Red Gone Bad

by Lucy Pireel

A small collection of twisted fairy tales

Genres: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Fantasy

ebook

First published November 30, 2012

About the author

Lucy is an avid reader and writer. She doesn't limit herself to any one genre but tries to read them all. "For one might be surprised if one tries something new" is one of her philosophies.
When she's not reading or writing, you can find her outside on a long walk, or twisted into a pretzel in some yoga pose.
She loves people and interacting with readers and other writers and can be found on Google+, the book of faces and many other places.

Reviews

[Sara Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore fairytales, especially those retold. It's always interesting to see the different takes on these classic stories. One of my favorites is Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block, which had a much darker side. And so I was pleasantly surprised by the darkness of these fairytales. Often we think of Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Cinderella and others as victims. However, Lucy Pireel takes these characters and transforms them into the bad guys. Who can hate the Big Bad Wolf when Red is on her way to becoming a home wrecker? And what about Cinderella, who seeks out revenge on her father and sisters? Snow White is a drug dealer who seeks to return home, but is not welcome. And let's not forget about Rumpelstiltskin...and his wicked deals, but perhaps some people deserves the tricks he plays?
These short stories are fast paced and easily read. Rosie, AKA Red, meets up with her friends to hear all about their great news. Jealous, she seeks out one of her friends boyfriends, and bribes him. She finds more than what she bargained for. Cinderella seeks freedom at any cost, but she doesn't realize what that price is. Snow White has broken her fathers heart in dealing “euphoria” and is banished from home, where she meets little men whom she lives with. These men she demands and bosses around. Rumpelstiltskin, well, he may not be that bad after all.
If you enjoy fairy tales, especially those with a twist, I recommend this short collection of stories. It's fun, easy read, and it puts a spin on classic tales that we all love.

[Lena Winfrey Hayat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy Pireel’s collection of short stories “Red Gone Bad,” is an interesting read! She turned common fairytales of Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Snow White and Rumpelstiltskin into dark, twisted tales. It was unusual yet enjoyable! There were indeed surprises where these familiar sweet characters turned out to be tougher, spunkier, and even naughtier than what we grew up with.

I recommend “Red Gone Bad”; you will have your mind blown and your perspective skewed. It is a great, entertaining collection of short stories. Lucy has shown her creativity as top-notch. These tales will hold your attention, and you will never view these characters in the same old way again!

[Steph Bennion · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rather mixed take on traditional fairy tales. The first sees Red seek a slice of the action after putting up with the boasts of her friends about their new men. The modern setting works well and I rather warmed to Red, which made the conclusion quite an uncomfortable read. The second story about a dark-hearted Cinderella was my favourite; although twisted, the ending wrapped up the moral message well. The Snow White tale with its not-so-subtle drug references was just odd. The final story saw Rumplestiltskin deal some canny justice, though I thought this tale was less effective than Cinderella. It's an interested read.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick and fun read. Grown-up versions of the fairy tales we all know and love. They don't have happy endings and they are full of characters who are seeking revenge. There are lots of dark and gruesome twists. You'll never look at Cinderella, Snow White, or Red Riding Hood in the same light again after reading these stories! Rumpelstiltskin also makes an appearance. I enjoyed all the tales, especially the last one, the flash fiction piece about Red Riding Hood.
Definitely worth a read.

[Angus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red Gone Bad
By Lucy Pireel

This is a fun version of ‘Red Riding Hood’ for the adult crowd. She’s the apple of her father’s overprotective eye and the object of pity to her two best friends who presume she will live out her life as a spinster. Crafty, wily, brimming with secret desires…Red is not what anyone in this story thinks she is except maybe the ‘Wolf’.

I don’t want to spoil this excellently written and professionally edited work of fiction for you. Rest assured I liked it enough to give it four out of five gleaming canines.


http://www.amazon.com/Red-Gone-Bad-Lu...

[Crystal Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Lucy’s version of these stories, definitely gave a new twist on things. I really enjoyed the different things that she thought of to add make these fairy tales her own. These stories still had the “basic” parts of the original fairy tales, yet they are twisted in such a way that it makes you wonder!

Even though these stories are short, I really did enjoy the length of them. The stories were the right length to keep you interested, yet not too long that you would get lost in the details. To me, there was the perfect amount of fairy tale, and twisted. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends.

[Christoph Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Red Gone Bad" by Lucy Pireel is a great selection of short fairy tale stories, some modernised or updated, others twisted and altered in original ways. With these changes the book makes for thought-provoking and also very entertaining reading.
My favourite is probably the ending in Cinderella. Lucy's characters are more believable without straying too far from fantasy and fairy tale territory. There may be mobile phones in Little Red Riding Hood but there is also the wolf from the original.
Cleverly put together and well written this is certainly worth your time.

[Jo Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short stories surprised me all the way. Lucy Pireel has taken traditional fairy tales and made them her own with dark, tragic, and sometimes hilarious twists. Absolutely absorbing - I loved every single tale. I don't want to give away any of these clever plots, so I'll just say that I recommend this book to anyone, regardless of your preferred reading genre. This author is not only clearly very clever, but has a unique and enjoyable way of sharing her tales.

[Eleri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my sort of thing at all I'm afraid. Didn't like the writing style or content at all. Had thought it might be interesting but just didn't like it. Sorry