The Better To See You is the second book in Kate SeRine’s A Transplanted Tales series.  If you haven’t read the first book Red, go now and read it.  Go on, I’ll wait here for you.  Done?  Fantastic, wasn’t it?  Although The Better To See You is about Lavender Seelie and Seth Wolf, instead of Red and Nate, I believe it is important that you have read Red before moving on.  There are plot points that flow from one story to the next.  But since both books are amazing, it isn’t a hardship.

SeRine’s A Transplanted Tales series give readers a world where, due to a spell gone very wrong, Make Believe characters now inhabit our world.  InRed, Red and Nate investigate the grisly murders of Tales in Chicago.  The Better To See You picks up about a year later.  Red suggests Lavender go to the Refuge (a place for Tales that have had issues adjusting) after she has a knock-down, drag-out with the Charmings.  Given just an address of someone who will help her, Lavender ends up at a cabin belonging to Seth Wolf.  Lavender is a little concerned since Seth, aka The Big Bad Wolf from many a fairy tale (including Red’s), was a prime suspect in the Chicago murders.  But as they spend more time together, Lavender realizes there is more to Seth than what she’s heard.  When people start turning up dead, things quickly go from bad to worse.

The mystery portion of the series is intriguing.  Set in a fantasy world, there are fewer rules to it but SeRine handles it well.  She doesn’t throw a lot of curve balls at her readers so when something is revealed it makes sense to the world as it is given to you.  I think that is my biggest complaint about stories that involve an otherworld element – you go along with one set of rules and suddenly the author gives you something completely new just so the plot will go a certain way.  I’m looking at you, Charlaine Harris.  I like surprises and there are lots of opportunities when dealing with magic, but it needs to have some kind of basis in the rest of the story.  SeRine does a fantastic job of giving everything a reason for happening.

And the romance between Seth and Lavender is delicious.  It’s takes a little bit of a backseat to the mystery, but SeRine steadily develops things as the plot progresses.  Lavender has done a lot of growing since the Tales came over and it is very touching to see her get her confidence back.  Seth’s story is enough to break your heart, so I was delighted to see him find some happiness again.

This series is an irresistible treat for readers who enjoy supernatural suspense romances.  It’s inhabited by all manner of literary creatures – Little Red Riding Hood, The Big Bad Wolf, fairy godmothers, The Grimm Reaper, Dracula, the Darcys, Juliet, Puck – you name it and it is probably in the series or will make an appearance later.  By having it encompass a large pool of fictional character, SeRine opens up the possibilities for future stories.  And it makes it fun to anticipate who might be on the next page.