Review: Ginger's Heart by Katy Regnery

Once upon a time there were two cousins:
one golden like the sun,
one dark like midnight,
one a protector,
one a predator,
one a Woodsman
and
one a Wolf…
both owning equal,
but different,
parts of a little girl’s heart.

In this modern retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood," the woodsman and the wolf are cousins, and Little Red is the girl with whom they both fall in love.

Beautiful Ginger McHuid, daughter of Kentucky's premiere horse breeder, grows up on her family farm, best friends with Cain Wolfram, the son of her father's Stallion Manager, and Cain's cousin, Josiah Woodman, son of a local banker. Throughout their happy childhood, the three are inseparable friends, but as they mature into adults, complicated feelings threaten to destroy their long history of friendship and love.

Ginger’s Heart 

*****

This is a standalone novel inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to profanity and very strong sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

(The next standalone a modern fairytale novel, Don't Speak, inspired by The Little Mermaid, will be released in 2017.)

4.5 Stars

Review by Jen Hagen

Two cousins.  One girl. Someone wins.  And someone loses.

Ginger is an only child of prestigious horse breeders.  Her best friends are two cousins – Cain Wolfman and Josiah Woodman.  Whereas Josiah is sweet and the golden boy of the community, Cain is the big bad wolf.

Cain consumed women.  He ate them for lunch and licked them clean for dessert.  He turned them from soft, pliant, smiling creatures to spitting, narrow-eyed harpies who hated him.

That right there is why I was on Cain’s side.  I love a bad boy – the temptation  women seek – the wild animal that can never be caught.  Growing up Cain didn’t have the best of familial guidance.  His parents were in a loveless marriage and seemed to stay together just for Cain’s sake.  Cain was a reckless adolescent.  Nothing could hold him back.  He needed to roam and be free.   Meanwhile, Josiah  was living a life of luxury being the only child to a banker and being compelled to marry Ginger at an early age.   Josiah had his life figured out while Cain lived freely.  Cain had no goals to see completed.  Josiah had the next several years of his life precisely planned.  But something goes amiss in his plans and sets his life in an upheaval.  The only thing keeping Josiah’s life on tract is the thought of Ginger being by his side.  Josiah doesn’t know the reason his cousin has stayed away from home for so long is because Cain also is in love with Ginger.  Cain has a huge heart on the inside and he knows that he cannot hurt Josiah, plus he also believes that Ginger deserves somebody with more to give her than Cain ever could.

Ginger is torn.  She has two men to love – one she loves as a best friend, and one she loves from a distance.  One loves her wholeheartedly and the other man loves her from a distance.   One will wait for her to give her heart to him.

“My heart belongs to you.  If you’re ever ready to give me yours, well, you come find me, darlin’.  I’ll be waitin’.”

 I felt sorry for Ginger being in the predicament that she was.  Her upbringing was that of something you would see on TV with the southern Missus controlling everything.  Ginger didn’t want that life – she wanted to be free.  She didn’t want somebody telling her what to do and being something similar to a show horse – she wanted to experience life however dirty it may get her.   The person who lets her be free is Cain, but Cain has hurt her in the past.

“This is the last time you will ever reject and humiliate me.  I promise you.”

Even if Ginger forgives Cain for his past behaviors, Cain would never ever move in on his cousin’s love.   There is no easy solution for love – sometimes you just have to take a risk.

“Jump to the one you love the most, darlin’.”

The story did seem to take a while to get going.  The first few scenes were told from all three perspectives so it was a lengthy process while a lot of repetition.  It was enjoyable to discover the traits of the cousins through their own thoughts.  The story really took on a faster pace once it hit about 50% -- and by faster I mean balls to the wall.  Whoa Ms. Regnery – you took me on quite a ride and I will be anxiously awaiting your next work of art.  So as not to confuse any readers, all books in her Fairytale series are standalones with no crossover characters.