Blot Tour: Red by Kait Nolan

Kindle Edition

Published August 14th 2011

Buy From Amazon Here

From Goodreads: Every fairy tale has a dark side...

Elodie Rose has a secret. Any day, she’ll become a wolf and succumb to the violence that’s cursed her family for centuries. For seventeen years she’s hidden who and what she is. But now someone knows the truth and is determined to exterminate her family line. Living on borrowed time in the midst of this dangerous game of hide and seek, the last thing Elodie needs to do is fall in love. But Sawyer is determined to protect her, and the brooding, angry boy is more than what he seems. Can they outsmart a madman? And if they survive, will they find a way to beat the curse for good?

I LOVE werewolf books. I’m probably the last reviewer/blogger of my kind. An endangered species. I will never get tired of authors finding different, original ways to shake up the werewolf scene. And Kait Nolan has done just that. When I first learned that this was kind of a retelling, I was a little discouraged. I’m not big on the whole fairytale thing. I’ve seen books do this well, but overall; I just want an original concept. But Nolan really impressed me. I didn’t feel like I was reading a fairytale. This story was original and of its own, and the characters were awesome.

Elodie is a fantastic character. I think she is one of the most believable characters in YA right now. Sure there’s some melodrama with the queen bees at school, that same old tired hierarchy—I’m just not a fan of that scene, I’m more about the fantasy—but it’s short and doesn’t way the story down as it quickly moves on. And Elodie faces some pretty difficult stuff. I think the way she rationalizes the issues and problems in her life is clever, and she’s a smart, tough girl. I heart her big time. Get it girl!

Sawyer. Swoon, baby, swoon. I love me the tough and broody protective type. It must be the season for this type of character, and that’s fine with me. I’ve read a few books lately with this type of dude. But that’s all good, because I can’t get enough. Sawyer and Elodie have that instant attraction/connection, but I didn’t mind that with them. They’re a different species, after all. And it felt right between them. I think it would be unbelievable for the story if they didn’t. My only complaint, I want more! I didn’t want the story to end, and I wanted the chemistry between them ratcheted up. I’m hoping this will become a series. I recommend this to anyone who, obviously, like werewolf books, Paranormal Romance, and wants an action-packed read with a little romance, and lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. Great Read!

In addition to this review, YA Bound has a fantastic Miniview with author Kati Nolan. Please welcome Ms. Nolan! Thanks for stopping by on the tour, Kait.

Elodie is the descendant of the woman who inspired the Little Red Riding Hood legend. How did you weave together this fantastical story into a modern fairytale? And how is Elodie’s character similar/different than Red herself?

It was easy, really.  So many stories evolve from the answers to a “What if…?” question.  The what if that spawned this book was, What if Red Riding Hood fell in love with the wolf?  What would the repercussions of that be?  I knew I wanted something contemporary (I have no love for the depth of research required to write historical), so it just seemed to make sense that the heroine would wind up being a modern day descendant.  And sometimes happily ever after just takes a few centuries to sort itself out.   

One of the glaring differences is that Sabine (the original Red) was never, herself, a werewolf.  She fell in love with one, and her daughter was the first one to express the gene.  I think, largely, the two are actually very different.  Sabine was wild, a dreamer, always longing for adventure. Elodie, because of her knowledge of the curse and what she’s going to become, always longs for normal.  She’s practical to a fault, always prepared, and absolutely NOT looking for love.

Part of the story is told from Sawyer’s perspective. Which, I loved, by the way. I liked being able to get inside his head. Do you find writing from a guy’s point of view easier or harder than a girl’s? Why?

OMG, can I just say that teenage boys are every bit as stubborn on paper as they are in real life?  Sawyer was such a brat at times, refusing to talk when I wanted him to, frequently not telling me what he was thinking, how he was feeling.  So in that sense he was harder to write and less accessible.  But at the same time, sometimes guys (teen or adult) are easier to write because they don’t tend to soften things or beat around the bush or play mind games.  They are often a lot more straight-forward, which is how I tend to be in real life (my mother calls this lack of tact because I am a woman). 

You’re well known for your adult series, Mirus. What inspired you to write YA? And will there be future works for your fans to look forward to?

I always loved YA—or the idea of it anyway.  Back when I was that age, there was very little in the genre worth reading, so it was as an adult that I stumbled into the current trend and fell in love all over again.  YA as a genre today is so much what I wanted then and still want today that I read it almost exclusively.  So I always had in my mind to write some, I was just waiting on the right characters.  When Elodie hijacked my brain, that was it. 

And yeah, I absolutely will be writing more YA in the future.  I have a YA spinoff planned in my Mirus world, along with a trilogy based on Native American folklore, and another based on Celtic mythology, plus a handful of stand alones that are kicking around in my head.  It’s mostly just finding the time…

Bio: Kait Nolan is stuck in an office all day, sometimes juggling all three of her jobs at once with the skill of a trained bear—sometimes with a similar temperament. After hours, she uses her powers for good, creating escapist fiction. The work of this Mississippi native is packed with action, romance, and the kinds of imaginative paranormal creatures you’d want to sweep you off your feet…or eat your boss.  When she’s not working or writing, she’s in her kitchen, heading up a revolution to Retake Homemade from her cooking blog, Pots and Plots.
You can catch up with her at her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

Her debut YA paranormal, Red, is currently available from Smashwords, Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Barnes and Noble, the iBookstore, and All Romance EBooks.