As Red As Blood (The Snow White Trilogy)

I was given this book to review by Netgalley.com.
What really drew me to this book was its eye catching cover. I decided to give it a chance and I'm glad I did. The story was very intriguing and heart felt. It only took me a day to read because I couldn't seem to put it down! I thought it was interesting that the main character was being compared to Snow White, which was another reason why I wanted to read it. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a good read.

As Red As Blood is the first book in the Snow white trilogy, or the Lumikki Andersson trilogy. I struggled with this book. It was originally written in Finnish and it takes placei n Finland, so maybe something was lost in translation, but I just could not get into this story. And that seems like a real shame to me, because I really, really liked the main girl Lumikki. I thought she was resilient, and smart. But the story was too jarring for me. The book felt kind of choppy and all over the place. The pace was brisk but the story felt like, scene. event. new person. confusing thing. scene. scene. without any explanations or time to catch your breath. I think for people that enjoy foreign or noir gritty crime thrillers might really love this, but it is not my normal read so the flow of the story was almost too big of a hurdle for me to overcome.

As I said before Lumikki is a great character. I went back and forth many times on what rating to give this book. I almost gave it 3 stars because I really enjoyed Lumikki. I loved how tough she was and when she stood up to the principals son early on, I cheered her on in my head. And I also liked the premise. She finds blood covered money hanging to dry in her school dark room. Umm, what??? That sounds like a crazy story! So I decided to give it a try, and it was kind of crazy, but it just wasn't really my thing. I feel like it might translate better on the tv or movie, but in a book, at least with this translation, something wasn't adding up for me to really get into the story.

As Red As Blood deals with a Finnish crime ring. Again a cool concept, and people that read crime thrillers or noir crime novels I think will love the snow white trilogy. The writing style is very distinct and the landscape felt very pungent, and fitting. It is a quick read, so I was glad that I stuck this one out. It was a good story, but not great for me. Lumikki is the winner of As Red As Blood. I wish I could have liked this one more, but I do hope people give this a shot if it sounds like your kind of read.

*Disclaimer- I got a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated for my thoughts.

Lumikki spends much of her time trying to be completely invisible. But when she stumbles on a stash of bloodied money in her school's dark room, she's forced to change her tactics. The kids who found the money know that Lumikki knows their secret and when one of them becomes the focus of a kidnapping attempt, they quickly recruit her in their efforts to find out what's going on. Lumikki's years of practice at going unnoticed are exactly what they need, but her investigation doesn't stay as secret as they'd all hoped.

I'm a bit at odds with this one. Overall it was an ok read. It wasn't bad but I wasn't blown away. And I really wanted to be. It is, as far as I can tell, my first Finnish read and it's yet another translated teen read, which I think we need far more of. My biggest issue is with Lumikki herself and the lack of development.

But that's not exactly true either. Lumikki is actually pretty well developed as a character. The author gives us a great sense of her and her quirks: she's a teen who's living alone in a small apartment, something she's facilitated so that she can attend a magnet school in another town; she's also an outsider and there's a definite reason for it, a reason that is again facilitated by Lumikki herself. But in giving us a good picture of Lumikki, it's clear that there's so much more to her that we've not yet seen. Obviously this is because it's meant to be the first in a series - which would make stretching Lumikki's story necessary - so maybe my issue is that I can't move directly onto the next book.

The main plot of As Red as Blood does stand pretty well alone (which also lends to my character issues considering this is an otherwise a complete story on its own). Lumikki is wrangled into a plan that involves tracing a mysterious bag of money that some of her classmates stumble upon after a party. The first thing they have to find out is who the money is intended for. Once they've got that down, they have to figure out where it came from. And that's the biggie because it means infiltrating a local drug ring.

While I admittedly didn't LOVE this one, I am looking forward to reading book two. If I'm lucky, that one will tie up a few things and push me from meh to wow for these.

I love all Scandinavian authors and Nordic Noir is one of my favorite genres.

The first in the Lumikki Andersson trilogy, "As Red as Blood" introduces us to Lumikki (Snow White), a young girl who has been through a bad time at school at home. She now lives alone in the city of Tampere, where she studies.

We know something bad happened to her at home, but we'll have to wait until the end of the book to find out what it is.

When she finds thousand of euro banknotes hanging to dry in the school's photo lab, her curiosity plunges her into a series of violent events complete with Russian mobsters and corrupt cops.

This is a well written and translated book, but although I love YA books, it felt a bit too light for me.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wasn't sure what to expect before I started reading this book. I wasn't sure that I was up for a fairytale "remake", much less, one taking place in Finland. I am pleased to say that I'm glad I didn't let my doubt get the best of me! I really enjoyed reading the book, "Red as Blood" and can't wait to read the next books in the series! The book is anything but cutesy and sugar coated. It is in fact, quite dark and suspenseful, which are a couple of the traits I really enjoy in the books I read. Initially, I was confused about a few things in the story, but by the end of the book, everything was cleared up and made sense. I finished the book in a day because it really kept my interest, which isn't always easy to do! I also enjoyed the cute vague references to Snow White, but they in no way make up the story!

As Red as Blood by Salla Simukka is a translated to English from Finnish mystery. The main character's name, Lumikki, means Snow White. Lumikki drifts into memories too vague to mean much to the plot on their own, but together the memories tell the story of her tragic past of being bullied. The main mystery of the story is solved, but other mysteries in Lumikki's life remain unanswered. It is always interesting to me to read about culture, people and settings of another country. Enjoyable mystery and I will be reading the next book, As White as Snow, soon!

~Once upon a time, there was a night that never ended. With its darkness, it devoured the sun, strangling all light and spreading its cold black hands over the earth. The night glued the eyes of humanity shut eternally, making dreams deeper and stranger, making man and woman alike forget themselves and glide along arm in arm with imagined creatures, losing their own memories~

Granted when I first entered Simukka’s world of As Red as Blood I was intrigued by the references to Snow White with a far off the beaten path twist. There are no dwarves, there are no evil queens, and there is no prince… yet. However there is a Polar Bear, an unexpected friend, a drug ring, a murder, and a bag full of bloody money. Do I have your attention yet?

Simukka follows in the same line of storytelling as Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo by introducing the reader to brilliant characters that are a bit rough around the edges and slightly (okay perhaps a lot) introverted. As Red as Blood introduces us to Lumikki, a girl minding her own business until she finds blood stained money hanging in a dark room. From here the main character is pulled into a whirlwind attempt to help a trio of students find the source of the money.

However, trying to find the origins of the money lead to revelations of affairs, dirty cops, dead bodies, and expected murder attempts on Lumikki herself when she is left in a case of mistaken identity. For Lumikki, who is so at peace with her own introvert world the events throw her off guard and leave her raw and exposed to unexpected situations. From the point of going to a drug lord’s exclusive costume ball dressed as none other than Snow White, to ending up in her own ironic frozen ‘casket’, Lumikki finds herself lost in a maliciously dark version of well known fairy tales.

~Once upon a time, there was a girl who learned fear. Fairy tales do not begin this way. Other, darker stories do.~

However, as the story unfurls and the world is exposed to Lumikki she finds that sometimes the darkest events bring forth a pin point of light. New friends are made and the strength to overcome fear once more is awakened in a normally quiet girl.

As Red as Blood is a swift, heart racing read with a heroine that is admirable and human. While strong and aloof, Lumikki remains tangible to the reader due to the glimpses of just how vulnerable she truly is. I loved Lumikki as a character and her story as it was brought to life in flash backs. Simukka does equal justice to the minor characters in the As Red as Blood. If anything Red as Blood leaves me hoping they will obtain the rights to make the trilogy a movie or a television program it is just that good. Simukka’s writing plays out like a movie script and is a visual read to the reader. I hope the readers enjoy it as much as I did. If you enjoy Jo Nesbo and the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy than I suggest you add Salla Simukka to your list of authors to keep an eye on. Stay tuned for when I review As White as Snow, the next book in the trilogy. Until next time readers, enjoy your reading!

~Once upon a time, there was a little key that could fit in any lock. Fairy tales don’t begin that way. That’s how other, brighter stories begin.~