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A Taste of Red
A Sapphic Romantasy standalone inspired by Little Red Riding Hood.Samira of the Wolves is the twenty-four year old granddaughter of the Alphas, who rule over the pack and oppress the Reds. Through laws and genocide, the Alphas have reigned down horrors on formerly magickal people who they deemed a deadly threat.
But all of that was before Samira was born and now she finds herself on a mission to follow a seemingly innocent Red girl through the forest to deliver supplies to her sick grandma. Only she’s not a young girl, but rather a young woman hiding a deadly secret in plain sight under the guise of innocence.
Rose of the Riverbournes is not only Samira’s born enemy, but someone the Wolf is duty bound to execute. An unexpected attraction keeps her from killing the young woman, leading to other revelations of a bigger coverup and lies from her own blood family.
Foes lie in wait as the two hide their forbidden love and discover magick still thriving among them. Now, their secrets and lies could get them killed—if a hidden enemy doesn’t do it first.
This book is for adult readers. Full content warnings can be found on the author's website.
But all of that was before Samira was born and now she finds herself on a mission to follow a seemingly innocent Red girl through the forest to deliver supplies to her sick grandma. Only she’s not a young girl, but rather a young woman hiding a deadly secret in plain sight under the guise of innocence.
Rose of the Riverbournes is not only Samira’s born enemy, but someone the Wolf is duty bound to execute. An unexpected attraction keeps her from killing the young woman, leading to other revelations of a bigger coverup and lies from her own blood family.
Foes lie in wait as the two hide their forbidden love and discover magick still thriving among them. Now, their secrets and lies could get them killed—if a hidden enemy doesn’t do it first.
This book is for adult readers. Full content warnings can be found on the author's website.
528 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 6, 2024
123 people are currently reading
591 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Lee
27 books47 followersJust a mom/nerd out in this crazy world writing smut.
My first romance book was a historical romance that I read in middle school. I didn't start reading smutty romance until I was in my 20's when a friend gave me my first dark romance.
I love writing beautifully flawed but strong female leads, diverse romantic situations, realistic body types, ethnically diverse, and queer characters.
"Magick and Malice" is my currently mostly sapphic romantasy series inspired by fairytales. All in KU. Happy reading!
Connect with Me:
TikTok @StephanieLeeWrites
Instagram/Facebook @StephanieLeeBooks
www.StephanieLeeBooks.com
My first romance book was a historical romance that I read in middle school. I didn't start reading smutty romance until I was in my 20's when a friend gave me my first dark romance.
I love writing beautifully flawed but strong female leads, diverse romantic situations, realistic body types, ethnically diverse, and queer characters.
"Magick and Malice" is my currently mostly sapphic romantasy series inspired by fairytales. All in KU. Happy reading!
Connect with Me:
TikTok @StephanieLeeWrites
Instagram/Facebook @StephanieLeeBooks
www.StephanieLeeBooks.com
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 31, 2025
Ooooook…..So…
This was bad. I’m being blunt here, but it’s the truth. This novel is riddled with inconsistencies, its confusing, it draggggggs far too long for the amount of content, and it just wasn’t that engaging. The entire plot was essentially just people keeping secrets (for no reason) that they slowly revealed (for no reason) until the protagonists/reader got all the details. A lot of the plot elements didn’t make sense…including literally the climax……you get the idea.
All that said, there WAS some good stuff. This was definitely creative and had some potential, but I think the authors imagination exceeded their ability to execute their vision. There were some moments/elements that I liked a lot hidden within the cluster-frick that was the rest of this novel. Due to these redeeming bits and pieces I’m giving this one 2-stars instead of 1. I hope the author keeps writing because I see some definite potential there (maybe get some more editing/proofreading next time? IDK).
Also, this barely had anything to do with Red Riding Hood. Just a few lines here and there that were creative while somehow being incredibly cringe.
My Rating: “D+”
Converted Rating: 2-Stars
This was bad. I’m being blunt here, but it’s the truth. This novel is riddled with inconsistencies, its confusing, it draggggggs far too long for the amount of content, and it just wasn’t that engaging. The entire plot was essentially just people keeping secrets (for no reason) that they slowly revealed (for no reason) until the protagonists/reader got all the details. A lot of the plot elements didn’t make sense…including literally the climax……you get the idea.
All that said, there WAS some good stuff. This was definitely creative and had some potential, but I think the authors imagination exceeded their ability to execute their vision. There were some moments/elements that I liked a lot hidden within the cluster-frick that was the rest of this novel. Due to these redeeming bits and pieces I’m giving this one 2-stars instead of 1. I hope the author keeps writing because I see some definite potential there (maybe get some more editing/proofreading next time? IDK).
Also, this barely had anything to do with Red Riding Hood. Just a few lines here and there that were creative while somehow being incredibly cringe.
My Rating: “D+”
Converted Rating: 2-Stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2024
Sapphic little red riding hood retelling? Sayyyyy lessss. I loved this story and this world. The magic system was interesting and easy to understand coming from someone who doesn’t read a bunch of fantasy. I loved Samira and Rose so much. I can’t wait to read more from this universe.
January 1, 2025
first book of 2025.
wonderful retelling of red riding hood. I enjoyed it, i really enjoyed the way the plot developed - was a twist i didn’t expect.
wonderful retelling of red riding hood. I enjoyed it, i really enjoyed the way the plot developed - was a twist i didn’t expect.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2024
#BookLoungeReviewTeam
Book: A Taste of Red: A Sapphic Romantasy
Author: Stephanie Lee
Rating: 3⭐️
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
✨️✨️✨️ BLURB: ✨️✨️✨️
A Sapphic Romantasy standalone inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. Samira of the Wolves is the twenty-four year old granddaughter of the Alphas, who rule over the pack and oppress the Reds. Through laws and genocide, the Alphas have reigned down horrors on formerly magickal people who they deemed a deadly threat.
But all of that was before Samira was born and now she finds herself on a mission to follow a seemingly innocent Red girl through the forest to deliver supplies to her sick grandma. Only she’s not a young girl, but rather a young woman hiding a deadly secret in plain sight under the guise of innocence.
Rose of the Riverbournes is not only Samira’s born enemy, but someone the Wolf is duty bound to execute. An unexpected attraction keeps her from killing the young woman, leading to other revelations of a bigger coverup and lies from her own blood family.
Foes lie in wait as the two hide their forbidden love and discover magick still thriving among them. Now, their secrets and lies could get them killed—if a hidden enemy doesn’t do it first.
This book is for adult readers. Full content warnings can be found on the author's website.
✨️✨️✨️ REVIEW: ✨️✨️✨️
Okay, this one had me intrigued from the description alone and I very much enjoyed the story, but it just wasn't pulling me in until about the halfway point. From there I was hooked and devoured it, but before that I was easily distracted. I really enjoyed the character development, world building, and plot.
Rose was seemingly innocent and weak, when she really turns out to be so much more, she was probably my favorite character... maybe next to Iris. Samira is an angry, "Alpha to be" that never lets anyone close to her.
The world building was well done, also. It was a magical land, without being overly described or detailed. Sometimes authors go a little overboard and make things unnecessarily difficult. Lol.
The plot was enjoyable. Like I said, it started a little slow, still interesting, just slow. BUT once the real antagonist was introduced, things started developing quickly. I especially appreciated the fact the final showdown wasn't just a half-page scene. Lol. I feel like I've read a lot of those recently where there is intense build-up, for the antagonist only to be taken out quickly and easily, with no real fuss.
Overall, I really enjoyed this, and if it had pulled me in more quickly I would have given it 4⭐️
Book: A Taste of Red: A Sapphic Romantasy
Author: Stephanie Lee
Rating: 3⭐️
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
✨️✨️✨️ BLURB: ✨️✨️✨️
A Sapphic Romantasy standalone inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. Samira of the Wolves is the twenty-four year old granddaughter of the Alphas, who rule over the pack and oppress the Reds. Through laws and genocide, the Alphas have reigned down horrors on formerly magickal people who they deemed a deadly threat.
But all of that was before Samira was born and now she finds herself on a mission to follow a seemingly innocent Red girl through the forest to deliver supplies to her sick grandma. Only she’s not a young girl, but rather a young woman hiding a deadly secret in plain sight under the guise of innocence.
Rose of the Riverbournes is not only Samira’s born enemy, but someone the Wolf is duty bound to execute. An unexpected attraction keeps her from killing the young woman, leading to other revelations of a bigger coverup and lies from her own blood family.
Foes lie in wait as the two hide their forbidden love and discover magick still thriving among them. Now, their secrets and lies could get them killed—if a hidden enemy doesn’t do it first.
This book is for adult readers. Full content warnings can be found on the author's website.
✨️✨️✨️ REVIEW: ✨️✨️✨️
Okay, this one had me intrigued from the description alone and I very much enjoyed the story, but it just wasn't pulling me in until about the halfway point. From there I was hooked and devoured it, but before that I was easily distracted. I really enjoyed the character development, world building, and plot.
Rose was seemingly innocent and weak, when she really turns out to be so much more, she was probably my favorite character... maybe next to Iris. Samira is an angry, "Alpha to be" that never lets anyone close to her.
The world building was well done, also. It was a magical land, without being overly described or detailed. Sometimes authors go a little overboard and make things unnecessarily difficult. Lol.
The plot was enjoyable. Like I said, it started a little slow, still interesting, just slow. BUT once the real antagonist was introduced, things started developing quickly. I especially appreciated the fact the final showdown wasn't just a half-page scene. Lol. I feel like I've read a lot of those recently where there is intense build-up, for the antagonist only to be taken out quickly and easily, with no real fuss.
Overall, I really enjoyed this, and if it had pulled me in more quickly I would have given it 4⭐️
April 17, 2025
The Reds are oppressed and wiped out (a genocide) by the wolves.....like children and babies are killed and murdered along with the adults, whose hearts the wolves eat. The wolves literally KILL red-headed babies, the FMC (a Red) has to hide her red hair because otherwise she'd be killed. These people (the wolves) are EVIL. But predictably the ACTUAL villain the author chooses is a Red who turned evil from the mistreatment and oppression she faced. You see dear reader, it's not evil to oppress, subjugate and kill a group of people. No, the REAL evil person is the person who retaliates against the people who are oppressing, subjugating and killing their people.
In the end, the author wants you to sympathize with the people who committed a genocide. They even get happily ever afters. NOTHING bad happens to the people who literally committed genocide, they just apologize and all is to be forgiven. Any anger from the Reds is suppressed and shamed out of them by Grandma Red because they must at all times meet cruelty with kindness and above all else forgive. Even if it means forgiving the people who wiped out your whole family. In fact, the author writes the Grandma (who's whole family was wiped out in the "Burning") as being FRIENDS with Alpha who had her entire family killed, with their hearts eaten for good measure. Like you're FRIENDS with the woman who killed your innocent parents and siblings, unjustly? What?
ULTIMATELY, you shouldn't be "turning the other cheek" to people who have committed a genocide, they should be held accountable. Saying "all is forgiven" and becoming besties with them is not holding them accountable. Had to drop a star for the horrible messaging.
On another note, the relationship between Rose and Samira felt forced, it wasn't believable. There were lot of time jumps, like months ahead time jumps. They interact sparingly and opportunities to show their relationship grow on page is disrupted by time jumps. For instance, after they had sex for the first time after Rose saves Samira's life we don't get to see their goodbye the next morning. We see them lying in bed together talking about how they don't want to leave their bubble. The next scene is a time jump. What was their conversation like when they woke up that next morning? What was the goodbye like? It was a missed opportunity. All the meaningful moments get time jumped away and so the relationship feels hollow. They're making declarations of love that you're rolling your eyes at because the foundation of their love is not there and the declarations feel fake. Maybe if we saw them get to know each other it would be different, but their on page interactions are sparse and quick. We didn't really get to see them have conversations because they're not suppose to be together but the stolen moments are too quick for us to see anything meaningful being built.
In the end, the author wants you to sympathize with the people who committed a genocide. They even get happily ever afters. NOTHING bad happens to the people who literally committed genocide, they just apologize and all is to be forgiven. Any anger from the Reds is suppressed and shamed out of them by Grandma Red because they must at all times meet cruelty with kindness and above all else forgive. Even if it means forgiving the people who wiped out your whole family. In fact, the author writes the Grandma (who's whole family was wiped out in the "Burning") as being FRIENDS with Alpha who had her entire family killed, with their hearts eaten for good measure. Like you're FRIENDS with the woman who killed your innocent parents and siblings, unjustly? What?
ULTIMATELY, you shouldn't be "turning the other cheek" to people who have committed a genocide, they should be held accountable. Saying "all is forgiven" and becoming besties with them is not holding them accountable. Had to drop a star for the horrible messaging.
On another note, the relationship between Rose and Samira felt forced, it wasn't believable. There were lot of time jumps, like months ahead time jumps. They interact sparingly and opportunities to show their relationship grow on page is disrupted by time jumps. For instance, after they had sex for the first time after Rose saves Samira's life we don't get to see their goodbye the next morning. We see them lying in bed together talking about how they don't want to leave their bubble. The next scene is a time jump. What was their conversation like when they woke up that next morning? What was the goodbye like? It was a missed opportunity. All the meaningful moments get time jumped away and so the relationship feels hollow. They're making declarations of love that you're rolling your eyes at because the foundation of their love is not there and the declarations feel fake. Maybe if we saw them get to know each other it would be different, but their on page interactions are sparse and quick. We didn't really get to see them have conversations because they're not suppose to be together but the stolen moments are too quick for us to see anything meaningful being built.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2024
Just wow I stayed up tell 4 am reading this book cause I couldn’t put it down.
I was looking for a retelling of little red riding hood and did i ever get it at more. This book is beautiful written. It will keep you wanting to read on. A story full of lies, Deceit, betrayal, broken hearts, death, secrets, forbidden love, mystery, suspense and twist you won’t see coming.
The red and the wolfs once lived in harmony but that is long over, greed and lies ruined that and magic became something to fear according to the alphas that couldn’t see past their own pain.
Well being tasked to watch over rose to make sure she wasn’t breaking the laws put forth by the alphas after they did away with magic. Only Samiar doesn’t plan to fall in love with her.
Rose the red is smart, strong, fierce, kind, pure and the prefect balance of good, however she lives in hiding no one can know what she really
Samaria the black abandoned as baby found by reds and raised until her wolf showed. She is of alpha blood from her father’s side but never knowing who her mother is. Samaria is a strong, capable warrior, stern but plagued by darkness
Together the are one the perfect balance of dark a light
I was looking for a retelling of little red riding hood and did i ever get it at more. This book is beautiful written. It will keep you wanting to read on. A story full of lies, Deceit, betrayal, broken hearts, death, secrets, forbidden love, mystery, suspense and twist you won’t see coming.
The red and the wolfs once lived in harmony but that is long over, greed and lies ruined that and magic became something to fear according to the alphas that couldn’t see past their own pain.
Well being tasked to watch over rose to make sure she wasn’t breaking the laws put forth by the alphas after they did away with magic. Only Samiar doesn’t plan to fall in love with her.
Rose the red is smart, strong, fierce, kind, pure and the prefect balance of good, however she lives in hiding no one can know what she really
Samaria the black abandoned as baby found by reds and raised until her wolf showed. She is of alpha blood from her father’s side but never knowing who her mother is. Samaria is a strong, capable warrior, stern but plagued by darkness
Together the are one the perfect balance of dark a light
December 31, 2025
No, just no. I tried but this was a DNF at 33%. It started off strong but things were just all over the place and I truly did not feel like cringing through the rest of this book. The language was so odd at times. They use modern slang when the time period seems to be old. The main relationship felt so forced, there’s absolutely no chemistry what so ever..I guess fates mates would be the way to describe it but with the barest amount of interaction, then bam we’re in bed and we love each other…??? And I’m sorry, it’s supposedly your first time and you do THAT? No, I’m not buying it. And theres the secrets. Every single person in this books keeps secrets for no damn good reason! The wolf telepathy thing bugged me too. Samira is all worried everyone will know about Rose when she shifts because apparently you can’t hide anything in wolf form but she shifts multiple times and we hear nothing about them finding out about Rose and her red hair. It’s weird to me. I’m always in awe of people who put their work out there but this was definitely not for me.
August 7, 2024
A Taste of Red
Rating: 4/5
Spice:2/5
In a world where Wolves reign and keep Humans in check, the future Alpha falls for Rose. Rose, who should have been dead long ago based on the laws the Wolves created, also feels a pull to Samira. There are some parts so beautifully written in this story. I took off one star because there are some times, things happen, it seems, just to happen. There are twists and turns but sometimes it seems like there were too many ideas for this one story.. Overall, it was a REALLY good story. LIke I said, beautifully written. It is a fairly quick and easy read as well.
February 25, 2025
2.75/5 Stars (DNF @ 63%)
I started out really loving this one. I loved the concept & was captivated by the retelling, the world building, the characters, the bad blood between the wolves & the reds…
I don’t know what happened but I just lost all interest for this book. I feel like the romance came on too quick & then I didn’t really care about the resolutions that need to be taken care of. I wish there was more tension & pining & more romance.
Maybe I’ll pick this up again later but I’ve been reading it off & on since the start of the year & I’m just not captivated. I wish I was hooked on the characters more but I’m just not.
I started out really loving this one. I loved the concept & was captivated by the retelling, the world building, the characters, the bad blood between the wolves & the reds…
I don’t know what happened but I just lost all interest for this book. I feel like the romance came on too quick & then I didn’t really care about the resolutions that need to be taken care of. I wish there was more tension & pining & more romance.
Maybe I’ll pick this up again later but I’ve been reading it off & on since the start of the year & I’m just not captivated. I wish I was hooked on the characters more but I’m just not.
August 6, 2024
This sapphic retelling of Red Riding Hood pulled me in from the beginning from the world building of Cordova, to the character building, magical systems, and romance it was a beautiful story. It painted a beautiful picture of bringing communities together using magic, love and found families. If you love forbidden romance, strong female lead characters, found families, magic, and werewolves this is definitely the book for you. It puts such a twist on the story of little red riding hood we all know and love and creates its own amazing universe that deserves so much love for the creativity.
August 10, 2024
This book has me in an absolute chokehold! I loved reading the story of Rose and Samira and seeing how their relationship developed through the chapters. I’ve never read a sapphic story quite like it and I already wish I could read it for the first time all over again. Without giving too much away, I loved the parallels to the red riding hood inspiration as well as how the story diverted from the original tale.
I loved every second of this story and highly recommend for everyone else to read it too! But read the TWs just in case
I loved every second of this story and highly recommend for everyone else to read it too! But read the TWs just in case
October 21, 2024
In a world where Wolves reign and keep Humans in check, the future Alpha falls for Rose. Rose, who should have been dead long ago based on the laws the Wolves created, also feels a pull to Samira. There are some parts so beautifully written in this story. I took off one star because there are some times, things happen, it seems, just to happen. There are twists and turns but sometimes it seems like there were too many ideas for this one story.. Overall, it was a REALLY good story. LIke I said, beautifully written. It is a fairly quick and easy read as well.-By Amanda
March 3, 2026
i feel very conflicted about this, on the one hand i do think the concept had promise and the world was interesting. but on the other hand, i found the writing to have flaws difficult to look past. the pacing was troubling, and it struggled to get me to feel like the emotions were authentic, for example they would be suddenly confessing their love or crying with no emotional build up, which made it hard to feel invested. i also found it to be written in such a elementary way that it felt like bad fanfiction, just was not for me i think
March 10, 2025
DNFed
I could not get into this book for the life of me. I was super excited to read something wlw, but some of the dialogue and writing made no sense and, honestly, were a tad uncomfortable. There was some actual plot here and there and I could tell it was building up, but it lacked a lot of detail that would've made it so much more interesting. I think the idea has potential for sure, just not a fan of the execution really.
I could not get into this book for the life of me. I was super excited to read something wlw, but some of the dialogue and writing made no sense and, honestly, were a tad uncomfortable. There was some actual plot here and there and I could tell it was building up, but it lacked a lot of detail that would've made it so much more interesting. I think the idea has potential for sure, just not a fan of the execution really.
October 28, 2024
Well written spicy lesbian spin on a childhood classic, Little Red Ridinghood. Great action and fight scenes that were well written. The story had an amazing story line with some spicy scenes but were there to add to the story line but not to be the full story. If you like a forbidden love story this is a great book.
February 22, 2025
Overall 2.5/3🌟
✨️meh✨️
This book had its moments and an intriguing premise with it being a sapphic retelling of little red riding hood. However, the premise felt really underwhelming 🤔
- I pretty much forgot the characters were in their 20s because they seemed so immature.
-Felt poorly executed & lacked plot🌟
✨️meh✨️
This book had its moments and an intriguing premise with it being a sapphic retelling of little red riding hood. However, the premise felt really underwhelming 🤔
- I pretty much forgot the characters were in their 20s because they seemed so immature.
-Felt poorly executed & lacked plot🌟
August 23, 2025
DNF halfway through. I wanted to love it but this needed editing. The whole world feels very pre medieval, yet a lot of the diologue is using slang, and many interactions feel very YA contemporary, which takes you right out of the story and gets annoying.
The romance isn't fleshed out enough for the yearning to really hit. Not much of a bond there other than insta lust.
The romance isn't fleshed out enough for the yearning to really hit. Not much of a bond there other than insta lust.
January 13, 2025
A retelling of Red and the wolf!
A sappic story with a little magic and faith. Good over evil just like the original story but women as the hero. Nothing wrong with that thought, right?
A sappic story with a little magic and faith. Good over evil just like the original story but women as the hero. Nothing wrong with that thought, right?
March 29, 2025
3.5
Different takes on fairy tales are super fun and I really liked this one! The love story is disgustingly adorable too, although some parts of the spicy scenes read like they’d been written by a man - the words “moist” and “dripping” should be banned.
Different takes on fairy tales are super fun and I really liked this one! The love story is disgustingly adorable too, although some parts of the spicy scenes read like they’d been written by a man - the words “moist” and “dripping” should be banned.
July 2, 2025
Im not sure if i want to give this 2, 2.5 or 3 stars…
The story was good, well thought and very interesting.
But some aspects of the love story felt forced. Also, the writing wasn’t great.
But overall i would say it was good/fun.
The story was good, well thought and very interesting.
But some aspects of the love story felt forced. Also, the writing wasn’t great.
But overall i would say it was good/fun.
September 3, 2024
3.5 rounded up. IDK I liked it but I wanted more… spice. more tension.
January 11, 2025
DNF @ 82% but marking as read
January 15, 2025
great read!
I bought this book on 99 cent day over the holidays, and what a great read. 🙂 Really enjoyed the twists and turns as the truth of it all was revealed!
I bought this book on 99 cent day over the holidays, and what a great read. 🙂 Really enjoyed the twists and turns as the truth of it all was revealed!
February 21, 2025
Predictable insta-love, with confusing world building that honestly wasn't engaging enough for me to go back and try to make sense of it all.
March 27, 2025
Finalmente un romantasy stand-alone
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews