
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
“My name is Tess Little. But everyone calls me Red.”
Once upon a time, a spell went awry, stranding Make Believe characters in the ordinary world. Since then, Tess “Red” Little—a/k/a Little Red Riding Hood—has worked as an Enforcer for the Chicago branch of the Fairytale Management Authority. But, consider yourself warned—she’s not just some waif with a basket of goodies. All grown up and with nothing to lose, a gun and combat boots is more her style. And Red’s new assignment threatens to be short on happily ever afters…
Someone is murdering transplanted Tales in gruesome fashion. The list of fictional characters capable of such grisly acts is short and includes more than one of Red’s old flames. And if that wasn’t bad enough, there’s another complication, in the form of sexy, enigmatic Nate Grimm, the FMA’s lead detective and part-time Reaper. Used to following her own rules and living life on the edge, Red has managed to avoid taking on a partner until now. But Nate’s dark side makes him perfect for a case like this. That is, if she can trust him. Because if there’s one thing Red knows for sure, it’s that believing in the wrong person can have big, bad consequences…
Ali @ My Guilty Obsession is always adding books to my TBR, as I do hers. Unfortunately they tend to stay there and get pushed aside. So we decided to pick a book for each other to read, and we had to read it sometime during the month. This time, Ali chose Red for me. I have to say that it was a pretty good pick.
I’m not always a fan of fairytale retellings or I just get bored by them, but I did like Red. The plot was predictable and not anywhere near mind-blowing, but it was still good. It was actually the characters that made this book for me. That’s perfectly fine, since that’s more important to me anyway. There’s also humor, so it definitely got points from me for that.
I liked Red (the character). I didn’t love-love her, but I like-love her. That totally makes sense. She’s a tough chick, and one of the best Enforcers for the Fairytale Management Authority (FMA). She wears red combat boots and has Red by CombiChrist as her ringtone, so we bonded fairly quickly. And what can I say, I like a chick with attitude and snark.
Nate is a pretty good character too. I wasn’t particularly swooning or anything over him, but I liked him. I liked his role as a reaper in this, and that he wasn’t all super annoying alpha. Sure, he was concerned and protective at times, but it was as to be expected in the situations they were in.
Something that I liked a lot was Red’s relationships with her ex-boyfriends. She remained friends with them, and I really enjoyed the dynamic she had with each one. I wanted to give the author a high-five for an incident that happened with one of them. Just because she found Nate attractive, didn’t mean she expected them to get into a relationship. She was single and could get it on with anyone she wanted. I hate when authors make their female characters refrain from sex just because there is a possible love interest down the line in the book. Get it, girl!
The secondary characters had me laughing. Not necessarily always because of what they said, but because of what their new identities and lives became here in this world. For instance, Snow White is a whore! No, seriously, she runs a brothel. It’s pretty funny. It’s not only characters from fairytales; there are also nursery rhyme and Literary characters. So there are a lot of different characters to play with.
It is explained why these characters started coming over to the real world, which is sort of humorous. However, I did have an issue with certain details, because it seemed to be contradictory at times. It isn’t a huge deal, but it was something that bugged me a little.
Overall, I enjoyed Red! I’ve been told the next book is from Nate’s perspective and is better, so I look forward to reading it.
By the way, the Kindle edition wasn’t search enabled, so I couldn’t go back and search for parts when I needed to. So annoying.
I love this series and laugh as much as I sigh. So glad you had fun 🙂
I don’t know, it just sounds average. And retellings are so iffy for me.
the next book is only a novella from Nate so a little different and fast. I think this on e is my fave in the series, but I hope the others will be better for you.
I have this one on my TBR list and I don’t think I am going to find a better reason to read this than the fact that Snow White runs a brothel. 😛
I definitely hope I get around to reading this one soon! 😀
Lovely review, Christy!! 🙂
This is a series that has been on TBR list for a while, but I’ve never gotten to it. I really need to move it up higher on the list. I’ve heard nothing but good things. Great review.
I think you liked this one a bit more than I did, but I’ve also heard that the series gets better, and my biggest problem was Red. I didn’t hate her, but she sometimes tried my patience. I look forward to your reading the next book too, b/c I’m still undecided about whether or not to continue the series. Maybe a POV change will make all the difference 😉
I like a chick with attitude and snark too Christy, so I think I’ll be a fan of Red. Though I’m the exact opposite of you – once a potential love interest is introduced, I only want the heroine to be with him. No one else. I can’t help it!!!! Looking forward to your thoughts on the next book and Nate’s POV!!
Don’t think I have seen this one before, but it does sound pretty, predictable and all. Glad you enjoyed it.
This is the first time I’m hearing of this series, but it sounds like fun. The MC sounds kick-butt and I definitely appreciate that she has a good relationship with her ex-boyfriends. Also, yay for her not refraining from sex. I need to check this series out soon.
Great review, Christy! I hope you’ll love the next book as well. 🙂
I was so nervous you were going to hate this after I picked it for you! I think we felt the same way about Red, she isn’t lovable per se but it likable.
The characters definitely make this series. I am glad you would be willing to continue it at least and it wasn’t a total fail on my part. 😉
Which reminds me, I need to get my review up for Killing Saria, I completely forgot about it!
lol – If it had been terrible, I would’ve just wrote ‘FAIL’ real big as my review. haha
How about Cinderella & Prince Charming as Hollywood brats?! Girl ou need to read the next one, lavender’s book is my favorite! That one is dramedy at its finest
I actually hadn’t heard of this one but it sounds so original and good i want to add it to my TBR plus it’s so different from the original story LOL– i mean, a brothel? Lol
I like that you guys picked books for each other to read. This one actually sounds like one I might enjoy!
I’ve had my eye on this review ever since seeing the reviews over at Ali’s and Kimba’s blog – and find myself repeatedly drawn to it. )I love fairy tale re-tellings)Although Red seems to be a bit of a debate, I’m glad that the other secondary characters make this series. I’m keeping this on my tbr list and thanks for the wonderful & helpful review:)
Yet another brilly review for this book/series. I so need to get onto reading this author’s books. She is on my must try author list. Love good secondary characters!
Ha ha! Snow White is a whore with a brothel now that is something I have to read for myself. I bought this when Kimba reviewed the latest and it is still in the pile.
This is new to me, and though it sounds like it didn’t blow you away, it seems to be a decent start to the series. I’ll keep my eyes open for the next review to see it I need to add this to my TBR.
Thank you Christy 🙂
Oh I love retellings. I’ve been a bit obsessed with them this last year. I remember seeing this one a while back and thinking I needed to try it then completely forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder 🙂
I have this series and I seriously need to get to it. Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂