In The Better to See You by Kate SeRine, fallen fairy godmother Lavender Seelie finds refuge in the arms of a wolf. Come check out this second novel in the Transplanted Tales series as we celebrate its 10-Year Anniversary. Check out my thoughts and be sure to enter the fabulous giveaways!
The Better To See You
A fallen fairy godmother finds refuge in the arms of a wolf—until a series of murders threatens to break the spell—in this gritty paranormal romance.
Thanks to a spell mis-cast by Lavender Seelie, Cinderella’s former fairy godmother, Make Believe characters have been cast into the ordinary world. Now that the Tales are flesh and blood, their storybook lives aren’t so simple. But fortunately for Lavender, she’s about to get a second chance at a happy ending.
The Refuge, a sanctuary for wayward Tales, seems like the perfect place for Lavender to start a new life—especially when she discovers an unexpected ally in Seth, the brooding werewolf who’s been typecast as a villain ever since his run in with Little Red Riding Hood. But when humans from nearby towns start turning up dead, their bodies mutilated with archaic Tale symbols, Lavender wonders if Seth’s deep sensuality has blinded her to a deadly reality.
Read an Excerpt
It was over.
I was going to be torn apart here in the middle of nowhere by some winged demon dog. I’d never get the chance to start over. I’d never get the chance to prove I was more than just a colossal failure in every regard—as a daughter, as a woman, as a fairy.
I couldn’t believe my unbelievably shitty luck.
Shaking violently from the pain wracking my body, I lay there, the raindrops mixing with my tears as I sobbed and watched helplessly as pine needles gathered together, creating a thick rope that wound itself around my arms and torso, pinning me to the ground.
Briefly, I wondered how people would remember me after I was gone. Would they speak the name Lavender Seelie and think of the fairy godmother who’d once wielded almost unparalleled power and skill? Or would they remember only the screwed-up fairy who’d ruined their lives when that same power had betrayed her?
After several agonizing moments, I finally heard the creature leap across the ravine and snapped out of my last-minute pity party, fear and panic once more flooding my veins.
There was no point in trying to summon my magic now—it had deserted me, that was pretty freaking clear. I just hoped like hell my death would be quick.
The creature prowled toward me, its massive bulk a mercifully indistinct silhouette, and I swear I thought I heard it chuckle, the sound sending chills down my spine. Then from behind me came the whisper-soft padding of paws on the underbrush. In the next instant, a great white wolf leaped over me and slammed into the shadow-creature. The two rolled end-over-end in a tangle of claws and teeth, coming to rest with the wolf on top, its lips peeled back in a vicious snarl.
I turned my head to get a better look just in time to see the wolf grab the creature’s throat in its teeth. The beast’s howl ended abruptly as the wolf gave a powerful shake of its head, tearing out a large section of demon dog’s throat.
The wolf flung the chunk of flesh into the underbrush then cautiously padded toward me, its head down between its shoulders, sizing me up. As it came closer, I realized it wasn’t an ordinary timber wolf. This animal was easily twice the size of any wolf I’d ever seen and had a distinctly human intelligence shining in its eyes.
I didn’t stand a chance.
It bit through the pine needle rope and shook its head, scattering the needles all over the ground. The rest of the needles instantly fell away, and the trees halted their brutal assault.
I raised a bloody, trembling hand, not sure if I’d just exchanged one predator for another. “Please,” I managed to gasp between the quick, shallow breathes that were all my punctured lung would now allow. “Please…”
In response, a soft shimmering light encased the wolf, and where the beautiful creature had stood, now crouched a man, his ice-green eyes still glowing. As he gently lifted me into his arms, I cried out, pain engulfing me.
“It’s all right,” he said softly, cradling me against him. “You’re safe now.”
I looked up into the grim face of my rescuer, now recognizing him. How could I not when I’d seen his face on Wanted posters and in the Tale news so often over the centuries?
As pain and nausea sent me careening toward a dark abyss, his name drifted to me:
Seth Wolf.
Read My Review
Originally Published February 20, 2013
The Transplanted Tale series by Kate SeRine is such a fun series with zany characters straight from our beloved fairy-tales. The story goes that a spell gone awry in Make Believe ripped some characters from their pages into our world. Now they are forced to live among the ordinaries in the Here and Now. They have rules for blending in and they are strictly enforced by the Fairytale Management Authority. In the first book, we met Red aka “Little Red Riding Hood” In The Better to See You, we get Seth aka the “Big Bad Wolf” and Lavender Seelie’s aka “Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother” tale. I consumed this smexy, hilarious, action-packed tale in a single evening.
The tale begins in Chicago near the Chicago branch of the Fairytale Management Authority. Red and Nate (the Grim Reaper) are called to the Charmings’ residence after a fire destroys their home. Lavender, their fairy godmother, is having problems controlling her magic and accidentally burnt it down. Red sends Lavender to “The Refuge”; a sanctuary for tales. Lavender discovers that Red has sent her to stay with Seth aka “The Big Bad Wolf” and when dead bodies start showing up in Refuge with ancient Tale symbols, the tale that unfolds is suspenseful and utterly romantic.
We met Seth in the first tale, and I love his backstory. He is the brooding loner type and oozes smexy. I adored poor misunderstood Lavender. She has made some major mistakes as a fairy godmother and sadly, the entire tale world knows about them. She means well, but somehow things always go wrong. At her core, she is a good fairy, and I laughed at her antics, cheered her when she was kick-ass and totally wanted her to get her HEA. The banter and dance Seth and Lavender shared was delightful, and I loved watching this romance unfold. SeRine did an awesome job of showing the wolf side of Seth and I love when authors are able to do that. The cast of characters living in the Refuge were all fascinating and developed. I loved figuring out what tale they came from and seeing what they were doing in the Here and Now. The villains were downright creepy, and I enjoyed watching the case unfold. We, of course, saw Red and Nate and you do not want to miss updates about them.
SeRine has created such an interesting plot with endless possibilities. The Tales in the Here and Now are each unique, and she does an excellent job of fleshing them out. While each of the tales can be read as a standalone and feature a different couple and a suspenseful mystery, I would recommend reading them from the beginning. Seth and Lavender’s romance felt genuine, and I quickly came to care for them. We got some ooh, la, la moments, as well as some bittersweet ones. They each have their own baggage and quirks which made them unique. The murder mystery was suspenseful, and a little gruesome. I loved the supernatural elements involved with this one. Twists and a few surprised kept me enthralled. The ending was well done, and I was sad to see it end.
If you love fairy-tales and want a grown-up retelling, then The Better to See You and the Transplanted Tales are a must read. Along Came a Spider due out in August 2013 will feature Beatrice aka “Little Miss Muffet”.
Transplanted Tales Series
Better Watch Out (Fall 2022)
About Author
Kate SeRine (pronounced “serene”) is a hopeless romantic who firmly believes in true love that lasts forever. So it’s no surprise that when she began writing her own stories, Kate vowed her characters would always have a happily ever after. She’s the author of the award-winning TRANSPLANTED TALES paranormal romance series as well as two romantic suspense series: PROTECT AND SERVE and DARK ALLIANCE.
Kate lives in a smallish, quintessentially Midwestern town with her husband and two sons, who share her love of storytelling. She never tires of creating new worlds to share and is even now working on her next project — probably while consuming way too much coffee.
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The Better To See You Blog Tour Giveaway
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Bea LaRocca
Thank you for sharing your awesome review of The Better to See You, this sounds like a must read for me and I am looking forward to it
Berls
I’m adoring this series and so glad that she’s doing this anniversary tour – I never heard about them before now. Looking forward to the next book… when is that exactly? I’m ready! LOL!
Kimberly
The next cover reveal is at the end of April and the next tour is the 3rd week of May 🙂
Hena Tayeb
Not a big fan of paranormal books.. but this sounds interesting..
bn100
nice review
Carole @ Carole's Random Life
I really like the sound of this series. I hope to give it a try someday.
Tyler H. Jolley
Thanks for the excerpt and giveaway, Kimba!
Wendy
I usually enjoy fairy tale re-tellings! This sounds wonderful.
Ailyn Koay
Oh i so love a match like this! godmother and wolf, I wonder if she’ll make him run with the glass slipper XD
Felicity Grace Terry
I’m seeing lots of fairy tale/fae inspired books around which really excites me. The cover of this book is really beautiful and soooo eye catching. Thanks for such a great review, I’m off to ad this to my Wish List along with the other books in the series.
Carla
This does sound fun. Great review, Kimberly.