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Wolves and Daggers: A Red Riding Hood Retelling (The Red Cape Society Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Melanie Karsak (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,693 ratings
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Who’s afraid of the big, bad werewolf?

On the fog-shrouded cobblestone streets of gaslamp London, Agent Clemeny Louvel is the most feared werewolf hunter. Every supernatural creature in Her Majesty’s realm knows the Red Cape Society’s relentless operative dubbed “Little Red.” When the city’s most illustrious alchemists mysteriously disappear, Clemeny is assigned to the case.

To help her get the problem in hand, Queen Victoria appoints Clemeny a temporary partner, Sir Richard Lionheart, a werewolf with a knightly history and a tendency to be far too flirtatious for either of their good.

Can Clemeny trust him to help her chase down the monsters they’re hunting?

From New York Times bestselling author Melanie Karsak, Wolves and Daggers is a retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale set in Victorian England.

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  1. Book 1 of 6
    The Red Cape Society
  2. Print length
    182 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    May 8, 2018
  6. File size
    4475 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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  10. See all details
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From the Publisher

Covers

Complete Series Now Available

Cover

A thrilling retelling of Little Red Riding Hood!

Fairy tales get an exhilarating twist in New York Times bestselling author (2/12/17) Melanie Karsak's The Red Cape Society. Follow "Little Red," Clemeny Louvel, an agent of Her Majesty's Red Cape Society, as she battles supernatural creatures on the fog-shrouded streets of London. As Clemeny battles the preternatural, she must also resist the charms of enigmatic werewolf, Sir Richard Lionheart. Start this enchanting series today!

Editorial Reviews

Review

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "I couldn't get enough of this story and these characters" Seraphia, Amazon Reviewer

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Fast paced, very exciting. Werewolves watch for a new threat to your hides. Little Red is one little feisty package who kicks major tail" Doris, Amazon Reviewer

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Definitely check out this action packed romp through reimagined Victorian, England, filled with airships, steam-powered and widgeted weapons and gear, and big, bad wolves" Forest Maiden, Amazon Reviewer

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Well written with great characters the story grabs you right away and holds you till the end. I started the next book as soon as I finished the first, then continued to finish all the books out in this series" Diana, Amazon Reviewer

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Such a fantastic retelling of a childhood favorite... Definitely my new favorite series!!" Amazon Reviewer

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "This was best reading marathon I have done. I enjoyed each and every book" Stephanie, Amazon Reviewer

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "This series was great. I'm always on the lookout for a new retelling of an old classic. This series does not disappoint. The world is well thought out and has a deep structure. The characters are interesting and have you hoping that all the secondary characters get their own series too. For those who want a little spice without the smut then this is for you. Little Red is a great character and I loved her cheeky dialogue. Each book's ending had me quickly looking for the next out of excitement to see how the story would further unfold. I would recommend this series for anyone looking for a creative and entertaining adventure" Amazon Reviewer

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "I couldn't put these books down" Sarah, Amazon Reviewer

From the Author

The Red Cape Society
Wolves and Daggers, Book 1
Alphas and Airships, Book 2
Peppermint and Pentacles, Book 3
Bitches and Brawlers, Book 4
Howls and Hallows, Book 5
Lycans and Legends, Book 6

Romantasy Fairy Tales Suggested Reading Order
Curiouser and Curiouser: An Alice in Wonderland Retelling
Ice and Embers: A Snow Queen Retelling
Beauty and Beastly: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling
Golden Braids and Dragon Blades: A Rapunzel Retelling

The Red Cape Society series is set in the same award-winning steampunk universe as Melanie Karsak's Romantasy Fairy Tales and the Airship Racing Chronicles. Keep an eye out for cameos and Easter eggs!

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07C86DP9J
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Clockpunk Press (May 8, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 8, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4475 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 182 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,693 ratings

About the author

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Melanie Karsak

Melanie Karsak

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New York Times and USA Today best-selling historical fantasy author Melanie Karsak is the author of the Celtic Blood series, Steampunk Red Riding Hood, Steampunk Fairy Tales, the Road to Valhalla Series, and other works of fantasy and fiction. The author currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children.

Join my newsletter and get Under the Strawberry Moon for FREE: https://bit.ly/37y35RS

Connect with Melanie online:

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/37y35RS

Webpage: http://www.melaniekarsak.com

Facebook: @AuthorMelanieKarsak

Pinterest: @melaniekarsak

Instagram: @karsakmelanie

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
1,693 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

J. E.
5.0 out of 5 stars interesting and entertaining!
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
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I very much enjoyed this. First book I've read by Melanie Karsak, and I'm about to add more to my "to be read". The familiarity of a beloved children's story, with a steampunk update for modern adults. Engaging characters, well written, intriguing plot twists.
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Brad Friedlander
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Variation on Red Riding Hood
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2023
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I’m not a great fan of steam punk, but decided to give this book a try. I’m glad I did. The reimagining of Victorian England and the secret agents of the Red Cape Society made a great backdrop for an well told story. The character development is nicely done and the world view is vivid while feeling realistic.

The story has a primary plot which has a satisfying end. At the same time, there is a clear setup for many more adventures including discovering Little Red’s backstory.

I can recommend this book and look forward to reading another in the future.
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Saya
3.0 out of 5 stars On the whole a perfectly likeable quick read, but not enough to sell me on the series.
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2019
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Agent Clemeny Louvel, "Little Red" of the secret supernatural-hunting Red Cape Society sets out on an action packed adventure aided by her mentor and partner, Quinn, and a dangerously attractive Knights Templar werewolf nicknamed Lionheart, Clemeny tries to unravel the mysterious cooperation of the packs as they race against the clockwork to rescue missing scholars abducted by werewolf packs operating out of 1899 London in this self-proclaimed "penny dreadful meets supernatural" retelling of the classic fairytale Red Riding Hood with an urban fantasy twist.

Wolves and Daggers had a rather sad recurring theme for me: I wanted to like it, I saw the potential for it ...and then it fell flat.

Aside from the occasional bits of clockwork machinery (and motorcycles), the story felt action-heavy urban paranormal with the generic medieval-ish fantasy setting rather than steampunk. It was very easy to forget we were theoretically in 1899 London, as opposed to D&D with guns and townhouses. There wasn't any of the progressive innovation, class structure/class conflict, or aesthetic and mannerisms I've come to associate with steampunk as a genre. I don't want to say the book isn't steampunk, but I would say it isn't well representative of the genre and I wish the "gas lamp London urban fantasy" got more of the focus in the description and marketing.

The main character, Clemeny, was lukewarm instead of badass. She's an obviously competent woman doing a physically demanding job well in a man's world, but as a reader you're left with the feeling that's all she is--and I'm not even referring to Clemeny's laments over not having a life outside of work. Despite Wolves and Daggers being in first person, I don't feel like I got the chance to know her. In general, I found her to be likeable and much less annoying a narrator than most first person female badasses (looking at you, Katniss Everdeen!), but what stuck with me after I finished the book was her constant "I need a man" nonsense (which she seemed to believe would solve all the problems with her social life) and her tendency to talk down about other female characters in the book, including some pretty heavy slut shaming.

There were a lot of secondary and supporting characters, especially for a novella of this length, which I think did them a bit of a disservice. Since there were so many, we never got the opportunity to get to know them. Of all the characters, Lionheart stole the show for me, despite him getting boxed into the ill fitting role of romantic interest.

Without giving away any spoilers, I really enjoyed the plot. While fairly straightforward and a bit predictable, it was complex enough to be engaging. My only real complaint is that it felt like a really big event/plot was condensed for the novella. There were so many players involved, twists and turns as the plot unfolded, and potential for worldbuilding, that I feel like the story would have benefitted from being spread out. Both as a "proper" novel (or even series) and over a greater timespan within the narrative. I was a bit boggled on how the whole novella takes place over a two-ish day period. There were also these flashback scenes I wasn't entirely sold on either. At minimum, I wish they'd been more obviously separated from the present-day narrative.

The pacing felt like a list of events: "this happened then this happened and because of this happening we did that." Very action heavy with little worldbuilding or exposition and no chance for the story to breathe and the characters to just exist and develop a bit. To echo what another reviewer said, this story felt like the first installment of a serial, not the first book of a series; even a series of novellas.

I already touched a bit on the setting when discussing the genre issue, but I wanted to talk about it again since worldbuilding is so important when it comes to speculative fiction. Keeping in mind that this was a 100-ish page novella, I thought the worldbuilding was alright. I would've loved more detail, but I always want more detail, and I feel like we were given most of what we needed to understand the storyline. Having said that, I have two fairly large complaints: Despite the fact the whole novella is about werewolves and pack dynamics seem to play a really large role in the plot, they're never really explained. The werewolves in Wolves and Daggers were quite a bit different from the werewolves I've encountered in other fiction, but it took me most of the novella to figure that out.

The other issue, and IMHO, the much larger issue, is that the Red Capes are supposed to be an extension of the secret service protecting Britain against "things that go bump in the night" (and that is a quote) in an unsuspecting world. Theoretically, only people directly involved in the Red Capes or the supernatural community are even aware that the supernatural exists at all, yet throughout the whole novella it seems very par for the course. Part of this is the first person perspective of the main character, who is very involved in the supernatural world, but I really missed having a glimpse of "normal" London and people going about their daily lives without any knowledge there were crazy things going on around them.

TL;DR = The plot was fascinating, but rushed; the characters likeable, but underdeveloped; and the setting never really felt Steampunk to me. On the whole a perfectly likeable quick read, but not enough to sell me on the series.
31 people found this helpful
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JediTionne
5.0 out of 5 stars Little Red
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2024
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is fun, it is gaslight at its best. Little Red takes on the Big Bad Wolves and finds allies in the Templars, a vampire, and goblins. Have fun and read this one! It’s worth it!
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Mel
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable and quick read
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2023
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I really appreciated that the story wasn't as long as most paranormal romances. It was a to-the-point and enjoyable one day read. It's the first in the series, so it's open ended in terms of plot and romance, but the current conflict was resolved and I didn't feel cliffhangered. The FL was likeable smart and strong, as was the potential romantic interest. the lore was ok. I would want to see the romance progress, but don't think I want to read six books to get there.
4 people found this helpful
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J.Tinagero
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story! Super setting for a story
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2024
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The steampunk setting makes a great setting! The characters are great and easy to get hooked on. The villains need a little more depth to make me think that they’re a big problem. Still a great story and should be a great series.
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Hal
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun Red Riding Hood telling.
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2024
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I really enjoyed a fun re-imagining of Little Red Riding Hood. This had a lovely steam punk/Victorian vibe. A fun action book.
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Miranda
4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2024
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I like the secret service take on the Red Riding Hood story. I do see this book as only a “part one” when it could have been more. The characters are interesting but not overly compelling. I’m more invested because it is genuinely hard to find decent werewolf lore these days. This definitely scratches that particular itch. It reads like a young adult book, but it definitely has some mature themes so I’m unsure of the intended audience. Nothing I would be outright opposed to a young adult reading, but I’m not sure where the story is going with those themes so I would hesitate to recommend it to younger readers.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Annmarie
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed the book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2024
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Enjoyed the book. Don't think I will rush to read the rest though. Nice story but nothing I haven't read before.
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Angeline O.
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun start to a series
Reviewed in the Netherlands on April 21, 2024
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It took me some while to get into it, it's steampunk meets werewolves meets more fantasy meets secret agents meets red riding hood, so at times it felt a bit much haha but it was a fun and fast story. Loads of action and a bit of mystery. Will want to read book 2 to see where it goes.
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Käufer ✓
5.0 out of 5 stars Nettes Buch!
Reviewed in Germany on September 25, 2023
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Mir hat das Buch gefallen, ist aber Geschmacksache! Für 0€ kann man definitiv sich mal einlesen. Kann es nur empfehlen!
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begosalem
5.0 out of 5 stars The Girl in the Red Cape
Reviewed in Spain on February 2, 2022
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OK, I must start by admitting that, usually, I'm not into steampunk (or clockpunk, etc.). So it's not the kind of book I would have chosen for myself in the first place. But then, I LOVE Melanie Karsak - her Celtic Blood and Road to Valhalla series are amongst my favorite books ever. Then.... I got this book for my new Kindle, and there it had been sitting for a while. And a book that is on my Kindle is a book that I read, sooner or later. Especially if it's by this author. This was the very last book I read in 2021 - I finished it on December 31st - and let me tell you: around chapter 3 or 4 I was sooo hooked on Clemeny's story that I finished the book at once and immediately went to look for book nr. 2, only to find out it was on my Kindle as well! Yay! - Awesome read. Loved it.
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Ch.Thidarat
4.0 out of 5 stars Book review
Reviewed in Japan on October 16, 2023
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I have not read it yet but i read so many reviews i think it is a good book. Can’t wait for reading this book on this weekend
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