Red Hood's Revenge by Jim C. Hines

The Princesses are back!  This time they must battle the notorious assassin The Lady of the Red Hood, whose story you might know as Little Red Riding Hood.  The Princesses are lead to Talia's home country after an assassination attempt fails and it seems that someone is out to get Sleeping Beauty.

     "She's known as the Lady of the Red Hood," said Talia.  "Having failed to kill Beatrice, it looks as though she's coming for you."
     Danielle stared.  "You're telling me Little Red Riding Hood want to kill me?"
     Asked Cinderella of Sleeping Beauty," Snow added with a smile.  p.24

I love these books!  By the third book of any series, especially a longer one than a trilogy, I begin to feel wary.  But Hines seriously delivers.  I think this one is even better than The Mermaid's Madness and I was happy to get more on Talia and to see the repercussions of her actions and explore more of her background.  It was nice to see more of the "Sleeping Beauty" story explored and built on.  I enjoyed the resolution for Talia and thought it was well done. 

I loved the theme of Red Riding Hood and how that story was twisted so that the Lady of the Red Hood, Roudette, becomes someone both villainous and sympathetic at the same time.  So well done.  It was nice to see a match for Talia, but, of course, I always wanted Talia to win.  I liked the whole straying from the path and how is was taken from a literal idea to a religious one.  Roudette was a great villain and a great character.

I was also glad to see Danielle have a little more to do in this book.  She is becoming a really awesome character and living up to the greatness of Talia and Snow.  I can't wait for the next book since it seems to promise a bit more on Snow though I hear that it is the last book and that makes me sad.  But still a great series so far on the whole.

Hogwarts: History of Magic
Library

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

The March sisters are hunters, after the werewolves responsible for the death of their grandmother and unsuspecting girls everywhere.  Scarlett is consumed by it, having face down a werewolf when she was 12, determined to kill them all and to protect her sister.  Rosie longs for a normal life but knows she owes her current life to her sister and continues on with the hunt.  But when Rosie reaches out for a more normal life, will her sister stand in her way?

I like libraries.  It's a comfort that knowledge can be saved for so long.  That what we learn can be passed on.  p.107

This is a kick ass book in more ways than one.  It was like Buffy/Underworld awesome.  I hadn't anticipated the level of violence but it is on par with The Hunger Games or Rampant.  That stuff doesn't bother me but just a warning if it bothers you.  Sisters Red is, of course, a Red Riding Hood fractured fairy tale.  It's an interesting Buffy-esque take on the tale, but that really lends itself to kick ass heroines and bad ass wolves.  There are some genuine laugh out loud moments combined with all the fighting action.  And, as a librarian, I really appreciated how much the March sisters like the library.  Very very cool.

*Possibly spoilery*
The characters were both strong and sad.  I really felt sorry for both Rosie and Scarlett, having face down a werewolf at a young age and surviving with the burning desire to kill them all.  Scarlett was so driven, both obsessed with the hunt and, to a degree, what her life would have been like otherwise.  I think she was the most complex of all the characters.  Rosie, on the other hand, was the more sympathetic.  She longed for something different, but had a hard time reconciling that longing with the idea that she owed her sister her life.  There were a few moments I wanted to shake them both, but I know they can kick my butt so I refrained.  Seriously. 

Hogwarts: Care of Magical Creatures
YA
Library
Colorful Reading