foxgloveinspace's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Plot was intriguing, but the smut was awful.
snarkymotherreader's review against another edition
4.0
Gina Santiago, nicknamed Red because of the amount of blood spilled when she’s around, is a member of the International Police Tactical Team, a team created to protect the various republics that exist in the former United States. It is the only entity that has rights in each republic to investigate murder–which is almost obsolete–or to take care of outsiders, the people who refuse to commit themselves to a specific republic.
During a routine mission to investigate a group of outsiders who jumped the border into the Republic of Arizona, a body is found brutalized. The authorities claim it was an animal attack, but Red has other ideas. She travels to a border town to investigate, a town where everyone knows what Red is but Red herself.
The relationship between Red and Morgan Hunter, the sheriff of the border town she is investigating, is volatile and heartwarming and above all, real. They fight when they should, are intimate when they should be, and understand each other–something that’s often lacking in paranormal books.
Red is mainly written in third person, but there are sections written in first person from the killer’s point of view. The sections written in the first person are gruesome, bloody, and dark, giving extra insight into the world created for the novel.
Based very loosely on Little Red Riding Hood, this is an extremely original novel that leaves you breathless and craving more.
During a routine mission to investigate a group of outsiders who jumped the border into the Republic of Arizona, a body is found brutalized. The authorities claim it was an animal attack, but Red has other ideas. She travels to a border town to investigate, a town where everyone knows what Red is but Red herself.
The relationship between Red and Morgan Hunter, the sheriff of the border town she is investigating, is volatile and heartwarming and above all, real. They fight when they should, are intimate when they should be, and understand each other–something that’s often lacking in paranormal books.
Red is mainly written in third person, but there are sections written in first person from the killer’s point of view. The sections written in the first person are gruesome, bloody, and dark, giving extra insight into the world created for the novel.
Based very loosely on Little Red Riding Hood, this is an extremely original novel that leaves you breathless and craving more.
chllybrd's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed reading this introduction to the Dead world series. I found Red to be a fantastic character. The addition of Morgan made it that much better.
jen1110's review
3.0
This is not a supernatural crime thriller with a light dash of sex for fun. This is a bodice-ripper with overtones of a supernatural crime thriller. Just the thing you want to be reading at lunch in the work cafeteria.
It claims to be gritty and dark. It mostly lives up to that. There are some very well-described horrible events that made me sick to my stomach.
The ending seemed...contrived. I wanted to see how it all wrapped up, but I'm not sure if I liked it or not. Once again, I'm very glad that I checked it out from the library instead of purchasing.
It claims to be gritty and dark. It mostly lives up to that. There are some very well-described horrible events that made me sick to my stomach.
The ending seemed...contrived. I wanted to see how it all wrapped up, but I'm not sure if I liked it or not. Once again, I'm very glad that I checked it out from the library instead of purchasing.
prationality's review
5.0
Red starts out a little bit gruesomely--the first chapter is told from the killer's POV as he stalks and ultimately rips a woman apart in a deluded belief that she is his 'One', his 'mate'. The fact that she tears apart so easily and dies fazes him only slightly, he just figures there is someone better out there after all.
The book alternates like that--we have a mostly third person POV (either from Morgan or Gina's perspective), but occasional chapters are from the killer's first person POV, especially as we get closer to learning the truth of who he is exactly. I liked that--it gave us a sense of who, or rather what, we were dealing with and later when its revealed who it is, helps to round out the character development so as not to seem like it came out of left field.
Overall I had few problems with the book--it did get a little redundant with both Morgan and Gina constantly thinking about how much they wanted to have sex with the other and the list of reasons why they shouldn't or should wait. It didn't help that Gina was largely clueless about herself and her true nature while Morgan (and the entire rest of the town) was not. While Gina was being Gina, Morgan (and the other Others, or paranormals, in town) saw the subtle meaning behind certain gestures she made. Baring her neck to him, backing down in a fight, fierce protectiveness. It made for some interesting reading.
Guessing who the killer is should either be really simple and a 'I knew I was right' moment or a confusing 'really? but I thought...?' moment. I had a little of both. I guessed correctly, but was left confused as to the killer's ability to remain so...not crazed. Reading the killer's POV chapters should make you think this guy was off his rocker and should be caught sooner rather then later, but not so much. Gina is the catalyst in so many ways and for so many plans and people.
My one true gripe with the book is near the end when Gina goes to talk to her grandfather about a sensitive matter. I didn't recognize her at all. The strong, independent, fierce and capable chick was suddenly replaced with a juvenile trying to deny that she had been caught cheating on a test. If I could have slapped her, I would have. Hard. Then run far far away when she pulled a gun or knife on me. I realize that her world was shattering in a matter of moments, but it seemed too overdone to me.
The book alternates like that--we have a mostly third person POV (either from Morgan or Gina's perspective), but occasional chapters are from the killer's first person POV, especially as we get closer to learning the truth of who he is exactly. I liked that--it gave us a sense of who, or rather what, we were dealing with and later when its revealed who it is, helps to round out the character development so as not to seem like it came out of left field.
Overall I had few problems with the book--it did get a little redundant with both Morgan and Gina constantly thinking about how much they wanted to have sex with the other and the list of reasons why they shouldn't or should wait. It didn't help that Gina was largely clueless about herself and her true nature while Morgan (and the entire rest of the town) was not. While Gina was being Gina, Morgan (and the other Others, or paranormals, in town) saw the subtle meaning behind certain gestures she made. Baring her neck to him, backing down in a fight, fierce protectiveness. It made for some interesting reading.
Guessing who the killer is should either be really simple and a 'I knew I was right' moment or a confusing 'really? but I thought...?' moment. I had a little of both. I guessed correctly, but was left confused as to the killer's ability to remain so...not crazed. Reading the killer's POV chapters should make you think this guy was off his rocker and should be caught sooner rather then later, but not so much. Gina is the catalyst in so many ways and for so many plans and people.
My one true gripe with the book is near the end when Gina goes to talk to her grandfather about a sensitive matter. I didn't recognize her at all. The strong, independent, fierce and capable chick was suddenly replaced with a juvenile trying to deny that she had been caught cheating on a test. If I could have slapped her, I would have. Hard. Then run far far away when she pulled a gun or knife on me. I realize that her world was shattering in a matter of moments, but it seemed too overdone to me.
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