Welcome to Ender's Ridge, a small town in the far west with a somewhat peculiar population. Enjoy a drink at The Goose, maybe their famous hot cider, after a secret recipe of the house. Or you could even stay for a nice meal. They will love to have you for dinner. Just be careful with the local horses. Some of them may a bit on the bity side.

This is Derrick's and Laurie's story, a vampire and co-owner of The Goose und the newly arrived preacher. Ender's Ridge is a safe haven for the non-humans, magically shielded from too curious eyes. Or at least it should be, but recently weird accidents have become more and more common. Derrick together with his lavender wife Serafín tries to figure out what is going on, while Laurie is quickly becoming the center of Derrick's thoughts and feelings.

This is a story about unexpected love, about forgiving and accepting oneself, about founding a family even if not bound by blood, and about a community living at their own terms, desperately defending their little city and homes from unknown dangers.

While the pacing is moderate (but never feels slow) it gives us between events (and oh boy do things happen, it's quite a ride), enough time to get to know the characters. Their actions and feelings feel understandable and relatable.

Oh, and did I mention that there is a vampire horse. Yes, you read right, a vampire horse! That alone would sell the book to me. Beckett Krane's writing is delightfully rich and this is impressively their debut work. I will certainly come back to this book just to enjoy the writing again and I already have put the next chapter in Ender's Ridge's story on my mental tbr.

Thank you to Beckett Krane for having generously provided me with an e-ARC.

ARC-review.

“Oh wolf, what big eyes you have!” “All the better to see your beautiful face with, sweetheart.”

Red, an orphan abandoned on the stairs of a castle with nothing more as the red hood of his mother, has finally got the opportunity to prove his worth. The queen, that always looked down on him because of his mismatching eyes, has given him a task. He is supposed to safe the population from a terrible famine.

Soon Red encounters in the forrest a big grey wolf, that finds him very mouthwatering. Wim, the wolf, is in the woods because of his own adventure. The two will, after some initial difficulty, decide that for the time being, it is of advantage to travel together. More adventures are waiting for them and over those they find time to get to know each other and bond together. While obviously attracted to each other, they can't stop their banter, which is hilarious at times.

T.J. Rose writes the first book of Grimm's stories retelling. While angst is a component of the story the story is generally very wholesome. Both chars struggle with different issues, feeling like the outsider that doesn't belong on one side, the fear to harm those that are dearly loved on the other side. But in the end they will find their well deserved HEA.

I have read quite a few retellings of Little Red Riding Hood and think that this must be one of my prefered ones. Rose writes smartly, giving her very likeable characters lots of depth. She keeps close to the known original story told by the German brothers but adds enough elements to keep it interesting till the end. She has without a doubt managed to make this her own story.

After reading this successful first book of the series, I am looking forward to what is next to come.

Thanks to T.J. Rose for the ARC.