The Better to See You

by Kate SeRine

• ISBN10: 1601830254
• ISBN13: 9781601830258
• Publish Date: 7 February 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Ekensington Originals
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 292
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

I didn't hesitate for even a minute when I saw the chance to read and review The Better To See You for this blog tour. After reading and LOVING Red last month, I was excited. Not only was I not disappointed, I was pleasantly surprised. I would say I like it MORE but Red was already five stars so... yeah. But it's a five star read for sure.

Note: Spoilers ahead for Red if you haven't read it yet. While this COULD be read out of order/standalone I really don't recommend it, you'll miss too much of the way the story builds upon itself.

Where to start? I guess I'll go with the characters. We met them both in Red. We've got Seth Wolf - the big bad wolf that Tess "Red" Little had loved once upon a time. I was so excited to get more of his story, as where things ended for him in Red, I was sad for him and felt Red's anguish for him. Learning his full story was so exciting and also seeing him finding a slice of happiness was rewarding.

Then there's Lavender, also known as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. If you have images of a sweet old grandmotherly type singing "bibbidi bobbidi boo" - banish that image immediately. Not only is Lavender the fairy responsible for casting the Tales into the Here and Now (aka, our Ordinary world) but she's basically the most bad-ass, powerful fairy around. Well, she was before she colossal effed up (see the aforementioned casting into the Here and Now). Now she's a fairy without her wings and some misbehaving, erratic magic. When we met her in Red she was a drunk, drowning her sorrows and mistakes in a bottle, unhappily living with Cindy and her prince.

I have to admit, I wasn't super excited about Lavender initially. I was sad that I wasn't going to continue to get the story for Red's POV (don't worry, we do still get a continuation of her & Nate's story!) and didn't know that I would really love her the same. But within the first chapter I was disabused of that notion. Y'all she's so loveable! And if you like a character that grows - here you go! A lot of her growth has happened already but you're getting to see it in the rearview which is also pretty great. And she's really quite a badass.

Also the romance! Like I said, get rid of that "bibbidi bobbidi boo" fairy godmother notion or some of these scenes between Lavendar will be a bit disturbing. For me, that image was gone and instead they had me blushing. *fans self* they are an electric couple. Unlike Red and Nate who spent so much of their book fighting their attraction, these two are on fire pretty quick.

Last - but certainly not least - the plot/mystery. I found myself wishing I was buddy reading this (as I do frequently) because I was DYING to talk to someone about my guesses. Kate SeRine did an amazing job keeping me guessing. I had so many culprits at one point - sure I guessed the right one, but when you have THAT MANY people your considering, you'd be a really bad guesser to still be wrong. So many really good misdirections mixed in with the absolute correct info, I was on my toes the entire time.

Really looking forward to the next book!

[Melanie]

Review originally posted at RabidReads.com.

I read the first book in this series late last year. I had picked up as a free kindle book at the time. I really enjoyed the story, so when I went to go on vacation this summer, I requested this book from the library so I could continue with the series. This series is based on fairy tales and literary characters who have been put into the real world (think Once Upon a Time TV show).

In The Better To See You, we have Lavender Seelie, who has been Cinderella’s fairy god mother in the Make Believe and assistant in the Here and Now burning down Cindy and Prince Charming’s house. She has been a drunk and completely depressed. She is the one who sent everyone to the here and now and that has really messed with her psyche. Red (Yes, she is Little Red Riding Hood and the heroine from the first book. She is an enforcer and kicks ass.) thinks she needs to get out of town for a while, so she sends her to the Refuge. It is a place where Tales who need to get away and aren’t dealing well with the Here and Now.

Seth Wolf, he is the Big Bad Wolf, is hiding outside of the Refuge after he was accused of murder in the previous book. He was quite surprised when he finds someone coming down his driveway. He really doesn’t want her around and someone depending on him, but he also knows the need to get away.

Then people in around the Refuge start getting brutally murdered. Red shows back up with her partner and lover, Nate Grimm, who is a grim reaper to the Tales. Tess Little (Little Miss Muffet) also comes to help investigate. I was glad that we got to spend some time with the Tales we met in the first book. There are also several we meet in this book that I really want to know more too. I won’t go into detail so as not to spoil any surprises. I was actually surprised at some of the twists that took place in this book. I didn’t see them coming at all.

All in all, this was a great book. It was very emotional watching two characters who have had a very tough life, both in Make Believe and in the Here and Now come together and make themselves very happy. I can’t wait to get time to dive into the next book, which is Little Miss Muffet’s. I really like her character, so it should be interesting.

[littleread1]

After I read and loved Red, I was so excited to read this second installment of the Transplanted Tales Series - but it fell a little flat for me. I think that has more to do with me not being a fan of Lavender, and it is hard to love a book when you don't like the main character. There isn't anything specific she said or did, I just didn't like her. Different personalities I guess?

But Seth saved it for me. I love Seth. I am firmly in his corner, and if Lav makes him happy, then I am all for them. And while this is firmly Seth and Lavender's story, we still get to follow up with Red and Nate, and get to know some of the other Tales a little better, setting up the next story or two very well.

The world, as I have com to expect from SeRine, is wonderfully magical and fantastically real. The stress of being a Transplanted Tale in the real world can be overwhelming and as a reader you feel that anxiety. Though the book fell a little short for me, I was still left satisfied, and looking forward to the next read.

[Cocktails and Books]

"Seth aka the Big Bad Wolf hasn’t had it easy since the day he was cursed. Now he gets the job of looking after what, a fairy, the same kind of Tale that made him what he is. At first anger is the only thing he can feel toward Lavender but as the days go on his heart begins to feel something completely different. Now he is facing hell hounds, deadly wounds, and magic far beyond his understanding while trying to keep the women he loves out of danger. The problem, he has secrets of his own and the more he hides from her, the more she begins to search for answers. Now with the women he loves in danger he must once again step up and be the knight he used to be.

Lavender didn’t mean to cause problems but with her magic not being what it once was, she does just that. Now she is hiding out in The Refuge hoping that she can finally make a new start. Of course things aren’t at all what they seem here and neither is the Big Bad Wolf she is staying with. When things begin to heat up with Seth and her magic starts coming back, it finally feels like things are going right. The only problem is somebody in town is killing ordinaries and using the very same magic she is sworn to protect. Now she is stuck with only two options, tell the man she loves and hope he will believer her innocence or do her own digging.

Seth couldn’t stand her at first and now he has absolutely no control over how much her wants to touch her. It seems every waking minute is a fight to keep his hands to himself and go to work like a good little wolf. Of course Lavender only makes it worse when she is having trouble with the same feelings. It seems the only thing able to keep these two at bay is the ongoing murders and ever growing secrets hiding within the Refuge. Now they are both on a mission to find out the truth and to keep each other safe.

This series, so far, is wonderful although I will admit I loved the first book more. SeRine had a steady flow throughout the first book but it seems in this one, some things were rushed while others remained steady. The way she portrays the childhood tales we knew is both hilarious and intriguing. She shows a lot of creativity in the book and pairing Robin Goodfellow as the brother to Lavender was perfect. This book holds a little mischief, a fiery romance, and an intriguing mystery. All together an amazing book. I look forward to the next one.

Reviewed by Dani for Cocktails and Books

[kimbacaffeinate]

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 of the 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, action packed and utterly romantic.

We met Seth in the first tale, and I love his back story. 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 whole 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 with 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, turns 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 of 2013 will feature Beatrice aka “Little Miss Muffet”.

I want to thank the author for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.
Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer