I was hooked from the very first page, and absolutely devoured this book. I loved that it was a re-telling, yet felt that the author did a fantastic job of making it their own. Such a good read.

Okay, let me start with pointing out this BEAUTIFUL cover. I mean, look at it, it screams to your attention. The reason that I wanted to read this book, and I also hadn't read a lot of books including werewolves, so I was quite interested in reading about that as well.

I liked reading this book. I love the strong FMC, Ruby (we also follow her pov in the book), and how she navigates through life alone and doesn't need anyone to save her. She even refuses all the help from Rafe (come back to him later) at first. But later on, she realizes that sometimes getting help is not a sign you're weak, but a sign you're even stronger when you're together.

Rafe, the second pov, is a werewolf. He follows Ruby through the woods when she walks through it alone from work to home or from home to work. Rafe wants to make sure she's safe, but the day Ruby gets attacked by other werewolves, Rafe starts to think maybe he brought them to her. He wants to take a distance from Ruby, but he also wants to protect her from the other werewolves. Rafe also doesn't want to ask his old pack if they maybe know more about attacking werewolves, but he doesn't want to get reminded of his earlier life as well. But one day, he realizes that he has to go to them to be able to keep protecting the one he starts to love more every day.

The relationship building between Rafe and Ruby is done pretty well. The tension and chemistry (and later on some spice) is definitely there. But I had some issues with their lack of communication and not wanting the other to explain things. If the characters would have a bit more deep conversations about their relationship a lot of the drama between them would have been solved very easily, or it didn't even need to happen at all.

Also, I would have loved to see some more plot. Like, yes, there was a plot, but after this first book I feel like I still know as much as before I read the book. It feels like not even a single question is answered (for sure). And I would have loved to have known at least something.

A lot of things get introduced, Ruby's sister who might have powerful visions (werewolves maybe looking for her), Ruby who herself might have powers too. Their difficult past together and with their family. Rafe's werewolf life, and his past. More different creatures with different powers. Everyone is looking for answers about werewolves attacking. From all of this, you know a bit of information. But nothing has been solved yet. Nothing is totally clear. And it would have been nice if at least a simple question would have been solved.

The ending was a good cliffhanger, though. And that's a thing that makes me want to read part 2 one day. Also, I do actually want to know the answers. And I want to know more about world building. So, I just want to find out if that still comes. So maybe it's a good idea to leave it all unanswered, but it's also frustrating that you have read 400 pages, and you quite still know nothing.

Besides that, the writing style was easy to follow and the build up has been done well. I just had hopes of a bigger plot, while this was more relationship based. Still, I enjoyed reading this book, and I will read the rest of this series one day.

An adult and creative twist on a classic tale, with Ruby and the werewolf (get it?). The hidden others reveal themselves to the humans with a bit of mystery, intrigue, family politics, hidden powers, tragic history, and a bit of humor thrown in. A very strong slow burn simmers throughout, making for definite fun. A HEA and maybe not a total end? Hoping for more!

Not 100% sure how i felt about this book.
It wasn’t bad but wasn’t a 5 star for me either.
I like the general story and enjoyed Ruby finding the one however I really wish it delved more into thay fantasy world and answered more questions for me about Lena?
I’d of liked there to have been world world building, all I really knew was where Ruby worked and lived. Would have been nice to have more insight into the wolves.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Book Review through Netgalley and Harper Collins
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Curse Of Blood And Wolves is the first book in the new Wolf Brothers trilogy by Melissa McTernan. I love a good fairy-tale re-telling, and this one caught my attention instantly! Who doesn’t love Little Red Riding Hood? Rafe is the big, bad werewolf who falls hopelessly for Ruby, a human. Rafe has a tragic past and refuses to let Ruby in when all his instincts are screaming she is his. Ruby is no damsel in distress; she is independent, strong, and knows her mind — a formidable opponent for Rafe.

The sexy, dark storyline drew me in instantly; there were also moments of levity that rounded the story out nicely. Both Rafe and Ruby are weirdos! They go their own way, and I love that about them! The chemistry between the two is combustible, and the chasing scenes are hot, hot, hot! These two broken souls find solace in each other’s arms in a sweetly romantic way, even though violence surrounds the couple.

This is the first book in a trilogy about werewolf brothers, and I feel with how the book is written that the trilogy, when finished, will have to be read in order. There is closure, but the epilogue dives right into the next book. There are many unanswered questions by the conclusions of the book. Rafe and Ruby were outstanding characters with emotional depth and a lovable quality that instantly attracted me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next installment! Melissa McTernan has the start of something fantastic!

Release Date: October 1, 2023

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I liked this one but I wanted more. Of what I’m not sure exactly. The mystery was there the magic but something was missing for me.

A Little Red Riding Hood retelling full of fantasy. Werewolves, witches, seers, and fatef mates. Ruby walks home from work through the woods. She can feel someone watching her from the shadows. Instead of fear, she feels a thrill. Excitement. When Rafe reveals himself, she’s hooked. He’s big and brooding and protective. Rubys sister has been having visions and they’re weighing heavily on her mind and health. But there hasn’t been a seer in many years. Rafe left his pack, but he may need their help and experience if something is coming.

Fans of forbidden romances, fantasy, and fated mates will love this one. I love retellings!

I'm not sure. I really wanted to love this book because of the retelling aspect but I found myself going through moments of really not enjoying, to then flying through this book? I think the dual POVs didn't really work or we were flipping between the POVs too quickly? It felt like I never got to know the characters properly?

HOWEVER! The romance, the tension and the tropes were great so for that reason, it's 3 stars.

I really enjoyed this. Ruby and Rafe were great characters and I'm already looking forward to the next installment in the series!

I really liked this book. It was super interesting and I kept wanting to know what would happen. I love how feisty Ruby was and how sensitive Rafe was. I can't wait to read book 2.

I have waited for a long time to get stuck into a werewolf story and this sadly fell very flat for me. I wanted more from this book and the biggest issue I had with it was the fact it felt like I was reading a wattpad fanfic authored by a sixteen year old girl - not that there is anything wrong with that, it just wasn’t what I wanted to read.

Not my favourite read of recent times

2 stars

The blurb for this book immediately caught my attention. It promised a dark and steamy retelling of Red Riding Hood, and I was fully on board for that.

In the end, my feelings about the book are a bit mixed. There was so much potential in the story, but it didn't quite reach the heights it could have. The underlying plot has ample room for development, which could have resulted in an action-packed and intriguing narrative. However, in this first installment, we only scratched the surface.

The romantic aspect of the story, at times, left me feeling a bit frustrated. While I appreciated Rafe's character, his persistent belief that he was a danger to Ruby felt more like stubbornness than genuine concern.

The book also delved into Rafe's backstory from an alternative timeline to explain his character, but I found it somewhat disconnected from the main narrative. This led to occasional confusion as we transitioned back and forth between timelines.

Overall, this was an okay read. It was relatively quick, but it didn't quite have the page-turning quality I was hoping for. I want to express my gratitude to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

Sorry this story was not what I was expecting! A retelling of Little Red Ridding Hood was right up my alley but this one did not hit the mark for me.
I would not consider this a dark romance, Rafe is sweet and caring not the type when you picture a dark romance!
The pace of the story felt rushed, everything happens in a couple of weeks and the plot felt lacking.

I enjoyed this book! A good read, good storyline, characters, world building, etc. It had everything I like in books, and definitely would recommend!

The blurb of this was right up my street - described as a dark and steamy retelling of Red Riding Hood I was 100% here for it.

Overall it was ok - what we got was a whole lot of potential that to be honest didn’t wholly go as far as it could have done. The background plot has a lot of room for development that could be action packed and intriguing, but in this first book we’ve only really had a taster.

The romantic aspect of this story was at times frustrating - there’s fighting your feelings and building tension and then there’s this next level. I really liked Rafe, but his goodwill in thinking himself dangerous to Ruby was more in the realms of stubbornness.

We got quite a lot of backstory on an alternative timeline when it came to Rafe to explain why he is as he is, though if I’m honest I’m not sure it did loads to add to the story and at times it was hard to tell we’d made that jump back over.

Overall this was an ok read - relatively quick though not the pageturner I was hoping for.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this story.

Not bad read. Good concept, good storytelling, but feels something's too much and something's missing. Not sure how to express this.

2.75 Rounded up to 3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I had a hard time thinking about what to rate this book and whether I should round up or down. Ultimately, I decided to round up because I realized this book didn't have a whole lot of objective writing things wrong about it, the story and character dynamics just aren't my cup of tea. I realized I wasn't severely let down because of the expectations I had set for the book going into it.

Some positives:
- I really liked how level-headed our FMC was. She knew what she wanted and didn't waste time whining about things that didn't matter.

- Spice was written well. Didn't border on too cheesy or cringy with its dialouge.


Things worth working on:
- I know that the fated mates trope kind of forces is to be at least insta-attraction, but the pacing of everything just threw me off for a loop. 90% of the book was told in the span of a week, but we awkwardly jump to 1 month in the end for like 1 chapter?

- The characters tend to flip-flop quickly between what their motivations and feelings are. I love you, but we can't, but I love you, but we can't. There comes a point where it becomes redundant in the book because the switch up just happens so fast.

- Ruby just accepting everything was also kinda weird? Like it doesn't make sense for her character to just accept the the whole werewolf thing that quickly

- Lena was such a big focus point of the story, but nothing ever gets resolved with her being a seer/clairvoyant. Things are conveniently laid out in the end of the book to progress her plot line, but for how important and integral she and Ruby are, you think we would have gotten more about that plot-wise at least.

- Some grammar mistakes

Overall, the book was fine. It wasn't written badly, nor was it written well. I just think it was trying to do too much at the same time, and could have highly benefitted from focusing on just the romance plot of things. I am not interested in continuing the series as I believe this story could have been told in one book.

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Thanks again to Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for sending me this arc! i really enjoyed the writing style in this story because i felt like it matched the easygoing storytelling very well. i also really liked Rubys character! however, i felt like the pacing in this book could’ve been better. i felt like the book moved on at a pace that was not fitting for this fantasy/paranormal romance and probably could’ve been executed a little better. additionally, i was just not a fan of the constant reminders of the characters sizes. i also wish we could’ve had more world building because i feel like this book just breezed through it.

Sadly, it just wasn't the book for me. I really wanted to enjoy this book but I just couldn't get into it and the characters were just not something I connected with!

Dnf'd at 30%

The writing feels strongly like Cassandra Clare’s, but more adult themed. I liked the story idea but I’m personally not a fan of the writing style.