Better Red: Ever After, NY Book 1, Tara Lain

Creating a new take on a well-known and oft-recreated fairy tale is no easy task.  Little Red Riding Hood, the Woodsman, the Big, Bad Wolf, Grandma...all of them are represented here and there are some unique things that make this an intriguing premise, but I have to say that I think there was an issue with a little too much ambition.  With a bit more streamlining and redirected focus on the romance and character growth I showed up for this would have been an awesome story.

The model contract was something we saw coming with all the emphasis on Red's beauty and while I was glad we got a reality check with the near-immediate introduction to the far harsher side of that world, I was disappointed that we were left so confused.  He's awesome at all the improv, the showmanship, the presentation, the snark, the beauty...so, is he going to find a way to model and have Mark?  With so many visits and detailed experiences showing just how amazing he is in that world it felt like we were leading up to something that we didn't get anywhere close to getting.

Red's intelligence was what really got me, but there were very few flashes of it that I felt it was a wasted opportunity.  And then there's his youth.  It was incredibly apparent in his lack of decision-making, gullibility, easily-influenced nature, and his lack of a backbone.  There were a lot of awesome things that could have been done with his character, but I ended up feeling quite underwhelmed.  Lots of things he does are completely understandable and excusable if you consider his age, I just wasn't wowed.

We focus so much on Red's conflict with the modeling world and his intense attraction to Wolfe, his wilting under his grandmother's plans for him, and how often he completely forgets about Mark, his supposed true love interest, that there's almost no time left for developing the actual romance.  I ached for Mark though I felt he was made to be so supportive and understanding that he just became a doormat.  I came for the romance and got very little of that.  I'm hoping so hard that the series improves because this author is usually absolutely fantastic.

I loved the side characters with names that hint heavily about which stories will follow in this series and I loved the potential between Red and Mark.  And the two "magical" characters really captured my attention as well so it's highly likely that I'll be back for more from this town...maybe we'll even get to see how things are going with Mark and Red when we return.

*$4.99 on Amazon

Who’s afraid of the big, bad Wolfe?

Red Ridley knows he could have a happy life in Ever After, New York, waiting on tables at Mom and Pop’s, making numbers add up for clients, studying business at the junior college – and maybe, just maybe having the man of his dreams, Mark Woods, the young owner of the local garage. One problem. Red’s gorgeous. Amazing looking. Totally unique. And no one who sees him – especially his grandmother, who’s his biggest promoter -- believes he won’t end up on the cover of a magazine. Gran’s dreams come true when famous New York agency owner, Brock Wolfe, shows up in Ever After and sets his sights on Red.

Red doesn’t want to leave Mark, but Gran has given everything to raise him, and the money he could make would give her a happy, easy life. Then, the news gets worse – Gran could lose her house -- so Red breaks down and goes to New York where the Wolfe shows just how bad he can be. Faced with a fate worse than death, Red needs a hero or needs to be one. Is there any chance to live happily in Ever After?