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Little Red Wraith

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A tyrannical queen. A rising rebellion. A choice that will change everything.

All Anna wants is to grieve her sister in peace. But peace is the last thing she’ll get. After the tragic accident shatters her world, her life takes an even darker turn when her father is imprisoned in the castle and her mother is summoned by the ruthless queen. Terrified of losing what’s left of her family, Anna demands to go with them, despite the dangerous path ahead. As a shapeshifter who can’t transform, she’s already a target under the queen’s brutal laws—and the castle is the last place she wants to be.

Enter Redford, her sister’s former fiancé, with an offer she can’t ignore—join the Rising, a rebel force determined to tear down the queen’s rule. Redford promises refuge, but when a ghost from Anna’s past shows up with a twisted opportunity to serve the queen, the lines between right and wrong begin to blur.

Anna faces an impossible choice—join the Rising as their poison maker or stay at the castle and create a weapon so monstrous, it could change the kingdom forever.

1 pages, Audio CD

Published November 25, 2025

4 people are currently reading
32 people want to read

About the author

Lindsay Flanagan

7 books26 followers
I craft lyrical and uplifting fantasy tales that empower children and teens to embrace their unique selves. My stories explore themes of self-acceptance, resilience, and the beauty of unexpected friendships, guiding readers on journeys of discovery where they find the courage to be who they truly are. With every word, I seek to ignite wonder, inspire confidence, and remind young hearts that they are powerful, worthy, and limitless.

Discover the Laéth Realm Adventures and its prequel series, the Miadien Chronicles—two spellbinding fantasy series where fairy tales aren’t just stories but magical gifts of peace from a hidden realm to our own. Perfect for fans of epic adventures, mythical worlds, and tales that inspire.

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5 stars
14 (60%)
4 stars
6 (26%)
3 stars
3 (13%)
2 stars
0 (0%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Aaron N. Hall.
Author 10 books87 followers
March 9, 2025
In the spirit of transparency, Lindsay is a friend of mine, but I'll strive for objectivity in this review.

There's not much wrong with Little Red Wraith. It's a good concept with some great twists and turns, but I just felt like it was meant for a different audience than me.

I feel like this would really resonate with the 10-17 year old girl crowd, not so much the 33 year old man crowd. I highly recommend this for young ladies looking to dip their toe into fantasy.
Profile Image for Stacy.
526 reviews15 followers
November 20, 2024
Little Red Wraith is a reimagined tale on little red riding hood. It has a lot of unexpected twists. Lindsay had a talent for making you feel for her characters. I highly recommend this book anyone who loves a twist on classic tales.

Anna, lives in a world of shifters yet she isn’t a shifter herself. Her life gets turned upside down with the death of her sister and a summons to the palace by the queen. Anna will have to go on a hero’s journey to discover more about herself and learn of love, family, betrayal and friendship.
Profile Image for Sierra Schoen.
14 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2024
Little Red Wraith by Lindsay Flanagan is written for a young adult audience. It is a prequel to AnnaGrey and the Constellation. The story focuses on the harrowing adventures of Anna, a teenage girl labeled an “amorphous” because she cannot change into an animal form like others in her society—a trait that makes her a second-class citizen in an increasingly divided kingdom. Anna is reeling from the loss of her beloved older sister when her mother receives a mysterious summons to the Queen’s castle. Trying to embody the bravery her sister once had, Anna insists on accompanying her mother. What Anna discovers at the castle turns everything she knew on its head, and Anna is forced to choose between staying silent or fighting against the tyrannical laws that threaten to further subjugate the amorphous. This book kept me guessing almost until the very end, and I think it's a great fantasy read for teens and young adults.

I was immediately intrigued by the world Anna lives in. Most of the characters around her can jump between human and animal forms while others remain somewhere in between. There’s a good combination of adventure, grief, and romance. The start of the novel introduces the start of a love triangle, and if anything I wanted to see more of those relationships. Anna is torn between two perfectly lovely men, but I felt like I didn't spend enough time with either of them to understand Anna's infatuation with them. Along those lines, the biggest problem for me was the pacing of the story. Anna moves from event to event so quickly, and sometimes weeks and months are summed up in a few sentences. There were many times when I found myself wishing to spend more time in a certain setting with certain characters because I was interested in them, only for the plot to jump to the next big event before I was ready. On a related note, the ending felt quite abrupt, but it's possible it wouldn't feel that way for readers who have already read AnnaGrey and the Constellation.

Pacing aside, there were plenty of things I loved about this story. Every one of Flanagan's characters is well-written and multifaceted (this is a big part of the reason I wanted to spend more time with each of them)! I love that Flanagan tackles difficult issues like politics, immigration, assimilation, and racism in a fantasy setting. The world feels cohesive and thought-out--never once did I find myself questioning the various kingdoms, races, and ideologies mentioned. I think this is a great book for teenagers and young adult fantasy lovers, and I would definitely recommend it! My personal rating for Little Red Wraith is a solid 4 out 5 stars! I'll definitely be reading more of Flanagan's books!

Profile Image for Erika.
519 reviews
February 12, 2025
This book is difficult for me to rate! The world created is really interesting and I love the different races / shifters. Our main character, AnnaGrey is interesting. I wish there was more detail though.

SO MUCH happens in this book, but everything felt so rushed! It’s only about 220 pages, which isn’t long enough for all the events that take place. Our main character is zipping around the world, which admittedly isn’t very big, but she’ll move from one location to another in just a sentence or two. Sometimes months pass with just a sentence for explanation.

There are two love interests and our main character loves both of them immediately. One I can understand, since she’s known him her whole life. But the other is more of an ‘insta-love’. I like both of the love interests, but I wish we could have gotten to know them better!

After finishing the book, I found out this is sort of a prequel to the author’s previous book, AnnaGrey and the Constellation, which is a middle grade book. Little Red Wraith is a young adult book, but it might be more geared toward younger ya readers.
Profile Image for Shelly.
337 reviews55 followers
April 3, 2025
This book was a wonderful middle grade fantasy. Lindsay Flanagan creates a world full of shapeshifters that is so well thought out. The dissension between the different clans, as well as the incarnate and the amorphous, is well written.
Profile Image for Alicia.
270 reviews2 followers
November 29, 2025
This has such a vivid world. I enjoyed Anna and Greyson’s storyline. I love a good forest!
Profile Image for Megan Ray.
81 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2025
What an amazing book, with hints of little red riding hood meets the wizard of oz, with a fantastic world of intriguing suspense and war for a kingdom and what is right! Hope there is a second book to this YA story!!
Profile Image for Neesa KP.
5 reviews
April 14, 2025
This is a young adult political fantasy. It hits the ground running and keeps a steady, tense pace until the end. The world is interesting and the characters are relatable. I’m looking forward to seeing both being built on more in the sequel.
The main character, Anna, is trying to fill the hole her sister left in the lives of the people she loves; she is forced to come to terms with the fact that the kingdom she lives in values her less than it valued her sister. Then her father is taken captive by the soldiers of the queen who’s laws threaten to curtail Anna’s future. When she insists on accompanying her mother to the queen’s court to get him back, many of her certainties about her life begin to unravel.
This is a prequel to Anna Grey and the Constellation, taking place in the same world, but in part of the world we had only glimpsed in the other book. There are stark differences between people in this book, or so we are led to believe. One of the most important for Anna being that as an amorphous (meaning she can’t shift into a non-human form) laws are potentially being written to restrict who she can marry and what she can do with her future.
Profile Image for Anne of Cair Paravel.
89 reviews
August 20, 2025
The cover definitely gives Little Red Riding Hood vibes, and while there is a girl in a cloak, a wolf, and woods, it's far from a typical fairy tale retelling. The concept for this book was fresh and original, although there were some elements that weren't really fully explained, but I figured them out in the end. Also there were times when conversation hinted at secrets, but they were never circled back too.
This book is a page-turner, but with so much going on, I feel like the pacing, especially when large amounts of time were passing, needed to be slowed down just a little bit.
I think this may have been just a tad too young for me, although I would gladly read any more Miadien Chronicles. I understand that this is a young adult prequel to the author's middle-grade novel, but it has a satisfying enough ending for a young adult audience who doesn't want to read a middle grade novel from a POV other than Anna's.

Ended up bumping my rating up to five because I couldn't stop thinking about these characters. I actually got pretty attached to them!
Profile Image for Robin Ginther-Venneri.
1,015 reviews81 followers
November 10, 2024
Dark Fantasy Twist

Robin’s Review
5 Star Rating

Little Red Wraith is a dark fantasy twist on Little Red Riding Hood. 🐺✨ Anna, who can’t transform like the others in her world, is seen as less important and faces unfair treatment. After a tragic loss 💔, she’s forced to join her family at the queen’s castle 🏰, where her choices are tough: either help the queen with a dangerous weapon ⚔️ or join a rebellion against her. ⚡

The world Lindsay Flanagan creates is interesting, with shapeshifters and lots of action. Anna is strong and determined 💪, making it easy to cheer for her. This is a solid pick for YA fantasy fans looking for an exciting story with a strong main character and a unique take on a fairytale. 📚💫


#LittleRedWraith #LindsayFlanagan #YAFantasy #DarkFantasy #FairytaleTwist #BookReview #Shapeshifters #Rebellion #MustReadYA #BookRecommendations
Profile Image for Darren Lipman.
104 reviews2 followers
November 15, 2024
Little Red Wraith is a fast-paced and compelling fantasy about a young woman whose life is turned upside down after the death of her sister. The writing is beautiful, full of action and emotion, and it swept me along from page to page. I often found myself staying up later than intended, just to read one more chapter. I’m not fond of giving spoilers in my reviews, but I will say that there are a number of unexpected twists—and the fact that they surprised me without fail, yet always seemed consistent within the world of the story, was incredibly impressive. While this book is the beginning of a series, it also stands on its own, but I’m glad there’s more to come—it was simply that good. It’s been a long time since I’ve fallen in love with a book as quickly as I did with Little Red Wraith, and I think any fan of YA fantasy will love it too.
Profile Image for Tim.
269 reviews8 followers
October 29, 2024
What a read! I loved this book. Stunning YA fantasy full of intrigue that is on vein with Hunger Games.

I’ve had the opportunity to play a part in the conception of this book back when it was part of the sequel to Lindsay Flanagan’s debut novel. But it definitely flowed better as being its own story.

Flanagan’s world building is on point like it is with her other novels. I loved seeing the world pan out to being the way it is at the beginning of the first novel.

Anna and Greyson’s love story was so compelling. Yes, I’ve seen those characters in prior books. But wow. Their story was so great. I’m so glad Lindsay Flanagan got to tell it.

Such a great read. I’d highly recommend it to anyone.

Profile Image for Ed.
135 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2024
In her first YA novel, Lindsay Flanagan gives us a brand new take on little red riding hood. Wrapped up in love, betryal, battle, and confusion, Lindsay takes us on a journey like no other.

Anna lives in a world of shifters, the most common being wolves, but she isn't able to shift. Her life takes a turn when her family is summoned to the castle by Phoenix, the queen. And there begins the legend of the Little Red Wraith.

Profile Image for staci.
19 reviews
October 24, 2025
Little Red Wraith by Lindsay Flanagan is a captivating YA fantasy about Anna—a young girl caught in a world of war, lies, and loss who must discover the strength within herself. Powerful, emotional, and beautifully written, this story reminds us that our greatest powers don’t always come as we expect—but when they do, they can change everything. Don’t miss this unforgettable read!
2 reviews
October 24, 2025
I love books that take inspiration from a fairytale and create a whole new world, Little Red Wraith was one such book. If you’re looking for a new YA fantasy/ fairytale retelling to read definitely check this out!
881 reviews11 followers
November 1, 2024
This was a somewhat dark, but clean (nothing beyond a kiss or two) romance that had a hint of Red Riding Hood, but with a huge twist. It was much more of a dark fantasy than a fairytale, and had a very open ended finish, hinting at a sequel. I enjoyed it for the most part, although it did have some gore and a lot of fighting.
Profile Image for Kerry Flanagan.
9 reviews
September 8, 2025
I love the world Lindsay has created. I felt the beginning was a little rushed. I would have loved for it more details and character development. I still found the story enchanting and now I want to re-read AnnaGrey and the Constellation.
4 reviews
October 1, 2025
This book is a twist on Little Red, full of betrayal and heartbreak. I absolutetly loved it and would recommend it to everyone. Her characters are relatable and her world is uniquely her own. Little Red Wraith is 100% one of my favorite books!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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