Red Hood’s Revenge by Jim C. Hines

ISBN: 0756406080

Princesses book #3

I bought this book.

With this book I’m finally caught up on this series (until March at least) and it’s this one that has the most complex, detailed world building of the three, which is saying something. Hines’ Princess books follow the further adventures of Snow White (Snow, a talented sorceress), Cinderella (Danielle, happily married princess and mother) and Talia (Sleeping Beauty whose tale is possibly the most vicious of all), fairy tale princesses whose stories didn’t quite turn out as legend would have you believe.

In Red Hood’s Revenge Danielle receives a letter from Red Riding Hood (who is now a widely feared assassin), a bold proclamation of her intent to kill Danielle for no other reason than she’s been paid to. But like in all of Hines’ books the plot (and the emotional story) is not so simple. When Snow and Talia come to Danielle’s aid, the three of them find themselves magically transported to the exotic desert land where Talia’s legend began—and where the Queen has put a death sentence on Talia’s head.

Talia must save old friends, defeat (again) the insidious fairy plot that was put in place when she was first “gifted” as a child, and save her kingdom from the Wild Hunt, which savages towns from dusk to dawn. Hines spins out the well-known fairy tale into a semi-religious and definitely political plot to destroy the human rulers of Talia’s land and bring the world under fairy rule. Likewise the subplot of Talia facing up to her own rage over what really happened to her (I’ll give you a hint if you haven’t read any of these books yet—it wasn’t the prince’s kiss that awoke her) makes for a satisfying read on many levels.

Readers won’t be able to help but become personally involved with these princesses. They’re brave, bold, strong and anything but helpless women waiting to be rescued. But Hines also holds respect for the classic feel of fairy tales, creating something strong enough, and interesting enough to stand on its own in the weight of the classic art of storytelling.