There was so much to love about this book. Gods. And I loved it all. It was such a perfect read. It brought me much joy. Giving it five stars, as I could not find anything to dislike about it. Nothing big, at least. It was a book that I enjoyed from beginning to end. The writing was stunning too, which I'm so happy about as well.
Finding the words for this book will not be easy. I shall describe parts of the story, but not much of it. And I'm going to write down some of my favorite parts. Just truly loved this one. The main girl was everything. The small romance was perfection. The growing friendships were so good. I honestly loved everything about this.
This book is a western story, set in the past, it seemed. I so very much liked this setting, as I truly find it fascinating to read about. And I very much did so this time too. This world was all kinds of exciting to get to know. I know, kind of dull, but I loved how they lived back then. And I loved reading about it. This is a book that tells the story of seventeen-year-old Faolan Kelly. She has been living like a boy since she was small, growing up alone with her Pops, her grandfather. But he just died. And she is too young to take over their home, eight months until her birthday. Everyone in this town thinks she is a boy. Things would be worse if they knew she was not. Still. She's not old enough. The mayor has her sent away to a different town, as he tries to take her land.
There is so much that I loved about Faolan Kelly. She was all kinds of smart. But a little bit wild and crazy and rash and sweet and kind and soft and also a bit broken. She was every kind of complicated. And I so loved that about her. I loved how fiercely she loved her grandfather. Even how much she loved her goat. I loved how she just wanted to be able to go back home to her house. And how her wants changed during this book. How she grew to care for more people around her, getting close to many. I just adored this girl.
We get to know a lot about this settlement she ends up at. It's a very small place, walled in on every side. It looks like things have tried to get past the walls. And inside is not much better. It looks okay. Better than she was expecting, which was a good thing. She ends up with a good place to sleep, getting good food at every meal. But things are not that easy at this place. It is run by a religious guy, called HisBen. And ugh. I truly hated him. I'm not a religious person at all. And he very much was. And not at all a kind one. Hmph.
Though at first it does seem like Faolan has ended up at a good place. Some of the people are nice. Like Miss Moon, the woman in charge of all the children who are there. I really liked getting to know her a little. She tried her best. I also really loved the gunslinger, Will. I loved his small romance with Miss Moon. Was adorable. He was also just really a kind person. I loved reading about how he and Faolan became such great friends. I felt like they both needed each other. I really loved how fun they were around each other.
Then there was Jesse and Dai Lo. Two teenagers who were also stuck at this settlement. Clearly in love. Which was adorable, to be honest. I loved how they loved each other. I loved how Jesse was drawing. I loved how Dai Lo wanted to be a healer. And I very much loved reading about how they became friends with Faolan. I loved how close they became, and how they ended up being so important to her. How they were helping her with the small things. It was the absolute cutest and I loved it so much. Best friendships.
But yeah. This place was not good at all. While she is out hunting with Jesse, they end up going off trail for a moment. He climbs a tree. Ends up falling down, hurting his ankle, while Faolan ends up sprayed by a skunk. Which was honestly hilarious, ha. I loved that scene. I loved their bickering. They end up being saved by the Rover people. I loved reading about them and how they lived. It was interesting and I loved it. This is where she meets Tallis. And gods. I loved how she fell for him right away, ha. It was the cutest.
There were so many amazing scenes with Faolan and Tallis. Their first meeting was adorable and fun. I loved how he called her little fox. I loved how it bothered her. I fully adored how he had to help her get rid of the smell from the skunk. He had to help her bathe. Which was not easy for her, considering she was pretending to be a boy. But she let him help her. I loved that scene so much. They were truly so adorable together. I loved how he helped her. And how he did not react to know she was a girl. Tallis was the best.
But then she and Jesse got back to the settlement a day later than they were supposed to. There were to be punishments for this. And she ended up spending three nights in the box. And this was fully horrible to read about, and yet I loved it too, for how real it was. While in there, she hears a creature outside the box. She hears something getting eaten. And it was awful. Yet so good too. Faolan is a little ruined when she comes out of the box. But Jesse and Dai Lo are able to help her a little. And I very much loved that. Sigh.
There was so much going on in this place. It was like it was being controlled by HisBen. They all had their chore to get done daily. And you were not allowed to do anything else or go anywhere else. It was so very strict. I hated it. But loved reading about it. I liked how Faolan learned more about this place, and how she wanted to leave, but did not want to leave her friends. I liked learning more about the creature outside the walls, most likely killing people, as several seemed to be missing. It was truly such an interesting mystery.
But for the most part, I loved reading about Faolan and Tallis together. Sigh. They truly had the very best scenes, eee. And the cutest growing romance. Sigh. I loved it all to pieces. I truly loved the scene where she was running in the forest at night, and he found her. I loved all the scenes where he had to help her heal. I loved their small bickering. It was so cute. They did fall pretty fast. But it felt real. I honestly loved their romance. It was a bright spot, among the murder and blood. Tallis was truly the sweetest boy. Sigh.
Okay. I may have already written way too much about this book. Oops. But yes. The plot. It is about the murdering going on. The missing people. The weird screams she hears at night. How crazy this HisBen guy was. What he was up to. There is a creature in a cave. Those scenes were all kinds of epic. Loved it so much. And that creature. Sigh. I loved it most. I'm not sharing more about the plot, just that it was all kinds of exciting and I loved how it all ended. The story of this book was so good. I enjoyed it very much.
Red in Tooth and Claw was such an exciting and thrilling book. I loved every moment of it. Such a strong main girl. Such amazing friendships formed. And a most awesome dangerous creature. It was just such a great story. I'm so thankful to the publisher for approving my request to read this early via Edelweiss. Now I just need to hunt down the print ARC to add to my collection. I'm going to need every copy of this book. I loved it the most. You are all going to love it too, when it comes out in October. It is a book you can't miss.
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