Red by Nichol DeCastra- A New Paranormal Romantic Fantasy

Red by Nichol DeCastra is a paranormal romantic fantasy. It was published on October 31, 2021. The book can also be considered a Red Riding Hood Retelling. The book focuses on the story of a human named Meave Simmons also known as Red and a werewolf named Sói.

Spoiler-Free Plot of Red by Nichol DeCastra:

The book starts when Meave is sent into the woods to check on her grandmother by her parents. Meave finds this strange because her parents never really cared about her grandmother or Meave except when pretending to be a close-knit family in front of others.

Meave also finds it strange that her mother gave her a jade bracelet today. While going towards her grandmother’s home, some wolves ran into her. And then a wolf caught her and to Red’s horror, the wolf transformed into a human. A human with which Red was very well-acquainted. The werewolf, named Sói, told Red that her parents had sold her to his pack as payment for protection.

Meave runs away but finds her grandmother murdered in her home. With her parents selling her and her grandmother murdered, Sói took the heartbroken girl to his home. What has destiny decided for both of them? And will their relationship bloom? Who murdered Meave’s grandmother and why did Meave’s mother give her an expensive bracelet? Read the book to find out more!

My Take On Red by Nichol DeCastra :

Red by Nichol DeCastra in its entirety, is a romantic fantasy with some action scenes. 

The atmosphere of the book is mysterious from the start, and the presence of the red moon described as a blood moon made the writing more imaginative, descriptive, and magical.

The writing style in this book is engaging, captivating, and hooking, and the story is fast-paced with the author not dragging a single scene. The author uses sharp, short, and clean sentences and avoids giving any boring details and that makes this book unique.

The dialogues in this book were good but they lacked depth. But this conveys the individualism of each character because the characters were always in the flow of speaking and talking at a fast pace.

The book is solely based on the story of two characters, Meave and Sói. Meave is an intelligent and modern girl who tries to manage and accept her living conditions as soon as life throws something at her. She is brave and knows how to stand up for herself. She is also outspoken and bold and is not afraid of anything. Her courage after her parents sell her off to a pack of werewolves is exemplary.

Sói on the other hand is a werewolf and the heir to the pack. Unlike other werewolves you may find in other books, Sói was not a brooding or very masculine character always filled with anger. He always tried to treat Meave as her equal and tried to check on Meave’s opinions regarding his decisions. Sói had a courageous personality and tried to keep Meave safe from any harm. Sói was optimistic, flexible, confident, and reliable. He cared for Meave from the very start.

I did not like the relationship between Meave and Sói from the start. The relationship seemed forced and rushed because Sói was thrown into Meave’s life unexpectedly. I also did not like that their relationship was a grooming example at the start. But that is because most of the paranormal fantasies are in this way where a girl is forced to become a member of the paranormal pack. But with time, their relationship started becoming healthy and consensual. They also worked a lot on their relationship and eventually, their relationship became prosperous. The thing I liked the most about them was that they were both communicative and tried to convey their emotions to each other rather than hiding their feelings and becoming hostile toward each other. Look at this example of their positive communication:

“Anyways, how are you feeling, Red?” 

“Okay,” she answered. 

“Really?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. Maeve sighed and took a swig of wine. “No, not really. Between our courtship and my grandmother’s funeral, I feel overwhelmed. Like I am in a speeding car and there are no breaks.” “Understandable. Do you want to talk about your grandmother? Or would you rather talk about something else to help keep your mind off her?”

Content Warning:

Red contains mentions of sex slavery, death, violent scenes, and mentions of parents selling their children. The book is an erotica novel and is mostly suitable for mature readers.

End Note:

Overall, if you want to read a quick paranormal fantasy, Red by Nichole DeCastra should be on your reading list. With its brave and contemporary heroine and caring and genuine hero, and action-filled plot, this book is sure to satisfy your yearning for some paranormal fantasy!

Follow Book Nerdection for more book reviews, bookish updates and book-related content!

---