Red August: A Fated Mates Werewolf Fairy Tale Romantasy

by H.L. Brooks, Will Hardy (editor)

August Archer thinks she's an average teenage girl—who also happens to have disturbing and sexy dreams about werewolves. Still grieving over the loss of her father, and confused about his final gift of a red hooded cloak, August is uprooted from her New York City apartment to the tiny town of Mahigan Falls, Maryland. There she meets a cast of characters that hold clues to her past—especially her new neighbor, an enigmatic, fascinating older man who refuses to talk to her, and who she cannot stop thinking about.

When August's grandmother starts to weave a strange and unbelievable tale of werewolves and hunters, she realizes that the man of her dreams may be her family's oldest enemy, in this modern-day Red Riding Hood story.

This series is a paranormal romance inspired by the Red Riding Hood fairy tale and is set in the 1980s. It includes tragedy, star-crossed lovers, fated mates, age-gap romance, and some kilts.

344 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 11, 2024

About the author

H.L. Brooks is a writer, photographer, and artist.

She enjoys writing character-driven dark fairy tales and dark romance stories full of adventure and drama. She is also looking forward to writing cozy witchy mysteries and short literary fiction.

H.L. was a military brat to a career U.S. Marine and Vietnam war veteran, raised at various bases across the country. She eventually settled in Maryland with her daughters and husband. She later found a husband she was more compatible with. She has a black cat. She still mourns the loss of her sweet, bright, runt of an Abyssinian cat of sixteen years. She is fond of chocolate, stripey socks, tequila, and love letters. Her defining characteristics are getting excited and talking too much, cheering people up, and making lemonade of life's lemons.

Reviews

[J.M. Gokey · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Spoiler Free Review*
Red August is a wonderfully written Little Red Riding Hood retelling with ALL THE SPICE!!! Personally I’ve read quite a few retellings, but this is the first LRRH I’ve found and it was an incredible read. Red August is a bit of a darker coming of Age story that follows 16 year old August. After the death of her father she moves to a small town in Maryland to an old family home with her mother. With her grandmother in a nursing home, she is the only one who can fight for answers to the secrets of their family. Then comes Faolan — the super hunky older love interest with his own dark secrets.
August was such a fresh FMC to read — stuck between childhood and womanhood, and absolutely driven mad by her raging hormones!
H.L. has created wonderful characters that I found very easy to relate to, and I love this modern take on a classic Grimm tale she’s manifested .
I would recommend this book (and series!) to anyone who loves contemporary fantasy, shifters, SPICE, and an incredible retelling!
Overall this was an easy 5 star read for me, it was one of those books that doesn’t make you feel like you’re reading, and instead the story just unfolds in front of you. I’m excited to continue the series and can’t wait to see what other stories this author releases in the future!

*I was gifted this book by the author in exchange for an honest review*

[Tonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a dragon gal so I’m less likely to pick up a werewolf book but I was really curious about this one. It’s got coming of age, age gape, fairy tale retelling, and lots of 80s nostalgia. Set in my home state, the author is amazing at describing the setting and characters. I was snared from the first page.