NEW! Completely updated version with an additional short story, “The Third Shadow” and an Author’s Note on the making of “Scarlette.”
A #1 Paranormal Historical, #1 Fantasy Romance and #1 Teen Historical eBook!
Ninety years before the Brothers Grimm penned their version of Little Red Riding Hood, a historic, gruesome series of events would shock all of Europe. In 1765, an unidentified wolf-like animal ferociously mauled dozens of peasants in the Gévaudan region of France.
Whispered rumors of unnatural creatures blended with age-old superstition, causing mass hysteria, and a werewolf was blamed for the carnage. Alarmed, King Louis XV sent his best huntsmen to rid the province of the beastly scourge, but this legendary massacre had only just begun.
Scarlette, an 18-year-old peasant, lives under this dark threat, knowing the nightmarish monster lurks in the surrounding forest. A poor seamstress, she labors to make ends meet and is skeptical of supernatural gossip.
Until her grandmother survives an attack.
Scarlette learns her grandmother is infected by the bite of the animal. Desperate to save her, Scarlette begins to uncover the dark secrets of her village and finds there are those who wish to keep their pasts hidden. As time grows short, Scarlette is befriended by a local nobleman and a woodcutter who share an eerie history with the wolf.
To save her grandmother, Scarlette must unravel the mens’ connection and solve a long-forgotten crime. But as she pieces together the clues, Scarlette finds herself torn between the two men, both of whom desire more than friendship and together hold the key to the cure.
Based on both the traditional Grimm and Charles Perrault versions of Little Red Riding Hood, this dark YA is set against the Beast of Gévaudan attacks, blending history with fairy tale and gothic romance. Unique to the genre, the novel revives the French fable of the girl-in-the-red-cloak with a new, shockingly real existence that blurs the line between folklore and reality.
“Juroe’s skill is evident in her writing, since the reader may often feel like s/he is reading a classic gothic romance novel, rather than something created for the modern teenaged audience.” – Dayla F. M., Seattle Post-Intelligencer Book Review
“Davonna Juroe’s Scarlette is a captivating retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. But it is much more than that. Folk tale, historical fiction and gothic romance all blend harmoniously in this dark and suspenseful novel. The characters are compelling and complex. The plot will keep you guessing until the very end. The story is beautifully written. With all this in mind, I suspect that Davonna Juroe could be a long-lost Brontë sister.” – Jeremy C. Shipp, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Cursed, Vacation, and Sheep and Wolves.
“Scarlette is a book that combines historical events, paranormal (from a historical point of view) and a classic fairytale. If you like books that keep you guessing with mystery, I recommend this book. It is definitely one of my favourite retellings of the fairytale…” – A Journey Through Pages’ Blog Review
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