Sisters Red is a modern take on the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale. We all know the Grimm Brothers story… Little Red sets out into the woods to visit Granny, only to find her eaten up by the Big Bad Wolf. The nasty wolf with his gleaming teeth is hiding out in Granny’s clothes in wait for Little Red. In comes the heroic Woodsman, who kills the wolf and saves the damsel in distress.

But in Jackson’s Pearce’s version, Little Red is ‘split’ in two – two sisters, Scarlett and Rosie March, who are so close they believe they share the same heart, split apart. When the wolf (or Fenris, in this case) comes knocking at Grandma’s door, the woodsman doesn’t arrive in time, and poor Grandma is ruthlessly murdered. It’s up to the girls to defend themselves, and despite losing an eye and being left with horrific scars, Scarlett does exactly that. And so begins their life of hunting the Fenris – or werewolf.

I was a little sceptical when I first began reading Sisters Red – I’m not a huge fan of present-tense narratives. And to make things even trickier, Pearce (a female Jackson, BTW) alternates each chapter with first-person point of view from both Scarlett, the older sister, and Rosie, the younger, unscarred sister. I shouldn’t have been worried. It works *so* well.  This way, we get to know and love the girls for their differences immediately: Scarlett with her dreadful injuries and eye-patch is obsessed with the hunt. She’s kick-arse bad, and nothing will stand in her way when it comes to protecting Rosie and ridding the world of Fenris. Scarlett wields a deadly hatchet and nothing matters other than protecting other young women from a grisly death at the hands (jaws) of the Fenris. Yep, Scarlett did remind me a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but without the super-strength or speedy healing power. Scarlett is just plain tough. Rosie, on the other hand, is pretty, deadly with a thrown knife, and adores her older sister. During the hunt, Rosie is usually the ‘bait’ to tempt a Fenris in human form away from crowds to the waiting Scarlett and his doom. Rosie feels compelled to follow Scarlett into the family bizz; an obligation of sorts with all her sister lost in saving the young Rosie’s life. But secretly, Rosie dreams of something more – a life alongside hunting, a life that possibly includes the delicious young woodsman and long-time family friend – Silas. Ahh, Silas. Yum. There’s not much more to say, really – other than the fact he’s not a sap, he’s not perfect, and man, can this guy slice up a Fenris with an axe like no other woodsman before him.

The trio head from their small-town home to a present-day Atlanta, where Fenris attacks are on the rise. What they find there is startling, dangerous, and will question everything they know about the werewolves – and each other. The werewolves in Sisters Red really are bad guys, no cuddly dogs here; they’re soulless monsters with no hope of saving, which is a nice change from other paranormal fiction. They congregate in packs, fight against one another and have only one aim for all eternity… devouring young girls.

Sisters Red is a powerful novel, and has courted some controversy since publication. I’d recommend for the 16 and up age group, mainly due to a (minor) language warning and some themes are a little more adult.

This is a very clever twist on the old fairytale, and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on Jackson Pearce’s next novel, Sweetly (due June of this year), which will take on Hansel and Gretel. I’m sure Pearce will make the story her own, just as she has with Sisters Red.

Sisters Red – Jackson Pearce

Published by Little, Brown and Company a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

344 Pages, paperback.

IBSN-13: 978 1 444 90147 4

The Mortal Instruments series

By Cassandra Clare

I’m just going to come right out with it. I’m a sucker for a pretty cover. I’ll buy a book just for the cover art. I mean, just take a peek around this page. How irresistible is Burn Bright? How could you not possibly gravitate toward it in a bookshop, need to hold it, stroke it, own it? (Um, yeah. Okay. Too much information…) These were my thoughts exactly when I spied the first book in The Mortal Instruments series, City of Bones, way back in 2007.

Back then, I’d never heard of The Mortal Instruments or the author, Cassandra Clare. I hadn’t read a review, had it recommended to me, or heard any Internet buzz. I was a Mortal Instruments virgin. So it was with some trepidation I gently cracked open the beautiful cover. Would it be one of those books – you know, the ones that are all show and no substance? Thankfully not. I devoured the story of Clary and the uber cool Shadowhunters in a little over a day. To put it bluntly, all three of the Mortal Instruments books are Awesome. Note the capital A. And yes, I’ll admit right up front I’m biased these days. Cassandra Clare has become one of my all-time favourite authors.

It’s in City of Bones that we first meet the seemingly average Clary Fray who lives with her ‘widowed’ mother, Jocelyn. Along with her best friend, Simon, Clary is a loveable geek – in the coolest sense of the word. One night, Clary witnesses a murder in a Brooklyn (NY) nightclub, and is shocked to find only she can see the culprit (a very nice looking boy called Jace) and the victim. Jace claims it was a demon he murdered, and is intrigued that Clary can see him and his two cohorts: a beautiful girl named Isabelle who can turn some lethal tricks with her silver whip, and Alec, Isabelle’s quiet and protective older brother.

Clary is then thrust into a bizarre world-within-a-world – that of the Shadowhunters and Downworlders. When her own mother is attacked by a demon, Jace takes Clary under his wing, and back to the place he and the other Shadowhunters call home – The Institute. Invisible to ‘Mundanes’ (those pesky human folk) and ‘Downworlders’ (demons, vampires etc), The Institute is an old gothic cathedral protected by a glamour and multiple protection charms. There, Clary meets Hodge, guardian of Jace and gets a proper introduction to his adoptive siblings, Isabelle and Alec Lightwood.

She also learns the mysterious truth as to why she can see them.

City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass, the first three books in the series, have everything a speculative fiction fan could want. There are warriors, demons, warlocks and vampires; werewolves, faeries and angels; numerous love triangles, missing parents and a mysterious bad guy named Valentine. Politics, monks, runes and tattoos – it’s all here. The action is non-stop, and the world is to die for (literally). The Mortal Instruments is epic urban fantasy at its crazy best, the ride heart-stoppingly fast with pages that turn themselves. The relationship between Clary and Jace will have you cheering, then horrified, then cautiously whooping again.

Cassie Clare is writing buddies with another well-known author: Holly Black, author of the Spiderwick Chronicles, and more recently, White Cat. Fans of Black will enjoy seeing some of her characters cross over into the Shadowhunter’s world, especially when Clary and co visit the Faerie Realm. I’m also told it works the other way – apparently Jace makes an appearance in White Cat. I’ll let you know soon – that one’s on my TBR pile.

Book four, City of Fallen Angels is due for release in April this year, and will be followed by City of Lost Souls in 2012 and City of Heavenly Fire in 2013. And last year, the first of Clare’s prequel series, The Infernal Devices was released. Clockwork Angel will soon be followed up by Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess. Set 130 years ago in a steampunked Victorian London, we get to meet the family this time round. Descendants of the Lightwoods and other notable characters from The Mortal Instruments series are all here… as well as a couple of err, long-living characters we’ve met in the modern world. Again, Clare does an amazing job of making London her own – just as she does with New York. The steampunkery of zombie-demonbots is shear genius. But really, The Infernal Devices deserves its own post, so I’ll stop that right here.

The other huge news in the Shadowhunting world, is that The Mortal Instruments has been optioned for a movie, with a director (Scott Charles Stewart), screenwriter (Jessica Postigo) on the job, and casting is underway (with Lily Collins confirmed to play Clary).

The Mortal Instruments is one of those series that do need to be read in chronological order to get the most out of the storyline. The Infernal Devices could be read completely independently, but I’d recommend waiting until you’ve read at least the first three Mortal Instruments first – even if it’s just to get some of the ‘in’ jokes and the a-ha moments when a familiar name or character  pops up.

So for now, I’m hanging out for April and looking forward to catching up with some old fictional friends. Apparently, City of Fallen Angels delves a little deeper into the Downworlder’s side of things… namely that of a recently turned Vampire…

Mandy Says:

Aargghhh! Okay, it is absolutely impossible to review The Fury, without giving away plot spoilers for the first two books in this series. So, if you haven’t read The Awakening or The Struggle, yet… stop here. Now. Do not read any further. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Wow, LJ Smith continues to surprise, in more ways than one. The first thing that’s hard to get over in this series, is how contemporary they feel, even though they were first published twenty years ago. I keep looking for give-aways, you know, references to clothing, music, anything that sets them in the nineties, but they’re just not there. Sure, Elena and her friends discuss these things, but there’s nothing specific to date the stories.

The second thing that’s so surprising is what Smith actually dares to do with her characters. The main ones, that is. The end of book 2 saw Elena in an horrific car accident, forced off the bridge by an evil, unnamed force and into freezing water. Although Stefan managed to pull her lifeless body from the wreckage, it was too late… or was it?

Book 3 picks up exactly where book 2 left off, with vampiric brothers Stefan and Damon in a violent fight over Elena’s death. Of course, Stefan blames Damon for killing his true love, and all because she chose Stefan instead of the evil Damon.

And then…<SPOILER ALERT>… Elena wakes up. Yep, she’s shared so much blood with both brothers, that when death comes knocking, the vampire answers. Now, as a reader of probably an unhealthy amount of vampire fiction, I have to say – this doesn’t happen. Ever. Well, not in the middle book of a series anyway. The human girl is supposed to stay, you know, human. So, without giving any more away, this is the basic plot of The Fury – Elena trying to control her bloodlust, and, as she was technically ‘made’ by both brothers, her connection to both Damon (swoon) and Stefan. We see another side to Damon too, as his character develops into much more than just a monster. He genuinely cares for Elena, and the brothers begin to work together with the girl they love to defeat the other, mysterious Big Bad in Fell’s Church. This entity, they discover, is the same Big Bad who pushed Elena from the bridge and has caused much of the havoc around town in the first two books.

All the characters in The Vampire Diaries grow in book 3. LJ Smith has done a remarkable job of yet again turning Elena from the spoilt golden girl we met in book 1, into a character you can really feel for. The loneliness and isolation she feels from her human family is totally believable. We also learn far more about Bonnie and Meredith, Elena’s best friends, with Bonnie’s magical gift a central part of the storyline. There are a handful of other characters who’ve featured in bit parts in the first two books and have key roles this time around – Alaric the supposed History teacher, who has much to hide, Tyler, the mean human teen who hates Stefan with a passion (getting your neck pumped for blood will do that) and Matt, Elena’s ex-boyfriend, who is almost too forgiving to be true. This bigger, brighter cast makes for even more twists and turns than the first two books.

The Fury is still Elena’s story, told from a first person point of view, as well as excerpts from her diary. Of course, becoming a vampire puts a whole new perspective on things, and it’s a welcome and unexpected change. She has new challenges to deal with (and not just the obvious), as well as some of the old ones – that love triangle just became a hell of a lot more complicated.

Shocking endings seem to be LJ Smith’s trademark, and The Fury is no exception. But this one is different – and it might just bring a tear to your eye.

L. J. Smith — Fury (The Vampire Diares: Book 3)

Published December 31, 2008, by Harper (imprint of Harper Collins)

Paperback— 245 pages.

ISBN 978 0 06 201959 2

Book two in The Vampire Diaries, ‘The Struggle’ is where this series really hits its stride. The story picks up directly where book one, ‘The Awakening’ left off, as though it is the following chapter. For this reason, I’d suggest to readers that this is a series that must be read in order.

Golden girl Elena finds herself at the bottom of the social ladder, suddenly an outcast – and it’s all because of her love for Stefan. As the newcomer to the small town of Fell’s Church, he is the chief suspect in the murders and attacks that have had the community on a knife-edge. But only Elena knows Stefan’s secret… he’s a vampire (of the non-human-blood-sucking-variety) and due to some ‘odd’ episodes, is not too sure himself that he isn’t responsible for the attacks.

Stefan’s brother, the cruel and calculating Damon, finally makes his presence known. He’s also a vampire (and not so much of the vegetarian variety) and sets his sights on Elena. He wants her just as much as Stefan does and is willing to kill his weaker brother to get her. When Stefan goes missing after a desperate and violent fight with Damon, Elena turns to her two best friends, Bonnie and Meredith, for help. Using her psychic abilities, Bonnie finds Stefan dying at the bottom of a well. There’s only one way for him to recover… and only Elena knows how.

Elena confesses all in her diary, which suddenly disappears (a great lesson here as to why you don’t *ever* take your personal diary to a party… derr.) Unfortunately, the only way to recover it before the town knows the secret of their friendly, neighbourhood vamp is with the help of Damon. With Elena now in his debt, Damon begins his quest in earnest, willing to destroy anyone who gets in his way.

‘The Struggle’ is a seriously fast read. It moves along at an awesome pace, with barely a slow scene. Elena, who could be a little hard to like in book one, has quickly grown into a far more interesting and engaging character. Even though the reader knows she should be shunning Damon, it’s easy to understand his terrifying allure. And as much as we want to hate him – well – he’s just so ridiculously charming you can’t. Damon is one of the reasons ‘The Struggle’ works so well. He brings with him an eerie, dangerous air of malice, the sort that has you holding your breath far too often. Damon gives the impression that there’s nothing he won’t do to get his way. The author, L. J. Smith. does a fantastic job of giving him a long leash, and no character, main or otherwise, is safe from his conniving, blood-thirsty quest for vengeance. You’re just never quite sure what he’ll do next. Yes, Damon is the perfect vampire.

‘The Struggle’ has so many twists and turns it’s impossible to put down for long. In fact, I finished reading it at 2.45am – and went straight to the bookshelf to pick up book three. (yep, it made for one seriously late night). Trust me; you need to have the entire series of The Vampire Diaries ready to go once you delve into the world of Fell’s Church. Another cliff-hanger ending had me reeling… surely the author wouldn’t do that… would she?

Published by Harper (imprint of Harper Collins)

Paperback, 236 pages

ISBN— 978 0 06 202319 3

Lesson One with The Vampire Diaries: Do not read the books and watch the DVD’s at the same time and expect the same story.

Now, that being said, one is not necessarily better than the other. They’re just different, that’s all. More on the TV series a little later, for now I’m going to concentrate on the first book in the series: The Awakening.

After some initial confusion (blame that on the TV show) as to the identity and appearance of Elena, the main female character, it was all too easy to fall into her world. Told from both a third person point of view, and also from snippets of Elena’s diary, we get to know her very quickly.
Elena is the popular girl at school, the pretty one with a tragic past –who can have anything – or anyone – she wants. That is, until a tall, dark and handsome stranger arrives at school… and doesn’t want anything to do with her. Stefan Salvatore not only drives a Porsche and dresses in designer duds, but has a dark, menacing air about him that intrigues Elena.
Of course, Elena wants what she can’t have, and although it would be easy to dislike her, we’re drawn into her quest to win Stefan’s heart at any cost. While she is busy plotting with her friends how to win over the new boy, a series of mysterious murders and ‘animal’ attacks rock the small town of Fell’s Church, leaving the township buzzing with suspicion.

The narrative of the story switches occasionally, so we get to watch over Stefan as well. This gives the reader an insight into what Elena doesn’t know – Stefan Salvatore is a five-hundred year old vampire. Guilt ridden and remorseful, he feeds only on animal blood. Unfortunately for Stefan, denying his true nature makes him weaker than human-feeding vampires in many ways, as well as permanently starving. This weakness only becomes a problem when another vampire turns up in town…

Apart from the initial confusion – again, caused by expecting the television series to be a similar animal to the book – I did enjoy The Awakening once I was into it. Elena seems to be quite heartless and spoilt, kind of a Scarlett O’Hara type to begin with. But I soon warmed to her, realising the ‘public’ Elena is quite different to the private one – something that most of us can identify with.

The Vampire Diaries was originally published in 1991, but has been re-released and marketed to epic proportions in the last few years to take advantage of the resurgence in vampire fiction. Twenty years on, the story still holds its own as contemporary tale, and the love triangle that develops (not too much on that one for now… I’m not into giving away spoilers) is unique and interesting enough to make you want more. In fact, I liked it enough to pick up book number two, The Struggle the same day I finished The Awakening. (Okay, that might also have had a little to do with the heart-thumping cliff-hanger the book ends on…)

If you enjoy the modern take on vampires – that is, that vamps can fight their primal urges to kill their (human) prey, occasionally hang out in sunlight without burning to a crisp, have deep, lustful emotions and are by nature irresistibly charming and charismatic – then you’ll love The Awakening.

The Vampire Diaries
Book 1 – The Awakening
L.J. Smith

February 3, 1999, by Harper (imprint of Harper Collins)
Paperback – 253 pages.
ISBN – 978 0 06 202458 9