Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin
Apr. 11th, 2011 05:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
She knows what he is, but she can’t be sure what he’s done.
The only thing Avery Hood can recall about the night her parents died is that she saw silver – deadly silver, moving inhumanly fast. As much as she wants to remember who killed her parents, she can’t, and there’s nothing left to do but try to piece her life back together.
Then Avery meets the new boy at school. Ben is mysterious and beautiful, and Avery feels a connection with him like nothing she’s ever experienced. Ben is also a werewolf, but Avery trusts him – at first. Then she sees that sometimes his eyes flash an inhuman silver. And she learns that she’s not the only one who can’t remember the night her parents died ...
All that Avery Hood remembers from the night her parents were brutally murdered is a flash of silver, even though she was found next to their bodies covered in their blood. Forced to live with her grandmother, Renee, who had a difficult relationship with Avery’s father, she tries to get her life back to normal. But then she meets Ben. He’s a new student at her school and they experience a strange connection to each other – partly born through the affinity that they both have for the neighbouring forest. But as the two grow closer, Avery discovers that Ben has a secret: he’s a werewolf. And as the two of the grow closer, Avery realises that she’s not the only one without any memory of that night ...
Ivy Devlin’s debut novel is a paranormal romance riff on the story of Red Riding Hood and it makes original use of the elements from that fairytale.
Avery’s family life is interesting – her father having constructed an ecologically friendly if ramshackle house in the middle of the forest that he’s passionate about defending (using his role as editor of the town newspaper to fight attempts to extend the town into it). Grandma Renee is estranged from the family as a result of an argument with her son (Avery’s father) about his life choices. Consequently Avery’s relationship with her is strained, although Devlin does well in showing how that relationship slowly improves.
For me, Ben the wolf lacked personality. A sensitive boy drawn to Avery for reasons he doesn’t understand, he’s too lightly drawn and the romance between him and Avery has no build-up at all. Avery’s character does make up for this. I particularly liked the insight that she had into her social isolation and how she’d long given up any hope of being popular and her connection with the forest is well developed.
It’s a short book and I felt it could have been longer – especially so as to bring out the relationship between Avery and Ben. The mystery as to who killed Avery’s parents and why was telegraphed far too early, which made the big reveal at the end lack tension. However the look of the book is terrific, with the word “moon” being shown in red ink, giving it a suitably gothic feel and the story ends with a set up for a sequel, which carries promise.
The Verdict:
Ivy Devlin’s paranormal romance riffs on the story of Red Riding Hood and I liked the spin she put on the elements of the original fairytale. It’s a good looking book and I liked the way the word “moon” is shown in red, but it was also too short for me, which made the relationship between the two main characters too perfunctory and the central murder mystery too easy to work out. The book ends with a set-up for a sequel and given the way Devlin makes the original her own is good enough for me to want to read on.
The only thing Avery Hood can recall about the night her parents died is that she saw silver – deadly silver, moving inhumanly fast. As much as she wants to remember who killed her parents, she can’t, and there’s nothing left to do but try to piece her life back together.
Then Avery meets the new boy at school. Ben is mysterious and beautiful, and Avery feels a connection with him like nothing she’s ever experienced. Ben is also a werewolf, but Avery trusts him – at first. Then she sees that sometimes his eyes flash an inhuman silver. And she learns that she’s not the only one who can’t remember the night her parents died ...
All that Avery Hood remembers from the night her parents were brutally murdered is a flash of silver, even though she was found next to their bodies covered in their blood. Forced to live with her grandmother, Renee, who had a difficult relationship with Avery’s father, she tries to get her life back to normal. But then she meets Ben. He’s a new student at her school and they experience a strange connection to each other – partly born through the affinity that they both have for the neighbouring forest. But as the two grow closer, Avery discovers that Ben has a secret: he’s a werewolf. And as the two of the grow closer, Avery realises that she’s not the only one without any memory of that night ...
Ivy Devlin’s debut novel is a paranormal romance riff on the story of Red Riding Hood and it makes original use of the elements from that fairytale.
Avery’s family life is interesting – her father having constructed an ecologically friendly if ramshackle house in the middle of the forest that he’s passionate about defending (using his role as editor of the town newspaper to fight attempts to extend the town into it). Grandma Renee is estranged from the family as a result of an argument with her son (Avery’s father) about his life choices. Consequently Avery’s relationship with her is strained, although Devlin does well in showing how that relationship slowly improves.
For me, Ben the wolf lacked personality. A sensitive boy drawn to Avery for reasons he doesn’t understand, he’s too lightly drawn and the romance between him and Avery has no build-up at all. Avery’s character does make up for this. I particularly liked the insight that she had into her social isolation and how she’d long given up any hope of being popular and her connection with the forest is well developed.
It’s a short book and I felt it could have been longer – especially so as to bring out the relationship between Avery and Ben. The mystery as to who killed Avery’s parents and why was telegraphed far too early, which made the big reveal at the end lack tension. However the look of the book is terrific, with the word “moon” being shown in red ink, giving it a suitably gothic feel and the story ends with a set up for a sequel, which carries promise.
The Verdict:
Ivy Devlin’s paranormal romance riffs on the story of Red Riding Hood and I liked the spin she put on the elements of the original fairytale. It’s a good looking book and I liked the way the word “moon” is shown in red, but it was also too short for me, which made the relationship between the two main characters too perfunctory and the central murder mystery too easy to work out. The book ends with a set-up for a sequel and given the way Devlin makes the original her own is good enough for me to want to read on.
