Twisted

by Lena Mae Hill

On the way to finding her granny, she might just lose her heart.

Cayenne Golden lives a peaceful little life in her idyllic coven tucked away in the mountains. She obeys her parents, practices healing magic, and helps her granny with chores. She’s bored out of her freaking mind.

When Cayenne stumbles upon Efrain, a shifter who claims that werewolves have kidnapped her beloved granny, she panics. Her parents have forbidden her to cross into the neighboring valleys where wolves and shifters are locked in a decades-long turf war. But with her granny’s life on the line, what choice does she have?

Cayenne enlists the help of Efrain and his wild boar brothers to sneak her into the wolf valley to rescue her granny. As they race from one brother’s house to the next, staying one step ahead of the wolves, she realizes just how much she’s been missing. A whole world of danger, adventure, and love waits just outside her valley.

But in this dark and twisted tale, who is the big bad wolf?

Little Red Riding Hood meets The Three Little Pigs in this #whychoose RH suitable for ages 16+.

Author's note: This story fits into a complex world of fairytales and Norse mythology. It is a complete story on its own, but for a richer reading experience, I recommend reading further. You can enter this fascinating world on book 1 in any series listed below. Read on!

Recommended reading order:
Girl Among Wolves Trilogy (YA fairytale)
1. Unlikely Magic
2. Beastly Beauty
3. Ghostly Snow

Young Witch Series (mature YA/reverse harem twisted fairytale/norse mythology):
1. Twisted
2. Caged

Hosting Gods Trilogy (mature YA/reverse harem Norse myth):
1. Emerge
2. Ignite
3. Ascend

Winslow Witch Chronicles (mature YA/reverse harem prequel series--Norse mythology)
1. Magic of the Void
2. Sister of the Sea
3. Witch of the Wind (2019)

Genres: Romance, Witches, Fairy Tale Retellings, Ebooks

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 21, 2018

Reviews

[Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine)]

When they say men are pigs, they usually don’t mean it literally. - Cayenne

I read Twisted in Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection an anthology largely aimed at an adult audience. Ms Hill is aiming her work at the upper end of young adult (specifically 16+). Admittedly I did question its place in the anthology but Twisted had more sexual intimacy than a few of the others as well as some seriously dicey consent.

The set up is simple enough it is Little Red Riding Hood meets Three Little Pigs. There is some brilliant lore in play, though it was skimmed over due to word limitations. There is definite potential for world building. Having the leading man be not particularly likeable was a good thing in the scheme of things but Cayenne frustrated me a combination of her Red Riding Hood nature and her attempted modernity, it rubbed me the wrong way. My biggest issue was the questionable consent she sort of assented to their actions but not strongly enough for my conscience.

My reading experience in a gif:

[Jackie]

Cayenne is a delightful twist of twoclassic fairytales. Mix of the Three (big) Pigs and Riding Hood. There are werewolves instead. Loved it.

[Annette]

You can always make me happy with a fairytale retelling and if that fairytale retelling comes in the shape of a reverse harem novel I'm even happier. So when Nine from Anderwereld included this book in her picks for me when creating my personalized book box I was very excited about it. As always it took me a long time to finally get to reading it, but that can't come as a surprise anymore. That's just how it works and I've come to accept that.

Although this book has a lot of potential I feel that there would have been a lot more in it if the author had taken the time to write down more details and had tried to connect the different chapters and storylines a little better. At times it was hard to follow, to keep the characters apart and to connect the different scenes and dialogues. In the end everything is explained and comes together quite nicely, but it's quite confusing at times. Although, at times that's also on purpose.

However, my biggest issue with the book are the guys. When I read a reverse harem I want to be able to connect with the guys, to understand why the heroine likes them, why she'd fall for them and why they fall for her. I never had the impression the personalities of the three brothers were intriguing enough and therefore it was also hard to keep them apart, apart from the one brother with the girlfriend he was trying to save. Giving the best friend-to-become-husband a bigger role would have been nice too.

I think that was the general issue with this book, actually. It feels like this is an amazing first draft, a great way for the author to get to know the story and to see where it's going, but in the end it's nothing but the backbone of the story. By adding scenes, by adding a little depth, by writing out the actual sex between the characters and by making sure that all the important characters have enough page-time this story could have been more than just okay.

(I saw the e-book isn't available anymore. Who knows, maybe the author is editing these books!)

[Stan Hutchings]

This is a "twisted" Little Red Riding Hood meets The Three Little Pigs; but not your Disney version, for sure! I mean, FIVE dads? And both Cayenne and her mom are witches? And what was her grandfather's evil about? Of course, she met a "wolf" on the way to granny's, in the form of a large, ripped, handsome, attractive man ( though he was actually a boar shifter). He told her werewolves had kidnapped granny but he would help her rescue her. After the werewolves attacked granny's house, he took her to his brothers, two other shifter boars - the three pigs! But they are now in a very attractive and fascinating human form. Cayenne's emotions are aroused by all three. And of course, when they shift back to human form from boar they are completely naked, causing very strong and mixed emotions in Cayenne. There is lots of action as the various supernatural tribes fight, strong sexual tension, and a literal climax as Cayenne and Efrain finally realize their destiny. There is also lots of humor that brought smiles and chuckles.

[Kristen Lewendon]

An enchanting blend of a couple classic fairy tales with a delightfully modern twist. The story is both silly and spicy, walking the fine line between in-your-face sexy and being chastely demure. Cayenne knows the ways of the world, but she’s not very worldly yet. So, what’s a girl to do when faced with three not so little pigs? And just where’s the big bad wolf hiding at? Through the woods, on her way to her Granny’s house, Cayenne gets some valuable lessons in family, trust, lust, and love. I’m curious to see where this family goes next.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author

[Elda]

Magical mayhem

A witch, wolves, shifters, magic and mayhem all in this RH story. Read it at your own risk. You might be surprised at the double innuendoes, the flirting, the f bomb dropped here and there, and one non explicit sex scene. But most of all there are a few fairytales alluded to that became very twisted. For those who like reverse harem stories you might be interested in this one. I myself am not that comfortable with them, however, this one isn’t as bad as some I have stumbled upon.

[Alicia]

Premise: Red riding hood retelling with a witch and three shifters out to rescue grandma.
This was one of the better retellings I’ve read recently. RH fairy tale retellings seem to be very flavour of the month. Shifters who can change into any animal were fun, and even though things progressed quickly, the romance didn’t feel rushed. The ending was a little quick, and not entirely believable (very instant forgiveness without any real justification), but the rest of the story made up for it.

[Nerdy Housewifey]

A little disjointed

I feel bad giving this 3 stars because the concept for this was great. I love fairytale retellings/ mashups. I just don’t think the book quite delivered as intended. It kind of felt all over the place, and I had a hard time connecting with the characters or understanding why the did half the things they did.

[Ruby McDemon]

I really enjoyed getting to visit the Three Valleys again. Cayenne had a really odd way of finding her collective but I enjoyed the journey. Once you add in that this is a mash up of two different fairy tale's it make it even more interesting.. I loved getting to meet all the guys and their different personalities helped make this even more interesting. This was a really great read.

[Katy McComb]

Loved it

The book was really good. It definitely tugged at my heart strings and i found myself crying to being happy and even laughing at some of the one liners. My only complaint is there wasn’t enough, but i guess I’m used to books having well over 300 pages. Nonetheless it was a great read and i want more.

[Dayzee]

Twisted indeed!! we have shifters, werewolves, and witches! When one witch seeks out to find grandma, she encounters more than she bargains for. her heart is on the line. emotionally and physically! Those pigs i tell you, are so deceiving! Overall it was a cute read.

[Sandra Singleton]

https://www.amazon.com/review/R34FV0O...

[Galina Sulaiman]

I definitely enjoyed this book! It was twisted and riveting, didn't put it down once. Kudos to the author for being a fresh dynamic writer!

[Melanie]

First book I've read by the author and I must say I enjoyed it. Shifters and witches and magic, an adventure that doesn't go as planned.