If you were to combine the romantic elements of Stephenie Meyers’ Twilight with the woodsy setting and werewolf lore of Maggie Steifvater’s Shiver, you would have the basic set up for Ivy Devlin’s quick read, Low Red Moon.

Avery Hood’s story begins when she recalls the murder of her mother and her father, blood lingering between her fingers. But their deaths were not at her hands; instead, she happened to stumble upon their bloody bodies and has no where to turn. She’s been in the woods, collecting edible herbs for dinner when the atrocity happened.

Now parentless, Avery must live with her grandmother, a strange lady that had been essentially cut off from her and her parents. There’d been family drama here, but it was live with her grandmother or be sent to foster care, and at least by living with her grandmother, Avery could stay at the school where people already knew she was “the weird girl.”Along with the family drama comes the fact that Avery is repeatedly asked what she remembers about the night of her parents’ murders from the local police chief and her constant fear that her childhood home would be taken or sold by an overeager realtor who has been aching to change the strange woods into something more profitable.

Enter Ben: a new boy at school who just happens to be a little different. Think Edward-meets-Bella scenario here — there’s repulsion and magnetism, and the little ol’ secret that Ben is really a werewolf. As the year progresses, Ben and Avery will grow closer and closer to one another, and Avery will have to come face-to-face with the murder as she puts together the memories she’s suppressed from that fateful night.

While Low Red Moon tread little new territory in the paranormal romance genre, the quickly paced, short book worked quite well for me. I had just enough character development of Avery Hood (and with a name like that of a girl who lives in the woods!), Ben, Avery’s estranged grandmother, and the local police chief. Although I found the ending entirely predictable, it was a little twist on the usual fare, which I also appreciated.

Ivy Devlin, as many savvy young adult readers know, is the pseudonym of a well-known ya author. This is her first foray into paranormal romance, and I think that she does a pretty good job. One of the elements that bothers me about her realistic fiction — girls who are sometimes too dependent on male counterparts for their personalities and their emotional stability — still plays out here, but it didn’t annoy me quite as much as it normally does. I felt Avery had enough of a history on her own, despite having nearly no hobbies or interests other than Ben and solving her parents murder. I guess we can forgive her for being a little distracted from typical teenage interests.

This book moves along at a nice clip, making it an appropriate choice for those who may be new to the paranormal romance genre. Although it is quite reminiscent of both Twilight and Shiver, Devlin combines the best elements of both story lines and still adds just enough mystery to make this one stand out a bit among the forest of similar titles. And while there is a murder and a burgeoning romance in this title, it is easily appropriate for those 12 and older. Adults looking for a glimpse into what their kids are reading but who aren’t interested in investing too much time would find this a nice glimpse into the world of paranormal romance.

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* Review copy received as part of the Low Red Moon tour, hosted by Center Stage Book Tours.