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Red
Bad girls burn hot…
Red is the color of Kia Alcott's hair.
It's her temper, which blazes hot and always gets Kia into way too much trouble.
And it's the color of fire. Fires that Kia can start…just by thinking about them.
When her latest “episode” gets her kicked out of school, Kia is shipped off to her grandmother, who works for the wealthy Blackwoods. It's an estate shrouded in secrets, surrounded by rules, and presided over by a family that is far from normal…including the gorgeous and insolent Ethan Blackwood.
Ethan knows far more about the dangers of the forest surrounding the estate than Kia can ever imagine. For this forest has teeth, and Ethan is charged with protecting the outside world from its vicious mysteries.
But inside, even the most vibrant shade of red doesn't stand a chance against the dark secrets of the Blackwood family…
Red is the color of Kia Alcott's hair.
It's her temper, which blazes hot and always gets Kia into way too much trouble.
And it's the color of fire. Fires that Kia can start…just by thinking about them.
When her latest “episode” gets her kicked out of school, Kia is shipped off to her grandmother, who works for the wealthy Blackwoods. It's an estate shrouded in secrets, surrounded by rules, and presided over by a family that is far from normal…including the gorgeous and insolent Ethan Blackwood.
Ethan knows far more about the dangers of the forest surrounding the estate than Kia can ever imagine. For this forest has teeth, and Ethan is charged with protecting the outside world from its vicious mysteries.
But inside, even the most vibrant shade of red doesn't stand a chance against the dark secrets of the Blackwood family…
198 pages, ebook
First published March 10, 2015
10 people are currently reading
1966 people want to read
About the author
Alyxandra Harvey
59 books3,161 followerswww.alyxandraharvey.com
Alyxandra Harvey is the author of The Cinderella Society, The Dainty Devils, The Drake Chronicles, The Witches of London, Haunting Violet and more!
She likes chai lattes, tattoos, and books.
Sometimes fueled by literary rage.
Alyxandra Harvey is the author of The Cinderella Society, The Dainty Devils, The Drake Chronicles, The Witches of London, Haunting Violet and more!
She likes chai lattes, tattoos, and books.
Sometimes fueled by literary rage.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 125 reviews
March 14, 2015
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Entangled Publishing, LLC and NetGalley.)
“Everyone thought I’d started the fire on purpose. And there was no use in trying to convince them otherwise. They’d never believe the truth.”
This was a good YA paranormal romance, with some weird paranormal creatures in it.
I liked Kia, even if she did seem to have a talent for getting in trouble! I felt quite sorry for her in the way she kept accidentally setting fire to things, and having to move in with her grandmother and change schools couldn’t have been easy.
“I’d learned I didn’t need kindling – I was kindling.”
The storyline in this was pretty good, and I liked that we got some really weird paranormal creatures in here like Wendigo’s and Phooka’s!
“The more magic you used to keep monsters away, the more monsters were drawn to you.”
There was a bit of romance, and I thought Ethan and Kia were a really cute couple, even if Ethan’s father would never have allowed the relationship.
“His mouth was every kind of sweet drink and every bite of dessert I’d ever had.”
The ending to this was pretty good, and I liked that we got some action!
7.5 out of 10
“Everyone thought I’d started the fire on purpose. And there was no use in trying to convince them otherwise. They’d never believe the truth.”
This was a good YA paranormal romance, with some weird paranormal creatures in it.
I liked Kia, even if she did seem to have a talent for getting in trouble! I felt quite sorry for her in the way she kept accidentally setting fire to things, and having to move in with her grandmother and change schools couldn’t have been easy.
“I’d learned I didn’t need kindling – I was kindling.”
The storyline in this was pretty good, and I liked that we got some really weird paranormal creatures in here like Wendigo’s and Phooka’s!
“The more magic you used to keep monsters away, the more monsters were drawn to you.”
There was a bit of romance, and I thought Ethan and Kia were a really cute couple, even if Ethan’s father would never have allowed the relationship.
“His mouth was every kind of sweet drink and every bite of dessert I’d ever had.”
The ending to this was pretty good, and I liked that we got some action!
7.5 out of 10
March 10, 2015
Arc provided by Entangled Publishing through Netgalley
Release Date: March 10 th
I am afraid this turned out to be an average paranormal YA romance, of the type that features a mysterious gorgeous boy with secrets, and a girl who promises not to fall under his spell and pretty much fails at that agenda, _especially when the boy in question behaves like an idiot through most of the book _ "five" minutes after they're introduced.
Also there is quite a number of cheesy lines in this book that may induce the reader in some painful sugar inducted comma:
"Air was unnecessary, dust and ash.
His mouth was every kind of sweet drink and every bite of dessert I’d ever had. It was chili peppers and chocolate, cinnamon candies, cherry cupcakes."
-_- *runs away screaming*
But this story's biggest problem _ yes, besides the previous ones _ is that it lacks development.
Practically in everything.
Things happen in the blink of an eye and that's it. The reader just has to go with the flow..while it gets bombarded with YA clichés from all sides.
The worst thing, is that it had potential. The author comes out with some good twists in the end, _what happens to the villain for instance_ but the story doesn't have solid grounds.
This needed to be developed. It feels as if half the story is missing. Yes, it may be the boring one. But it was needed.
To compensate what is missing, _yes, I am being sarcastic _ there is one too many Ya clichés this book relies on.
YA tropes this book relies on:
Absent parents:
Girl gets into trouble, dad sends her off to live with grandmother and that's it. One daughter dispatched and we never hear from the guy again. He could at least have called once in awhile, right?
And does the grandmother take the time to have a serious talk with the girl? You know, regarding her problems?
Of course not. Waste of time. Let's get the ball
This ends up being even more idiotic and irresponsible when some facts are revealed.
Special snowflake alert:
"You're not like the other girls at Havencrest," he said.
Says the love interest who only pretends to be an ass through most of the book to deviate attentions from...something.
In reality he's a bloody prince
Bad Boy romantic interest:
" There were already so many versions of Ethan, but this one was clearly the most dangerous.
I could actually like this Ethan."
Of course, because nothing is hotter than a wacko.
Mr Prince Charming Perfect:
" I could recite all of Hercules's trials before I could recite the alphabet."
*snort*
Yes, yes...but can you make bread?
Hot and You're Cold
One moment they're having a polite conversation as friends, next second the guy's telling her to use the servants entrance to the castle.
That's right. People refer to the mansion as castle...and I am not talking about the insane one who writes books and has a big crush on Beckett -_-.
Of course the guy is acting this way out of concern for the girl. In reality he's every girl's dream come true.
Result: Boring.
Girl on Girl Hate
Haven't we had enough of this already? Also what's with the logic of kicking Kia _ am I the only one who immediately "sees" a jeep in her mind? _ out of school for her own protection?
What's with this logic?
At least when she was in school she wasn't sticking her nose where it didn't belong.
In the end, a story that comes out severely lacking, whose only redeeming qualities rely on some undeveloped plot twists that appear near the end.
Author Official's Site
March 26, 2015
"The more magic you used to keep monsters away, the more monsters were drawn to you. It was a delicate balance. Who knew what else had already gotten out?"
So this is the first book I read from Alyxandra and I cannot wait to check out her other books. Red was a little bit of everything which is very awesome to read. Drama, action, romance and intrigue. You can say that its jam packed.
I'm a fan of books that keeps leaving me mystified every chapter. And that's just what Harvey did. I kept guessing, kept getting intrigued and I enjoyed every moment of it. The moment Kia was left to enter the Blackwood property, you just know that something sketchy is going on. The way Harvey described Kia's feelings and environment gave me chills. There's a creepy and eerie factor that you can't easily shake off.
Kia was a blast. She's such a girl on fire (literally) and I enjoyed her sassiness and spunky-ness. You can't not like a who knows how to stay on her ground. She doesn't take crap from anybody and I admire that about her. Ethan, on the other hand brought me headache. He is hot and cold. But I can't deny the fact the Ethan is such a well written character. Its not that his all over the place, but he surprises you. I love the whole mystery that surrounded him even though it frustrated me for a bit.
Secondary characters can't be missed as well. Absolutely well written and no one was a prop (I hated those) Each and every character played a part that lead the book to its greatness.
I'm a big fan of the romance! No insta-love, no high school crap that went down (maybe a little) and the whole thing made sense and progressed accordingly. What I mean by that is that it may be slow.. but it was sweet and worth the wait. Sparks flyin' and by the end I can't get enough of them.
I'm not sure if this is a series or not. Things ending that way is okay.. but following it up, in my opinion, would be so much better! Overall, I was deeply satisfied with Red. Totally not a book that you wanna miss out regardless of the book genre that you read because like I said, it has a little bit of everything!
March 9, 2015
It's been two years since I read a book written by Alyxandra Harvey. I've always been a huge fan of hers but due to to many other books her books that I still have to read got put aside for a while. So I'm so glad I got to read this new book of hers because it reminded me of how much I adore her books. And I couldn't get over how good this book was. It might not quite be five stars but it's absolutely a solid four stars for me!
After Kia Alcott gets expelled from her school for starting a fire and burning her best friend, her father —not knowing his daughter did it with her mind by accident —sends Kia away to live with her grandmother who lives and works for the Blackwoods at a huge estate. The closer Kia gets to Ethan Blackwood the more freaky things start happening. It's then that Kia starts to unravel the secrets of the estate, the cabal that Ethan unwillingly is a part of and the surrounding woods.
Alyxandra Harvey always has a knack for writing awesome female characters. Kia is no exception. She's snarky, fun to read about and wants to find out what's going on + she's a freaking firestarter. Can't get more badass than that!
Ethan was also a great character to read about. Him and Kia have both alternating points of few. I must admit I wasn't into Ethan's POV right away. I mean, it was interesting to get inside his head and read about the world he grew up in but initially I just wanted to keep reading about Kia. But I got over that soon enough, the more I found out about him, his friend and the cabal.
A huge part of why I loved this book was that it had a lot of different supernatural creatures. It's kind of hard to say more about these particular creatures without giving too much away but they play a integral part in the story and they really fascinated me, even though what was done to them was really wrong.
The romance between Kia and Ethan was really well-written. There's definitely no insta-love whatsoever. At first Kia even thought Ethan was stuck-up because of his wealth and Ethan did pretend to not like her at first. But slowly they grew towards each other and I just thought it was a really sweet love that was blossoming even though both Kia as Ethan quite had some baggage. I think they were pretty perfect for each other.
All in all, Red by Alyxandra Harvey was a fun and enjoyable read. It had humor, a lot of action, amusing characters and sweet romance. I also liked how the end was pretty well wrapped up. Certainly not a bad start for getting back to reading this author's book after two whole years.
After Kia Alcott gets expelled from her school for starting a fire and burning her best friend, her father —not knowing his daughter did it with her mind by accident —sends Kia away to live with her grandmother who lives and works for the Blackwoods at a huge estate. The closer Kia gets to Ethan Blackwood the more freaky things start happening. It's then that Kia starts to unravel the secrets of the estate, the cabal that Ethan unwillingly is a part of and the surrounding woods.
Alyxandra Harvey always has a knack for writing awesome female characters. Kia is no exception. She's snarky, fun to read about and wants to find out what's going on + she's a freaking firestarter. Can't get more badass than that!
Ethan was also a great character to read about. Him and Kia have both alternating points of few. I must admit I wasn't into Ethan's POV right away. I mean, it was interesting to get inside his head and read about the world he grew up in but initially I just wanted to keep reading about Kia. But I got over that soon enough, the more I found out about him, his friend and the cabal.
A huge part of why I loved this book was that it had a lot of different supernatural creatures. It's kind of hard to say more about these particular creatures without giving too much away but they play a integral part in the story and they really fascinated me, even though what was done to them was really wrong.
The romance between Kia and Ethan was really well-written. There's definitely no insta-love whatsoever. At first Kia even thought Ethan was stuck-up because of his wealth and Ethan did pretend to not like her at first. But slowly they grew towards each other and I just thought it was a really sweet love that was blossoming even though both Kia as Ethan quite had some baggage. I think they were pretty perfect for each other.
All in all, Red by Alyxandra Harvey was a fun and enjoyable read. It had humor, a lot of action, amusing characters and sweet romance. I also liked how the end was pretty well wrapped up. Certainly not a bad start for getting back to reading this author's book after two whole years.
March 9, 2015
Harvey has been on my favorite's list for awhile now, or rather, her amazing writing and fun series have been. It all started with the fun and lovable Drake boys and her enchanting Lovegood Girls. When I saw she had a new book out, I knew resistance was futile and quite frankly, I didn't even want to try in the first place.
Harvey once again had me hooked after the very first chapter. Who can resist fire, a bad girl, a mysterious castle, creepy woods, and a handsome broody boy? Not I. Throw in a whole mix of mythical creatures and monsters and you have one heck of a good story that kept me thoroughly entertained the whole way through.
I really enjoyed Kia and her fierceness. She was witty, snarky, and full of sarcasm and yet still compassionate and brave. Her character reminded me so much of Lucy from the Drake Chronicles that I couldn't help fall in love with her immediately.
Ethan and Sloane and even Abby were all wonderful characters and I loved how this alternated bewteen both Kia and Ethan's point of view. I don' t think I quite would have liked Ethan as much if we didn't get those glimpses inside his most inner thoughts and feelings.
The only thing I regret about this read is that it is a stand alone. I would love to delve back into the world of the Cabal and learn more about it and see where everyone is after this one ended.
Harvey once again had me hooked after the very first chapter. Who can resist fire, a bad girl, a mysterious castle, creepy woods, and a handsome broody boy? Not I. Throw in a whole mix of mythical creatures and monsters and you have one heck of a good story that kept me thoroughly entertained the whole way through.
I really enjoyed Kia and her fierceness. She was witty, snarky, and full of sarcasm and yet still compassionate and brave. Her character reminded me so much of Lucy from the Drake Chronicles that I couldn't help fall in love with her immediately.
Ethan and Sloane and even Abby were all wonderful characters and I loved how this alternated bewteen both Kia and Ethan's point of view. I don' t think I quite would have liked Ethan as much if we didn't get those glimpses inside his most inner thoughts and feelings.
The only thing I regret about this read is that it is a stand alone. I would love to delve back into the world of the Cabal and learn more about it and see where everyone is after this one ended.
March 3, 2015
Thanks to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for giving me this book to review
Kai always gets into trouble, partly because of her fiery temper and partly because she can start fires just by thinking. After the latest incident causes Kai to lose her best friend and be kicked out of school, she is sent to live with her grandmother, who works for the wealthy Blackwoods family. At the Blackwoods estate nothing is normal and everything is shrouded in secrets including the mysterious and sexy Ethan Blackwood. Kai soon realises that her fire starting ability is far from the most dangerous thing on the Blackwoods estate.
Red is a really enjoyable new book from Alyxandra Harvey. It is fast paced with a good balance between action, suspense and romance. The POV is from both Kai and Ethan, but the book is a bit too predictable and was a bit confusing as some things were not full explained.
Kai is a mouthy, stubborn and curious girl who is easy to empathise with as she is misunderstood and never gives up. There are a lot of different sides to Ethan as he is strong, loyal and protective but can sometimes be snobby and has a darker side. I really liked Sloane as she was a good friend.
I enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to the next book in this series. I would recommend Red to fans of Alyxandra Harvey’s other books.
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
Kai always gets into trouble, partly because of her fiery temper and partly because she can start fires just by thinking. After the latest incident causes Kai to lose her best friend and be kicked out of school, she is sent to live with her grandmother, who works for the wealthy Blackwoods family. At the Blackwoods estate nothing is normal and everything is shrouded in secrets including the mysterious and sexy Ethan Blackwood. Kai soon realises that her fire starting ability is far from the most dangerous thing on the Blackwoods estate.
Red is a really enjoyable new book from Alyxandra Harvey. It is fast paced with a good balance between action, suspense and romance. The POV is from both Kai and Ethan, but the book is a bit too predictable and was a bit confusing as some things were not full explained.
Kai is a mouthy, stubborn and curious girl who is easy to empathise with as she is misunderstood and never gives up. There are a lot of different sides to Ethan as he is strong, loyal and protective but can sometimes be snobby and has a darker side. I really liked Sloane as she was a good friend.
I enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to the next book in this series. I would recommend Red to fans of Alyxandra Harvey’s other books.
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
May 6, 2015
“You love him." I widened my eyes incredulously. "Dude, I only decided not to hate him like twenty-four hours ago. Slow the shit down.”
-Kia
Sweet baby...
If you want a YA novel that has a snarky heroine, "clutch-my-heart kind of twists, a mysterious forest and paranormal romance that has nothing to do with insta-love?
Here, take the book.
-Kia
Sweet baby...
If you want a YA novel that has a snarky heroine, "clutch-my-heart kind of twists, a mysterious forest and paranormal romance that has nothing to do with insta-love?
Here, take the book.
February 5, 2016
I've been a huge fan of Alyxandra Harvey since her debut novel, Hearts at Stake and have been an avid reader of her work since then, so it's no surprise that I jumped at the chance to read her latest release, Red as soon as I could, and wow am I ever glad I did! This book was such a fun-filled fantasy that is sort of a Little Red Riding Hood retelling but with a supernatural and magical twist that had me completely fascinated and consumed.
Harvey has written about vampires, ghost, fey-folks and witches, but this book felt entirely different from her other books, but in the best way possible. It's a great mixture of fairytale and fantasy but with supernatural and magical abilities thrown in. It's an intriguing and mysterious story that has just about everything I could want in an escape. Magic, medieval gothic lore, fantastical and mythical creatures all set in a remote looming castle with dangerous wild secrets and characters. Harvey really went all out with this book and I loved that she didn't give us all the answers and we are made to just sit back and enjoy as the story unfolds as we learn about Kia, Ethan and the Blackwood family and all of their wicked secrets.
Kia was awesome from the start, she's a sassy character who doesn't take crap from anyone and I loved her spark (pun intended). Staying with her Grandmother at Blackwood castle is a last resort since she got expelled for setting her school on fire, but it's not like Kia can help it, for what ever reason she can start fires with just her thoughts, but she's scared since she doesn't know why or how to control it.
Ethan is a rather intense character that was pretty hot and cold when he first meets Kia. He has a very unique role in the Blackwood family and I absolutely loved learning about some of his more eccentric talents and activities. I loved how protective he is of Kia and his friends. Ethan and Kia may have had a shaky relationship at first, but I can't deny they have quite the sizzling chemistry.
All in all, I thought this book was really very cool. The world Harvey creates is bizarrely imaginative, dark and edgy with characters I couldn't help be invested with from the first page till it's thrilling conclusion. There were some loose ends, so I'm hoping we get more. This was a fun and solid escape and I look forward to seeing what Harvey has in store for us next!
Harvey has written about vampires, ghost, fey-folks and witches, but this book felt entirely different from her other books, but in the best way possible. It's a great mixture of fairytale and fantasy but with supernatural and magical abilities thrown in. It's an intriguing and mysterious story that has just about everything I could want in an escape. Magic, medieval gothic lore, fantastical and mythical creatures all set in a remote looming castle with dangerous wild secrets and characters. Harvey really went all out with this book and I loved that she didn't give us all the answers and we are made to just sit back and enjoy as the story unfolds as we learn about Kia, Ethan and the Blackwood family and all of their wicked secrets.
Kia was awesome from the start, she's a sassy character who doesn't take crap from anyone and I loved her spark (pun intended). Staying with her Grandmother at Blackwood castle is a last resort since she got expelled for setting her school on fire, but it's not like Kia can help it, for what ever reason she can start fires with just her thoughts, but she's scared since she doesn't know why or how to control it.
Ethan is a rather intense character that was pretty hot and cold when he first meets Kia. He has a very unique role in the Blackwood family and I absolutely loved learning about some of his more eccentric talents and activities. I loved how protective he is of Kia and his friends. Ethan and Kia may have had a shaky relationship at first, but I can't deny they have quite the sizzling chemistry.
All in all, I thought this book was really very cool. The world Harvey creates is bizarrely imaginative, dark and edgy with characters I couldn't help be invested with from the first page till it's thrilling conclusion. There were some loose ends, so I'm hoping we get more. This was a fun and solid escape and I look forward to seeing what Harvey has in store for us next!
March 11, 2015
When I first seen the cover for Red, I was hoping it was a really dark, creepy retelling of Red Riding Hood. It’s not marketed as one but it could pass as for it.
Red is about a girl named Kia, who can start fires with her mind. She’s sent to live with her grandmother after she get in big trouble at school. Her grandma works for a really wealthy family. The estate is large, creepy, and is full of secrets. Kia gets caught up in the middle and chaos ensues.
Red started off so quickly. I thought it would take some time to build up but Alyxandra Harvey drove right into it. I was caught really off guard by how I was just thrust into the story so fast. It took a couple of pages, but I ended up really liking how the book started.
The whole book was pretty fast paced. It’s about 198 pages so there wasn’t a lot of time to slow the plot down. Sometimes I felt like the plot was so fast paced that some things weren’t completely explained. I wanted a little more explanations and some more details.
The characters were very classically YA characters. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but I wasn’t surprised by them. Kia was a pretty cool character. She spoke her mind and didn’t take any crap. She’s really snarky. Her ability to start fires with her mind is what made her different from other characters in YA. I really liked that part of her and how much she actually tried to control her fires.
Ethan was kinda on the boring side for me. I wasn’t blown way by him but there’s wasn’t anything that I hated about him. He was just a “normal” mysterious, broody male lead in a YA novel. But he wasn’t a complete jerk so I liked that a lot.
Overall, I had a really good time reading this book. It was a fun, quick YA read. I do wish there was a little more explanations and substance to the plot. But I’m a critical reader by nature so if you’re not super critical, I doubt you’ll find any problems with this book. I adore the cover and the overall concept. If you’re looking for a fast read in between “serious” books, I recommend Red.
Red is about a girl named Kia, who can start fires with her mind. She’s sent to live with her grandmother after she get in big trouble at school. Her grandma works for a really wealthy family. The estate is large, creepy, and is full of secrets. Kia gets caught up in the middle and chaos ensues.
Red started off so quickly. I thought it would take some time to build up but Alyxandra Harvey drove right into it. I was caught really off guard by how I was just thrust into the story so fast. It took a couple of pages, but I ended up really liking how the book started.
The whole book was pretty fast paced. It’s about 198 pages so there wasn’t a lot of time to slow the plot down. Sometimes I felt like the plot was so fast paced that some things weren’t completely explained. I wanted a little more explanations and some more details.
The characters were very classically YA characters. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but I wasn’t surprised by them. Kia was a pretty cool character. She spoke her mind and didn’t take any crap. She’s really snarky. Her ability to start fires with her mind is what made her different from other characters in YA. I really liked that part of her and how much she actually tried to control her fires.
Ethan was kinda on the boring side for me. I wasn’t blown way by him but there’s wasn’t anything that I hated about him. He was just a “normal” mysterious, broody male lead in a YA novel. But he wasn’t a complete jerk so I liked that a lot.
Overall, I had a really good time reading this book. It was a fun, quick YA read. I do wish there was a little more explanations and substance to the plot. But I’m a critical reader by nature so if you’re not super critical, I doubt you’ll find any problems with this book. I adore the cover and the overall concept. If you’re looking for a fast read in between “serious” books, I recommend Red.
March 12, 2015
I've enjoyed everything I've read by Alyxandra Harvey (which includes pretty much her entire back list) so of course I was incredibly excited when I first heard about Red and I couldn't wait to read it. Unfortunately this was one of those cases where high expectations weren't quite met so while this is a quick and easy to read story I didn't love it as much as I had hoped to.
Like a lot of people Kia has a temper, unfortunately her temper comes with an added problem that most of us don't have to worry about - she is a fire starter. No I don't mean she likes to commit arson, but she does have the power to start fires with her mind and it's an ability she has practically no control over. As soon as she gets annoyed things have a nasty habit of catching fire and she has developed quite a reputation because of it. After being kicked out of school Kia is given a fresh start when she is sent to live with her grandmother. Her grandmother is a housekeeper for the wealthy Blackwood family and Kia finds herself stuck living in their creepy old estate. She is sure something is going on but she has no idea how much danger she is actually in.
I actually quite liked Kia's character, she is feisty and doesn't let anyone put her down. I loved the way she was able to stand up for herself against the would be bullies at her new school but it did get to the point where I felt her temper was a little over the top and I wanted to see her mature a bit. Unfortunately the other characters were cardboard cut outs, you had the mysterious, brooding hot boy who seems interested in Kia one minute and then pushes her away the next and, of course, you had the bitchy girl who wants the boy and is angry at the new girl because he seems to have taken a shine to her. There were other clichés in there too but I don't want to list them all here because it would take too long. Ethan's character never really caught my attention and I didn't have any interest in getting to know him which is probably a good thing because even now he is pretty much a mystery. I also felt that their relationship came completely out of nowhere and I didn't feel any connection between them.
I think my main problem with the story was that there just wasn't enough background information given though. I wanted to know more about what happened at Kia's previous school, I wanted to know more about her mother and I wanted to learn more about her abilities. I also wanted to learn more about what was happening on the estate and the organisation that was behind everything. Even now I still don't understand why the parents of Ethan and his gang did the things they did, what their motives were or even how they ended up brought into the organisation that they worked for. I also didn't understand why they were allowed to get away with their behaviour considering that it seemed like the Blackwood estate was the only one that was run that way. There was so much potential when we started to discover what was going on but no matter how interested I was in all the different creatures we come across I wanted more information about how they all came to be there. At around 200 pages this is a fairly short novel and I think it could have done with an extra 50-100 pages to give us more background and so that more time could have been spent on character development.
Don't get me wrong, Red isn't all bad. It was an easy and fun read and I think there is a lot of potential there if Alyxandra Harvey decides to turn it into a series but I don't think it was up to the level I expect from this author and I would recommend starting with her Drake Chronicles series if you've not read any of her books before.
Like a lot of people Kia has a temper, unfortunately her temper comes with an added problem that most of us don't have to worry about - she is a fire starter. No I don't mean she likes to commit arson, but she does have the power to start fires with her mind and it's an ability she has practically no control over. As soon as she gets annoyed things have a nasty habit of catching fire and she has developed quite a reputation because of it. After being kicked out of school Kia is given a fresh start when she is sent to live with her grandmother. Her grandmother is a housekeeper for the wealthy Blackwood family and Kia finds herself stuck living in their creepy old estate. She is sure something is going on but she has no idea how much danger she is actually in.
I actually quite liked Kia's character, she is feisty and doesn't let anyone put her down. I loved the way she was able to stand up for herself against the would be bullies at her new school but it did get to the point where I felt her temper was a little over the top and I wanted to see her mature a bit. Unfortunately the other characters were cardboard cut outs, you had the mysterious, brooding hot boy who seems interested in Kia one minute and then pushes her away the next and, of course, you had the bitchy girl who wants the boy and is angry at the new girl because he seems to have taken a shine to her. There were other clichés in there too but I don't want to list them all here because it would take too long. Ethan's character never really caught my attention and I didn't have any interest in getting to know him which is probably a good thing because even now he is pretty much a mystery. I also felt that their relationship came completely out of nowhere and I didn't feel any connection between them.
I think my main problem with the story was that there just wasn't enough background information given though. I wanted to know more about what happened at Kia's previous school, I wanted to know more about her mother and I wanted to learn more about her abilities. I also wanted to learn more about what was happening on the estate and the organisation that was behind everything. Even now I still don't understand why the parents of Ethan and his gang did the things they did, what their motives were or even how they ended up brought into the organisation that they worked for. I also didn't understand why they were allowed to get away with their behaviour considering that it seemed like the Blackwood estate was the only one that was run that way. There was so much potential when we started to discover what was going on but no matter how interested I was in all the different creatures we come across I wanted more information about how they all came to be there. At around 200 pages this is a fairly short novel and I think it could have done with an extra 50-100 pages to give us more background and so that more time could have been spent on character development.
Don't get me wrong, Red isn't all bad. It was an easy and fun read and I think there is a lot of potential there if Alyxandra Harvey decides to turn it into a series but I don't think it was up to the level I expect from this author and I would recommend starting with her Drake Chronicles series if you've not read any of her books before.
February 21, 2015
This was intriguing. Quite a unique premise and it's written in a way that only Alyxandra could do.
Loved Kia. She's snarky and stubborn and smart {oh my!} and I loved being in her head. Ethan is something else all together. He's strong and loyal and has hints so swoon. Getting boy POV is one of my favorite things, and his head was fabulous.
I feel like the explanation for the things happening wasn't enough for me and the ending {while absolutely awesome} seemed really rushed. Other than that, it was captivating and kept me guessing.
**Huge thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**
Loved Kia. She's snarky and stubborn and smart {oh my!} and I loved being in her head. Ethan is something else all together. He's strong and loyal and has hints so swoon. Getting boy POV is one of my favorite things, and his head was fabulous.
I feel like the explanation for the things happening wasn't enough for me and the ending {while absolutely awesome} seemed really rushed. Other than that, it was captivating and kept me guessing.
**Huge thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**
March 18, 2015
'Red' is an addicting young adult paranormal novel that follows our main character - Kia Alcott - as she moves in with her aunt, who works at a huge family estate. The move definitely wasn't her idea - her dad pretty much ships her off after she (accidentally) sets fire to her school. She doesn't understand how, but she knows that she set the fire - with her thoughts. Try explaining that to your father and the principal, and see how far it gets you. With nobody believing her and after several anger management classes, Kia finds herself moving to the Blackwood's estate. Kia figures that the Blackwoods will be another rich family who looks down on others, thinks they're better than everyone else, and flaunts their wealth. In part this turns out to be true, but Kia knows that there's something going on at the estate. She's not sure what exactly, but she knows whatever they're hiding is a deep and dark secret. Of course, the Blackwoods have a son the same age as Kia - his name is Ethan - and just her luck, he's gorgeous. But his attitude sucks and he fits right into her stereotype for the typical hot rich kid. Kia gets glimpses of what she feels is the 'real' Ethan and wonders why he's wearing so many different masks - and what he's hiding.
This book had me intrigued after reading just the description - who wouldn't want to read a book that has a firestarter main character, a rich family estate with some big dark secrets, and a hot guy? It definitely hinted at being more than this - that the Blackwood's aren't your typical family, rich or not, and I really wanted to know what these secrets were and what was really happening at the estate. I wasn't disappointed in any way with the book - in fact, it surpassed any expectations and hopes I might have had for it. It was absolutely better than I had imagined. I loved Kia as the main character. She's so easy to identify with right from the beginning. We get to know her on a really personal level - her thoughts, emotions, fears, hopes, dreams, and inner dialogue are comTpletely open to us as readers. She's a complex character dealing with typical teenage issues - family problems, trouble at school, not being believed when trying to explain herself. There's also a very unusual side to Kia - she's a firestarter, a person who can start fires just by thinking about them. Which she didn't even know she could do until she caught fire to her school and was then sent to live with her grandmother at the Blackwood estate. I loved Kia's snarky attitude as well as her witty comebacks, tough exterior, insecurities she tries to hide, and so many other attributes. The secondary characters in the book - Kia's grandmother Abby, Holden Blackwood, Ethan Blackwood, and all of his friends - Justin, Justina, Tobias, Sloane, and Colt - were all incredibly well written with each one having their own distinct personalities, flaws, strengths, and problems. Although they are technically secondary characters, the author gives them so much detail that they come to life in the book - almost as much as Kia. Ethan, of course, is the love interest in the book - so we get to know him on a really intimate level too, just like Kia. I liked watching Kia and Ethan get to know each other - from the false facades they wear to getting to know the 'real' side of each other, and watching how their relationship turns and grows throughout the book.
There are so many aspects to this book that I love and could ramble on about for days. I was utterly fascinated by the concept of Kia being a firestarter and what it entailed. We get to learn the secrets of the estate and the people involved in bits and pieces throughout the story, but each morsel was both confusing and highly alluring at the same time. I loved learning every single little piece about what went on at the estate - from the history of it all to how it effects the characters in the book. I can't really go into more detail than that due to spoilers. I'll just say that I was completely engrossed in the secrets and the rest of the package that goes with them. It's a huge part of the story, and I wish I could talk about it more. It added a whole new level to the book and also gave the plot a depth that couldn't have been achieved any other way.
There are so many supernatural and paranormal aspects in the book, and I think that introducing and combining these uncommon concepts puts the novel on a whole new level in the genre. It's wholly unique and gives a breath of fresh air into a genre that seems to have gotten stuck in some trending ruts. I found this book to be completely original, gripping, fun, and thrilling all at the same time. The author achieves this by using her incredible writing abilities - the story is one that could've gone either way - a flop or a big hit - depending on how it was written. Luckily, we got the author who knew how to handle this world that she created and guided us through it with growing fascination and lots of questions that would be answered in the end. I absolutely loved the author's writing style.
The story is told from the first person point of view - that of both Kia and Ethan - who get alternating chapters told from their perspectives. I loved getting to know each of them on such a personal level and to experience everything that was happening in the book from their standpoint. I thought it was interesting that the same scene could be experienced by both Ethan and Kia - and yet they would have completely opposite feelings or thoughts about it. I also really loved being able to hear both of their inner thoughts, including their insecurities, emotions, fears, and hopes. This writing style is by far my favorite and I think that by using it, the author takes the reader a step further into the story than they would normally go. We get to experience so much more with this style - the good and the bad - and it's hard to enjoy other author's use of different viewpoints afterwards. The writing itself was fast paced and conversational in tone, which made it so easy for me to slip inside the pages and feel like I was there beside Kia and Ethan throughout the book. The world and all of the situations are really brought to life before us with the author's use of vivid imagery and detailed descriptions. Overall, I can't praise this book highly enough. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it and discover what a gem it truly is and I'm hoping that other readers will do the same. Definitely highly recommended for fans of YA fiction, fantasy, paranormal, the supernatural, or for those who are looking for something fresh and original in the genre. It's not listed as being part of a series, but I'm really hoping that the author will write at least a follow up, if not have it as the beginning of what could be an epic YA paranormal series that readers won't be able to get enough of!
Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
This book had me intrigued after reading just the description - who wouldn't want to read a book that has a firestarter main character, a rich family estate with some big dark secrets, and a hot guy? It definitely hinted at being more than this - that the Blackwood's aren't your typical family, rich or not, and I really wanted to know what these secrets were and what was really happening at the estate. I wasn't disappointed in any way with the book - in fact, it surpassed any expectations and hopes I might have had for it. It was absolutely better than I had imagined. I loved Kia as the main character. She's so easy to identify with right from the beginning. We get to know her on a really personal level - her thoughts, emotions, fears, hopes, dreams, and inner dialogue are comTpletely open to us as readers. She's a complex character dealing with typical teenage issues - family problems, trouble at school, not being believed when trying to explain herself. There's also a very unusual side to Kia - she's a firestarter, a person who can start fires just by thinking about them. Which she didn't even know she could do until she caught fire to her school and was then sent to live with her grandmother at the Blackwood estate. I loved Kia's snarky attitude as well as her witty comebacks, tough exterior, insecurities she tries to hide, and so many other attributes. The secondary characters in the book - Kia's grandmother Abby, Holden Blackwood, Ethan Blackwood, and all of his friends - Justin, Justina, Tobias, Sloane, and Colt - were all incredibly well written with each one having their own distinct personalities, flaws, strengths, and problems. Although they are technically secondary characters, the author gives them so much detail that they come to life in the book - almost as much as Kia. Ethan, of course, is the love interest in the book - so we get to know him on a really intimate level too, just like Kia. I liked watching Kia and Ethan get to know each other - from the false facades they wear to getting to know the 'real' side of each other, and watching how their relationship turns and grows throughout the book.
There are so many aspects to this book that I love and could ramble on about for days. I was utterly fascinated by the concept of Kia being a firestarter and what it entailed. We get to learn the secrets of the estate and the people involved in bits and pieces throughout the story, but each morsel was both confusing and highly alluring at the same time. I loved learning every single little piece about what went on at the estate - from the history of it all to how it effects the characters in the book. I can't really go into more detail than that due to spoilers. I'll just say that I was completely engrossed in the secrets and the rest of the package that goes with them. It's a huge part of the story, and I wish I could talk about it more. It added a whole new level to the book and also gave the plot a depth that couldn't have been achieved any other way.
There are so many supernatural and paranormal aspects in the book, and I think that introducing and combining these uncommon concepts puts the novel on a whole new level in the genre. It's wholly unique and gives a breath of fresh air into a genre that seems to have gotten stuck in some trending ruts. I found this book to be completely original, gripping, fun, and thrilling all at the same time. The author achieves this by using her incredible writing abilities - the story is one that could've gone either way - a flop or a big hit - depending on how it was written. Luckily, we got the author who knew how to handle this world that she created and guided us through it with growing fascination and lots of questions that would be answered in the end. I absolutely loved the author's writing style.
The story is told from the first person point of view - that of both Kia and Ethan - who get alternating chapters told from their perspectives. I loved getting to know each of them on such a personal level and to experience everything that was happening in the book from their standpoint. I thought it was interesting that the same scene could be experienced by both Ethan and Kia - and yet they would have completely opposite feelings or thoughts about it. I also really loved being able to hear both of their inner thoughts, including their insecurities, emotions, fears, and hopes. This writing style is by far my favorite and I think that by using it, the author takes the reader a step further into the story than they would normally go. We get to experience so much more with this style - the good and the bad - and it's hard to enjoy other author's use of different viewpoints afterwards. The writing itself was fast paced and conversational in tone, which made it so easy for me to slip inside the pages and feel like I was there beside Kia and Ethan throughout the book. The world and all of the situations are really brought to life before us with the author's use of vivid imagery and detailed descriptions. Overall, I can't praise this book highly enough. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it and discover what a gem it truly is and I'm hoping that other readers will do the same. Definitely highly recommended for fans of YA fiction, fantasy, paranormal, the supernatural, or for those who are looking for something fresh and original in the genre. It's not listed as being part of a series, but I'm really hoping that the author will write at least a follow up, if not have it as the beginning of what could be an epic YA paranormal series that readers won't be able to get enough of!
Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
March 19, 2015
Thank you to YA Bound Book Tours and author Alyxandra Harvey for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!
Find this review and more on my blog The Rest Is Still Unwritten!
Red is Alyxandra Harvey’s latest release and is an unassuming story full of intrigue, passion and the paranormal and will ensnare you from beginning to end with its kick-ass heroine, sweeping romance and mythical creatures.
I feel it's important to express that I am wholeheartedly an Alyxandra Harvey fan. With Red, I’ve now read all of her published work and consider her simple, albeit entertaining writing and solid characterization not to be missed. I’ve never read a novel by her I haven’t liked and Red is no exception, though the ending left me a little dissatisfied.
I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting heading into Red, but as beautiful as it is, the cover and the description really don’t do the book justice. Red is told through the dual eyes of seventeen year old Kia Alcott, who has the ability to start fire with her mind and whose touch burns deadly and Ethan Blackwood, a privileged young man whose family has a history of hunting and capturing the most shocking of creatures.
After an accident at her school saw Kia’s best friend injured and her expelled, Kia is sent to live with her estranged grandmother at the country estate where she works and lives, the Blackwood family home. Set amongst a forest backdrop, Kia’s new home is eerie and mysterious and Kia soon starts to realize the family her grandmother works for is hiding secrets and those secrets are more impossible than Kia could have ever anticipated, even as she slowly realizes that Ethan Blackwood isn’t the cold-hearted individual he so desperately wants people to believe he is……
Red is quite an enjoyable read. I actually wasn’t expecting it to be told through both Kia and Ethan’s POV’s, but was quite glad it was in the end. I enjoyed the aura of mystery Harvey explored in Red and the creatures she wove into her novel. I really liked seeing the different mythical creatures throughout the story and loved that they weren’t the ones you typically see in most supernatural and paranormal tales. Obviously I don’t want to give away too many spoilers, but Red often isn’t what you expect.
Harvey introduces her readers to a very fiery heroine—pun intended, with Kia Alcott. Kia is a feisty young thing with guts and tenacity; something I very much enjoyed whilst reading Red. Kia is sharp speaking and has a great internal monologue who has some great chemistry with her love interest Ethan.
As the male lead and the other point of view we follow throughout the story, Ethan surprised me by being personable, entertaining and full of character! He certainly is the mysterious young man Red’s description paints him as, but Harvey managed to give him enough depth and character to make him more than your typical good looking love interest.
Ethan is a part of a larger group in this novel, and I liked some of his friends, particularly Sloane who also befriends Kia, and Colt—he seemed like a pretty cool character. In fact, most of the minor characters seemed to compliment the story well; my only issue with Red at all was it's ending…..
Though I sometimes quite enjoy a well written standalone novel, Red was the kind of novel that would have made a great series. The story had a fun, fresh idea and was wonderfully paced until the end when the novel seemed rushed; leaving me very dissatisfied. I feel like Harvey forced the ending and the story wasn’t tied up nicely. There are so many left over questions I would have liked explained including Kia’s abilities and what will happen to the characters next.
Fast paced and wonderfully written all the way until the final few chapters, Red is highly worth a read and something Alyxandra Harvey fans will not want to miss!
Find this review and more on my blog The Rest Is Still Unwritten!
Red is Alyxandra Harvey’s latest release and is an unassuming story full of intrigue, passion and the paranormal and will ensnare you from beginning to end with its kick-ass heroine, sweeping romance and mythical creatures.
I feel it's important to express that I am wholeheartedly an Alyxandra Harvey fan. With Red, I’ve now read all of her published work and consider her simple, albeit entertaining writing and solid characterization not to be missed. I’ve never read a novel by her I haven’t liked and Red is no exception, though the ending left me a little dissatisfied.
I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting heading into Red, but as beautiful as it is, the cover and the description really don’t do the book justice. Red is told through the dual eyes of seventeen year old Kia Alcott, who has the ability to start fire with her mind and whose touch burns deadly and Ethan Blackwood, a privileged young man whose family has a history of hunting and capturing the most shocking of creatures.
After an accident at her school saw Kia’s best friend injured and her expelled, Kia is sent to live with her estranged grandmother at the country estate where she works and lives, the Blackwood family home. Set amongst a forest backdrop, Kia’s new home is eerie and mysterious and Kia soon starts to realize the family her grandmother works for is hiding secrets and those secrets are more impossible than Kia could have ever anticipated, even as she slowly realizes that Ethan Blackwood isn’t the cold-hearted individual he so desperately wants people to believe he is……
Red is quite an enjoyable read. I actually wasn’t expecting it to be told through both Kia and Ethan’s POV’s, but was quite glad it was in the end. I enjoyed the aura of mystery Harvey explored in Red and the creatures she wove into her novel. I really liked seeing the different mythical creatures throughout the story and loved that they weren’t the ones you typically see in most supernatural and paranormal tales. Obviously I don’t want to give away too many spoilers, but Red often isn’t what you expect.
Harvey introduces her readers to a very fiery heroine—pun intended, with Kia Alcott. Kia is a feisty young thing with guts and tenacity; something I very much enjoyed whilst reading Red. Kia is sharp speaking and has a great internal monologue who has some great chemistry with her love interest Ethan.
As the male lead and the other point of view we follow throughout the story, Ethan surprised me by being personable, entertaining and full of character! He certainly is the mysterious young man Red’s description paints him as, but Harvey managed to give him enough depth and character to make him more than your typical good looking love interest.
Ethan is a part of a larger group in this novel, and I liked some of his friends, particularly Sloane who also befriends Kia, and Colt—he seemed like a pretty cool character. In fact, most of the minor characters seemed to compliment the story well; my only issue with Red at all was it's ending…..
Though I sometimes quite enjoy a well written standalone novel, Red was the kind of novel that would have made a great series. The story had a fun, fresh idea and was wonderfully paced until the end when the novel seemed rushed; leaving me very dissatisfied. I feel like Harvey forced the ending and the story wasn’t tied up nicely. There are so many left over questions I would have liked explained including Kia’s abilities and what will happen to the characters next.
Fast paced and wonderfully written all the way until the final few chapters, Red is highly worth a read and something Alyxandra Harvey fans will not want to miss!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2015
**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: http://bookbriefs.net**
3.5/5
Red is a standalone young adult paranormal. I found it very refreshing to see a standalone paranormal. And I thought it ended in a great place and the story actually felt complete to me, so kudos to Alyxandra Harvey for that. It is no easy feat. Red is a re-imagining of Little Red Riding Hood. When I first started reading Red, I was calling it a "re-telling" in my head, but the further and further I journeyed inside the story, the less it felt like a re-telling of the same old tale and much more like a complete re-imagining. Yes there are wolves and a grandmother and all those classic ingredients, but after that just about everything is totally different and fresh. Kia's red "hood" so to speak is actually her ability to start fire. And the wolf if more like a whole menagerie of crazy and mythical creatures. Those woods around the Blackwood's estate felt so much scarier to me than the woods in Little Red Riding Hood.
Kia is a spitfire. I found her gift to make fire both curious and terrifying. For one thing, yes she can make fire, but she didn't seem to be immune to it. Every time she would conjure it, she would get blisters. And while she was trying to summon it, she said it felt like her insides were boiling and burning alive. That was so totally different than any other book I had read with someone that had abilities. I wish we learned more about her background and how her abilities came to be, but that aspect of the story was very mysterious. It was the one facet of Red that I wanted more detail on. Every other part was so vivid that every last claw and scale of the creatures came to life before my eyes.
I would give anything to take a (very well protected mind you) stroll through the castle's "zoo". I think that would be so unbelievably cool. I haven't mentioned it much yet, but there is also a great romance in Red. I loved the dynamic between Ethan and Kia. I also enjoyed that Kia was drawn to the mystery surrounding the castle and not the persona that Ethan put on as a front. That earned her brownie points in my book. And in Ethan's too I think. The romance was built up nicely and didn't feel rushed. It didn't even come to fruition until well into the second half of the book.
Alyxandra Harvey has a real talent for the paranormal genre. The writing and description were spot on, and I loved the creepy world she built. The creatures fascinated me and terrified me in equal parts. I figured out the main twist in this book, but just when I thought things were too easy, I was blindsided by another twist that I didn't even know was a thing until it was staring me in the face. I really enjoyed being surprised like that. Red is a really good read.
3.5/5
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs
3.5/5
Red is a standalone young adult paranormal. I found it very refreshing to see a standalone paranormal. And I thought it ended in a great place and the story actually felt complete to me, so kudos to Alyxandra Harvey for that. It is no easy feat. Red is a re-imagining of Little Red Riding Hood. When I first started reading Red, I was calling it a "re-telling" in my head, but the further and further I journeyed inside the story, the less it felt like a re-telling of the same old tale and much more like a complete re-imagining. Yes there are wolves and a grandmother and all those classic ingredients, but after that just about everything is totally different and fresh. Kia's red "hood" so to speak is actually her ability to start fire. And the wolf if more like a whole menagerie of crazy and mythical creatures. Those woods around the Blackwood's estate felt so much scarier to me than the woods in Little Red Riding Hood.
Kia is a spitfire. I found her gift to make fire both curious and terrifying. For one thing, yes she can make fire, but she didn't seem to be immune to it. Every time she would conjure it, she would get blisters. And while she was trying to summon it, she said it felt like her insides were boiling and burning alive. That was so totally different than any other book I had read with someone that had abilities. I wish we learned more about her background and how her abilities came to be, but that aspect of the story was very mysterious. It was the one facet of Red that I wanted more detail on. Every other part was so vivid that every last claw and scale of the creatures came to life before my eyes.
I would give anything to take a (very well protected mind you) stroll through the castle's "zoo". I think that would be so unbelievably cool. I haven't mentioned it much yet, but there is also a great romance in Red. I loved the dynamic between Ethan and Kia. I also enjoyed that Kia was drawn to the mystery surrounding the castle and not the persona that Ethan put on as a front. That earned her brownie points in my book. And in Ethan's too I think. The romance was built up nicely and didn't feel rushed. It didn't even come to fruition until well into the second half of the book.
Alyxandra Harvey has a real talent for the paranormal genre. The writing and description were spot on, and I loved the creepy world she built. The creatures fascinated me and terrified me in equal parts. I figured out the main twist in this book, but just when I thought things were too easy, I was blindsided by another twist that I didn't even know was a thing until it was staring me in the face. I really enjoyed being surprised like that. Red is a really good read.
3.5/5
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs
February 28, 2015
NetGalley (Maybe I should had been capitalizing the "G" for the last few reviews. Whoops). Thanks for the copy!
So Red fits perfectly in the Supernatural category. Or genre. YA Paranormal, specifically. I'm especially thankful that there aren't any vampires in here, but I do have to ask a lot of questions. Like a lot of questions. Because most of my questions remained unanswered. Red is pretty much a roller coaster from beginning to end, and you won't get the more important answers. Seriously. A lot of them, you have to interpret and even then, you won't exactly get your answer other than a bland stereotype.
And it seems that there is a lot of stereotype mentions in the book. Gothic lady-stereotype mention. Check! Swooning girl-stereotype almost mention. Check! Curious... I must say. Could think a bit more on that, but I'm on the brink of falling into a deep sleep. Wake me up in another hundred years, ladies and gents.
(Yes. Mention of Sleeping Beauty).
Let's talk about Kia. Kia has a special power for setting fires. She has a lot of anger (and angst) pin up in her. There isn't much I can think about her, but I know that she is fighter from beginning to end. I just feel like there is something off about her... Characteristically. Character-wise. She is like Rose Hathaway with sass and punches, but she is unusually violent. Seriously. Unusually. (I wonder if anyone taught her meditation. Oh, wait. Dr. Yang).
Hmm. Must be my nerves. Or my sleep-deprived brain.
Ethan is the love interest (and only, thank goodness). He has two personas, and he is pretty much a girl's wet dream. Sorry. There is no better way of putting it. (I know, I know, but I had to put it in a forward way). He seems to be that brooding and Mr. Darcy kind of guy. It turns out that he is a tortured character with a crazy father (and possibly serial killer) and an even more insane job. But the thing is I don't like him. At all. Sure, he got that sass and that Patch's way with words, but I feel like I know next to nothing about him. Even though I see him from his POV, there isn't enough characteristics from him. I know who he was. But when Kia came into the picture, I don't know who he is (when he is without her). Other than an angry teenager who really hates his dad. This kid has a fire in his own heart.
Overall, I don't really like Red. Yes, it is a really entertaining read, but I find some parts really unnecessary, and serious parts are written off as lighter parts. There should be more emotional impact in certain scenes, yet there isn't.
So...
Rating: Two out of Five
-ofpaperandwords.blogspot.com
So Red fits perfectly in the Supernatural category. Or genre. YA Paranormal, specifically. I'm especially thankful that there aren't any vampires in here, but I do have to ask a lot of questions. Like a lot of questions. Because most of my questions remained unanswered. Red is pretty much a roller coaster from beginning to end, and you won't get the more important answers. Seriously. A lot of them, you have to interpret and even then, you won't exactly get your answer other than a bland stereotype.
And it seems that there is a lot of stereotype mentions in the book. Gothic lady-stereotype mention. Check! Swooning girl-stereotype almost mention. Check! Curious... I must say. Could think a bit more on that, but I'm on the brink of falling into a deep sleep. Wake me up in another hundred years, ladies and gents.
(Yes. Mention of Sleeping Beauty).
Let's talk about Kia. Kia has a special power for setting fires. She has a lot of anger (and angst) pin up in her. There isn't much I can think about her, but I know that she is fighter from beginning to end. I just feel like there is something off about her... Characteristically. Character-wise. She is like Rose Hathaway with sass and punches, but she is unusually violent. Seriously. Unusually. (I wonder if anyone taught her meditation. Oh, wait. Dr. Yang).
Hmm. Must be my nerves. Or my sleep-deprived brain.
Ethan is the love interest (and only, thank goodness). He has two personas, and he is pretty much a girl's wet dream. Sorry. There is no better way of putting it. (I know, I know, but I had to put it in a forward way). He seems to be that brooding and Mr. Darcy kind of guy. It turns out that he is a tortured character with a crazy father (and possibly serial killer) and an even more insane job. But the thing is I don't like him. At all. Sure, he got that sass and that Patch's way with words, but I feel like I know next to nothing about him. Even though I see him from his POV, there isn't enough characteristics from him. I know who he was. But when Kia came into the picture, I don't know who he is (when he is without her). Other than an angry teenager who really hates his dad. This kid has a fire in his own heart.
Overall, I don't really like Red. Yes, it is a really entertaining read, but I find some parts really unnecessary, and serious parts are written off as lighter parts. There should be more emotional impact in certain scenes, yet there isn't.
So...
Rating: Two out of Five
-ofpaperandwords.blogspot.com
March 11, 2015
Full review up on the blog: http://gloriousbooks.blogspot.com/201...
This was one of those reads that were split right down the middle into one half that I couldn't stand and the other, enjoyable. For this kind of read, I never know what to say in a review and how to rate the book. I feel like I'm forced to decide which half of the read to represent the whole book. I suppose it depends on how enjoyable I found the one half to be. But it really does disappoint me when this happens - it just shows how much potential the book had.
To put it simply, I got bored. The first half of the book really dragged for me. I found myself wandering off just to distract myself and the number of times my thoughts started to wander was astonishing. Thinking back I don't know how I carried on reading.
Nothing seemed to grab my attention. The characters fell really flat and that, in turn, just made me not care about anything that went on. Not any secrets that were revealed, character deaths or supposedly exciting things of the sort that usually has a reader on the edge of their seat.
In the second half however, things started to pick up. There was a whole lot more action happening and the characters had actually started to open up a bit, and that made me take a little bit more notice.
This is where things get really frustrating for me. Did I actually enjoy it that much, or was it in comparison to the first half of the story I found it a breath of fresh air? Thinking back, i couldn't wait for it to be over. So I guess that answers that question.
This was one of those reads that were split right down the middle into one half that I couldn't stand and the other, enjoyable. For this kind of read, I never know what to say in a review and how to rate the book. I feel like I'm forced to decide which half of the read to represent the whole book. I suppose it depends on how enjoyable I found the one half to be. But it really does disappoint me when this happens - it just shows how much potential the book had.
To put it simply, I got bored. The first half of the book really dragged for me. I found myself wandering off just to distract myself and the number of times my thoughts started to wander was astonishing. Thinking back I don't know how I carried on reading.
Nothing seemed to grab my attention. The characters fell really flat and that, in turn, just made me not care about anything that went on. Not any secrets that were revealed, character deaths or supposedly exciting things of the sort that usually has a reader on the edge of their seat.
In the second half however, things started to pick up. There was a whole lot more action happening and the characters had actually started to open up a bit, and that made me take a little bit more notice.
This is where things get really frustrating for me. Did I actually enjoy it that much, or was it in comparison to the first half of the story I found it a breath of fresh air? Thinking back, i couldn't wait for it to be over. So I guess that answers that question.
February 28, 2015
An intriguing YA read that I really enjoyed, Red was a fantastic book. It had an interesting concept, great characters, and an enjoyable story.
Kia was great. She was fiery (no pun intended), clever, and refused to take crap from anyone. I thought she was a total badass.
Ethan was a sweetie. He was strong enough to be a match for Kia, both personality and skill wise, and was also kind and loyal. Despite his awesome fighting skills, he wanted to help, not hurt, and that made him a very likable character.
The romance was nice. Kia and Ethan were well-matched, both able to keep up with each other. I thought they were great together.
My issue, though, was that the explanations definitely could have been better. I didn't quite get what the whole secret was until near the end and I still didn't feel like I fully understood it. So, that confusion kept me from loving the book as much as I could have.
Despite this, I still liked the story. It was fast paced and complete with thrills and twists along the way. And, though rushed, the ending was great.
Red was a really wonderful YA read that I liked. YA lovers, this is a book worth checking out.
*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Kia was great. She was fiery (no pun intended), clever, and refused to take crap from anyone. I thought she was a total badass.
Ethan was a sweetie. He was strong enough to be a match for Kia, both personality and skill wise, and was also kind and loyal. Despite his awesome fighting skills, he wanted to help, not hurt, and that made him a very likable character.
The romance was nice. Kia and Ethan were well-matched, both able to keep up with each other. I thought they were great together.
My issue, though, was that the explanations definitely could have been better. I didn't quite get what the whole secret was until near the end and I still didn't feel like I fully understood it. So, that confusion kept me from loving the book as much as I could have.
Despite this, I still liked the story. It was fast paced and complete with thrills and twists along the way. And, though rushed, the ending was great.
Red was a really wonderful YA read that I liked. YA lovers, this is a book worth checking out.
*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
March 16, 2015
**I received this book for free from (Entangled Teen ) via (NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!! This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**
*Genre* Young Adult, Paranormal
*Rating* 3.5-4
*My Thoughts*
Red, by Alyxandra Harvey, is one of the rarities in today's young adult genre. It is a standalone that doesn't really need to go any further for readers to enjoy it. Harvey tells her story by alternating first person narratives between Kia Alcott, and Ethan Blackwood. I loved the premise of Red, and both Kia and Ethan for different reasons. I love that the Blackwood estate is surrounded by magic, secrets, and unusual creatures right out of mythology. It's also a plus when storylines come together and the pacing of the book is quick and not discombobulated.
*Full Review Posted @ Gizmos Reviews* 03/16/2015
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
*Recvd 02/23/2015 via NetGalley* Published: March 10th 2015 by Entangled Teen
*Genre* Young Adult, Paranormal
*Rating* 3.5-4
*My Thoughts*
Red, by Alyxandra Harvey, is one of the rarities in today's young adult genre. It is a standalone that doesn't really need to go any further for readers to enjoy it. Harvey tells her story by alternating first person narratives between Kia Alcott, and Ethan Blackwood. I loved the premise of Red, and both Kia and Ethan for different reasons. I love that the Blackwood estate is surrounded by magic, secrets, and unusual creatures right out of mythology. It's also a plus when storylines come together and the pacing of the book is quick and not discombobulated.
*Full Review Posted @ Gizmos Reviews* 03/16/2015
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
*Recvd 02/23/2015 via NetGalley* Published: March 10th 2015 by Entangled Teen
March 12, 2015
(I received a copy from Netgalley, In exchange for an honest review.)
Actual rating - 3.5
Kia was an okay character, but she annoyed me a few times, so I didn't love her.
The storyline in this was interesting, and the pacing was quick enough that I didn't get bored too much. I did find a few things to be predictable, but it was still an enjoyable read.
Overall, A decent read.
Actual rating - 3.5
Kia was an okay character, but she annoyed me a few times, so I didn't love her.
The storyline in this was interesting, and the pacing was quick enough that I didn't get bored too much. I did find a few things to be predictable, but it was still an enjoyable read.
Overall, A decent read.
March 12, 2015
This was a great, really creepy book! Loved this world, and what Kia can do, and the forest that the Blackwoods protect! Really great book!
July 3, 2015
Original de: El Extraño Gato del Cuento
En una de esas encuestas de GoodReads una vez preguntaron si para escoger mi siguiente lectura, tomaba en cuenta por cuál editorial había sido publicado el libro. Mi respuesta fue sí, a diferencia de la gran mayoría de editoriales en español, editoriales en inglés tienen un estándar, o al menos es lo que he notado hasta ahora en mis lecturas. En español es un poco más difícil hacer esta diferencia porque ellas publican con infinidad de sellos sumándole a eso que por regla, tratan de hacerse con los derechos del libro que le vaya a dar más ventas y no tanto por ser fiel a cierta calidad.
Por eso, cuando pienso en Entangled Teen, editorial detrás de RED, lo primero que se me viene a la cabeza es Daemon Black, Travis Maddox (él es de Atria, sólo quiero probar un punto), historias centradas únicamente en el romance con bastante drama de por medio dónde lo demás son solo consecuencias que ayudan a la pareja protagonista estar junta. Novelas ligeras. Pensé que RED sería el regreso de Alyxandra Harvey a ese tipo de novela, como con sus primeros libros de Drake Chronicles.
RED me fue desconcertante porque fui buscando algo bastante ligero y salí con un libro que no esperaba.
Tengo la sospecha que este es el primer paso de Entangled Teen de salir de su encasillamiento, RED ha sido publicado únicamente en versión ebook por el nuevo sello de la editorial (si no me equivoco) y me da mucho curiosidad el saber porqué. Alyxandra Harvey es una escritora conocida, su última trilogía, The Lovegrove Legacy está siendo publicado por Bloomsbury. Entonces ¿por qué sacarla solo en eBook? Me gustan las teorías de conspiración u.u
Me la estoy pasando hablando de editoriales nada más... creo que tengo un punto con todo esto.
Lo que quiero decir, kitten, es que RED se esforzó un montón al inicio por ser Entangled Teen, con la chica diferente, que termina en un lugar que no quería y conoce al chico guapísimo pero misterioso. El "problema" es que mientras más avanza, más se convierte en una historia a lo Bloomsbury, cada vez menos romance pero más historia y misterio. ¡Y no está mal! Sabes que soy amante de este tipo de libros, solo que, como repito, es desconcertante ir por una cosa y salir con otra.
No sé si fue cosa mía pero sentí muy marcado cuando la escritora quiso darle más importancia al romance pero sus ganas de desarrollar más profundamente la historia le fueron imposibles de parar. RED es una historia bastante amplia para desarrollarse, en lo personal siento que le faltaron páginas para poder ser algo mucho mayor, este habría sido el tipo de libro que uno por lo general termina de leerse en dos días porque no quieres que se acabe.
Si lo que buscas realmente es una historia, más allá del romance, RED es para ti. Pero si lo que buscas es que se le de mucho más importancia al romance que a la historia en sí, creo que deberías considerar el hecho que los protagonistas no pasan mucho tiempo juntos en el libro. Algo que me fastidió porque, como dije más arriba, estaba en busca de un libro ligero.
Otra cosa es que a mí me vendieron RED como retelling de la caperuza sólo que no lo es tanto, tiene sus cosas ahí que dan una idea pero no tanto.
En conclusión, RED es un libro muy sofisticado para lo que consideraba Entangled Teen, aun así siento que la ganas de darle mucho más importancia al desarrollo o al romance se estuvieron peleando en todo el libro. Alyxandra Harvey vuelve a enamorarte con algunos personajes y para luego destruirte el alma (¡¿ERA NECESARIO ESO, ALY, EN SERIO?!). Más vale que pronto anuncian una secuela con los otros personajes o al menos una historias cortas, quiero saber que pasa con ellos. Lo necesito.
Sin duda, RED te sorprenderá. Bastante.
Twitter || Blog || Pinterest || Tumblr || Instagram || Facebook
En una de esas encuestas de GoodReads una vez preguntaron si para escoger mi siguiente lectura, tomaba en cuenta por cuál editorial había sido publicado el libro. Mi respuesta fue sí, a diferencia de la gran mayoría de editoriales en español, editoriales en inglés tienen un estándar, o al menos es lo que he notado hasta ahora en mis lecturas. En español es un poco más difícil hacer esta diferencia porque ellas publican con infinidad de sellos sumándole a eso que por regla, tratan de hacerse con los derechos del libro que le vaya a dar más ventas y no tanto por ser fiel a cierta calidad.
Por eso, cuando pienso en Entangled Teen, editorial detrás de RED, lo primero que se me viene a la cabeza es Daemon Black, Travis Maddox (él es de Atria, sólo quiero probar un punto), historias centradas únicamente en el romance con bastante drama de por medio dónde lo demás son solo consecuencias que ayudan a la pareja protagonista estar junta. Novelas ligeras. Pensé que RED sería el regreso de Alyxandra Harvey a ese tipo de novela, como con sus primeros libros de Drake Chronicles.
RED me fue desconcertante porque fui buscando algo bastante ligero y salí con un libro que no esperaba.
Tengo la sospecha que este es el primer paso de Entangled Teen de salir de su encasillamiento, RED ha sido publicado únicamente en versión ebook por el nuevo sello de la editorial (si no me equivoco) y me da mucho curiosidad el saber porqué. Alyxandra Harvey es una escritora conocida, su última trilogía, The Lovegrove Legacy está siendo publicado por Bloomsbury. Entonces ¿por qué sacarla solo en eBook? Me gustan las teorías de conspiración u.u
Me la estoy pasando hablando de editoriales nada más... creo que tengo un punto con todo esto.
Lo que quiero decir, kitten, es que RED se esforzó un montón al inicio por ser Entangled Teen, con la chica diferente, que termina en un lugar que no quería y conoce al chico guapísimo pero misterioso. El "problema" es que mientras más avanza, más se convierte en una historia a lo Bloomsbury, cada vez menos romance pero más historia y misterio. ¡Y no está mal! Sabes que soy amante de este tipo de libros, solo que, como repito, es desconcertante ir por una cosa y salir con otra.
No sé si fue cosa mía pero sentí muy marcado cuando la escritora quiso darle más importancia al romance pero sus ganas de desarrollar más profundamente la historia le fueron imposibles de parar. RED es una historia bastante amplia para desarrollarse, en lo personal siento que le faltaron páginas para poder ser algo mucho mayor, este habría sido el tipo de libro que uno por lo general termina de leerse en dos días porque no quieres que se acabe.
Si lo que buscas realmente es una historia, más allá del romance, RED es para ti. Pero si lo que buscas es que se le de mucho más importancia al romance que a la historia en sí, creo que deberías considerar el hecho que los protagonistas no pasan mucho tiempo juntos en el libro. Algo que me fastidió porque, como dije más arriba, estaba en busca de un libro ligero.
Otra cosa es que a mí me vendieron RED como retelling de la caperuza sólo que no lo es tanto, tiene sus cosas ahí que dan una idea pero no tanto.
En conclusión, RED es un libro muy sofisticado para lo que consideraba Entangled Teen, aun así siento que la ganas de darle mucho más importancia al desarrollo o al romance se estuvieron peleando en todo el libro. Alyxandra Harvey vuelve a enamorarte con algunos personajes y para luego destruirte el alma (¡¿ERA NECESARIO ESO, ALY, EN SERIO?!). Más vale que pronto anuncian una secuela con los otros personajes o al menos una historias cortas, quiero saber que pasa con ellos. Lo necesito.
Sin duda, RED te sorprenderá. Bastante.
Twitter || Blog || Pinterest || Tumblr || Instagram || Facebook
March 13, 2015
What lies in this dark forest is more than some fairy tale creatures, and Red Riding Hood never had the power of fire before.
WHY I READ IT
Red promised to be a mysterious read with its dark forest setting, the secretive Blackwood Family and Kia with her power of fire, how could I resist? This is my first read by Alyxandra Harvey and Red turned out to be a fast, entertaining read with a surprise twist on the theme "What lies beyond the forest?"
GIVE ME THE PLOT
The plot revolves around two very interesting mysteries. Kia's power to manipulate fire and what the Blackwood's are trying to hide in their enchanted forest. The story is told from the alternating point of views of Kia and Ethan which worked really well for the story. Kia has just been expelled from her school for setting fire to it, and Ethan Blackwood is the gorgeous boy who knows the deadly secrets of what lies in the forest. The action in Red takes off immediately with no info dumps and lands us right in the middle of the mystery behind the Blackwood family and some mythic and paranormal twists along the way that I really enjoyed.
SETTING AND STYLE OF WRITING
I wish I could just blab about what's in the forest, but I will just say it surprised me and was probably even better than I had anticipated. The castle like house and forest gave me some light chills, and the mythic and the paranormal aspect gave me the delightfully darker tones of danger I was craving.
CHARACTERS
Kia is a winning combination of fiery attitude, snarkiness and a smart heroine. She has realistic flaws, building up emotional walls. Having the power of fire, which often seems to manifest whenever she's feeling an emotion strongly, makes her feel like she can never truly fit in. But, all that changes when she enters the forest. Wow, she becomes badass - no damsel in distress here! A fiery girl with red hair that kicks some butt and is smart. Yay!!
Ethan Blackwood is daring, gorgeous and has a sweetness about him (that we thankfully get to know through his alternating chapters and inner monologue) beyond the first initial cocky attitude he presents to Kia. I loved the mysterious aspect about Ethan, and how well interacted with Kia, as well as the other characters. Ethan was a real treat and I loved getting into his thoughts and emotions. Here's a taste - so sweet!
"She was so different from the other girls I knew. She wasn't polished or elegant. She was fiery and raw and totally distracting." -Ethan
SWOON
Red has a nice, slow build of a sweet romance that never overpowers the mystery aspect. Ethan and Kia have a great spark of chemistry with an initial antagonism that makes for great interest. But don't worry, there are a few swoony moments for kisses in between that were perfect. Hearing Ethan's thoughts and Kia's just added the right amount of romantic tension.
"You love him." I widened my eyes incredulously. "Dude, I only decided not to hate him like twenty-four hours ago. Slow the shit down."-Kia
PROS
The cool surprise of what's in that forest! Great setting, fast-paced, and alternating, well-done, points of view made this such a fun read.
CONS
I have one tiny con. I wanted to know more about one of the mysterious groups involved. But, I suspect that may have slowed down the great pace too much. Still, I couldn't help but be curious about them.
IN THE END
Red ended up being a great read! It's setting, mystery and twist made it a great fantasy/paranormal to escape to. Perfect for readers who enjoy alternating point of views.
MY RATING: 4 Stars! I really liked it!
PLEASE NOTE: A courtesy review copy of this book was provided by Entangled Teen in exchange for my fair review. Thank you, Entangled Teen for the review opportunity!
WHY I READ IT
Red promised to be a mysterious read with its dark forest setting, the secretive Blackwood Family and Kia with her power of fire, how could I resist? This is my first read by Alyxandra Harvey and Red turned out to be a fast, entertaining read with a surprise twist on the theme "What lies beyond the forest?"
GIVE ME THE PLOT
The plot revolves around two very interesting mysteries. Kia's power to manipulate fire and what the Blackwood's are trying to hide in their enchanted forest. The story is told from the alternating point of views of Kia and Ethan which worked really well for the story. Kia has just been expelled from her school for setting fire to it, and Ethan Blackwood is the gorgeous boy who knows the deadly secrets of what lies in the forest. The action in Red takes off immediately with no info dumps and lands us right in the middle of the mystery behind the Blackwood family and some mythic and paranormal twists along the way that I really enjoyed.
SETTING AND STYLE OF WRITING
I wish I could just blab about what's in the forest, but I will just say it surprised me and was probably even better than I had anticipated. The castle like house and forest gave me some light chills, and the mythic and the paranormal aspect gave me the delightfully darker tones of danger I was craving.
CHARACTERS
Kia is a winning combination of fiery attitude, snarkiness and a smart heroine. She has realistic flaws, building up emotional walls. Having the power of fire, which often seems to manifest whenever she's feeling an emotion strongly, makes her feel like she can never truly fit in. But, all that changes when she enters the forest. Wow, she becomes badass - no damsel in distress here! A fiery girl with red hair that kicks some butt and is smart. Yay!!
Ethan Blackwood is daring, gorgeous and has a sweetness about him (that we thankfully get to know through his alternating chapters and inner monologue) beyond the first initial cocky attitude he presents to Kia. I loved the mysterious aspect about Ethan, and how well interacted with Kia, as well as the other characters. Ethan was a real treat and I loved getting into his thoughts and emotions. Here's a taste - so sweet!
"She was so different from the other girls I knew. She wasn't polished or elegant. She was fiery and raw and totally distracting." -Ethan
SWOON
Red has a nice, slow build of a sweet romance that never overpowers the mystery aspect. Ethan and Kia have a great spark of chemistry with an initial antagonism that makes for great interest. But don't worry, there are a few swoony moments for kisses in between that were perfect. Hearing Ethan's thoughts and Kia's just added the right amount of romantic tension.
"You love him." I widened my eyes incredulously. "Dude, I only decided not to hate him like twenty-four hours ago. Slow the shit down."-Kia
PROS
The cool surprise of what's in that forest! Great setting, fast-paced, and alternating, well-done, points of view made this such a fun read.
CONS
I have one tiny con. I wanted to know more about one of the mysterious groups involved. But, I suspect that may have slowed down the great pace too much. Still, I couldn't help but be curious about them.
IN THE END
Red ended up being a great read! It's setting, mystery and twist made it a great fantasy/paranormal to escape to. Perfect for readers who enjoy alternating point of views.
MY RATING: 4 Stars! I really liked it!
PLEASE NOTE: A courtesy review copy of this book was provided by Entangled Teen in exchange for my fair review. Thank you, Entangled Teen for the review opportunity!
March 13, 2017
Alyxandra Harvey does it again as she enchants us with a thrilling new tale!!!
Kia moves to the Blackwood mansion where her grandmother works after setting her previous school on fire. There, she meets the elusive and mysterious Ethan who seems to be keeping secrets from her. I loved the fact that they were both keeping stuff from each other so i kept reading-it was like a race to see which secret would explode first!
This is told in alternating POV's between Kia and Ethan so you're not completely lost. You find out the truth about the family business- i don't want to say too much without spoiling but think hybrid creatures, forest, deadly cult and hunters. These creatures were amazing to read about! The descriptions were vivid and totally enchanting-this book was just magical!
Character-wise, Kia pretty much kicked butt. She's strong, doesn't take shit from anyone and stands up for herself! I can honestly say her ability to light fires suits her character! Ethan was pretty much sweet but i think the snark and sweet aspect totally worked for them! I also pretty much love this cover! It looks creepy-but in a good way :)
The only negative is that maybe the world building was slightly lacking and at times confusing but after a while you really get into the gist of the story. Alyxandra Harvey's writing is absolutely beautiful and never fails to keep me hooked in whatever tale she manages to weave! There was always danger, a hint of mystery and one heck of a curious protagonist and the sentence-curiosity killed the cat-just went to a whole other level in this book!
The setting mostly takes place in the forest and the house but the forest was what intrigued me most. It's the kind of forest you don't want to stay in for a second because you get chills. And then your mind goes paranoid and you start imaging creatures watching you. Except in Kia's case, she's not imagining it!
All i can say is this book is pretty much a quick but amazing and thrilling read! If you've read some of her books before, definitely check this one out!
April 13, 2015
This was awesome!! Such a great concept and unique characters.
I loved Kia. She has such a fiery spirit, literally! Fires always seems to happen around Kia and it's getting harder and harder to keep her secret. When she accidentally sets fire to her school, she is shipped off to live with her Grandmother. Thing is, her Grandmother lives and works in a huge Mansion that belongs to the mysterious Blackwood family. Once there Kia knows that things aren't as they seem and the Blackwoods are keeping secrets, but are these secrets better left secret!! So ya, Kia was such an awesome heroine. She is trying to keep her secret but with people like Ethan around her, she finds it hard to control her temper. She is a strong, no nonsense girl.
Then we have the enigmatic Ethan Blackwood. At first he comes across as cold but we see things from his perspective and we get a sense of what his life is like. He is destined to be one thing but wants to go the opposite way. He tries to stay away from Kia because he knows what will happen to her if his father finds out. He also know how dangerous the woods can be. Ethan was such a sweetheart. He is strong but has a good heart!
I loved the relationship developing between Kia and Ethan. It was such a relief to not have insta love!
The concept of the story was amazing. I loved the idea of the Zoo. I loved all the different magical creatures in the forest. I loved the creepiness of the forest also. When Kia was in there it had my pulse pounding!! I loved the lore and the history of the place. So ya, I pretty much loved everything about the plot.
Anyway, Red was another awesome book from the very talented Alyxandra Harvey. I've pretty much loved everything I've read by her. She always manages to grab you from the very start. Red is no different. It's a fast paced and thrilling read. From the captivating plot to the engaging characters, Red is a must read. I really hope that the author will develop this into a series because I would definitely jump back into this amazing world.
I loved Kia. She has such a fiery spirit, literally! Fires always seems to happen around Kia and it's getting harder and harder to keep her secret. When she accidentally sets fire to her school, she is shipped off to live with her Grandmother. Thing is, her Grandmother lives and works in a huge Mansion that belongs to the mysterious Blackwood family. Once there Kia knows that things aren't as they seem and the Blackwoods are keeping secrets, but are these secrets better left secret!! So ya, Kia was such an awesome heroine. She is trying to keep her secret but with people like Ethan around her, she finds it hard to control her temper. She is a strong, no nonsense girl.
Then we have the enigmatic Ethan Blackwood. At first he comes across as cold but we see things from his perspective and we get a sense of what his life is like. He is destined to be one thing but wants to go the opposite way. He tries to stay away from Kia because he knows what will happen to her if his father finds out. He also know how dangerous the woods can be. Ethan was such a sweetheart. He is strong but has a good heart!
I loved the relationship developing between Kia and Ethan. It was such a relief to not have insta love!
The concept of the story was amazing. I loved the idea of the Zoo. I loved all the different magical creatures in the forest. I loved the creepiness of the forest also. When Kia was in there it had my pulse pounding!! I loved the lore and the history of the place. So ya, I pretty much loved everything about the plot.
Anyway, Red was another awesome book from the very talented Alyxandra Harvey. I've pretty much loved everything I've read by her. She always manages to grab you from the very start. Red is no different. It's a fast paced and thrilling read. From the captivating plot to the engaging characters, Red is a must read. I really hope that the author will develop this into a series because I would definitely jump back into this amazing world.
May 29, 2015
Another book for young adults, and although this was a quick and easy read it was still entertaining. The story is told from the viewpoints of the two principal characters, Kia Alcott and Ethan Blackwood. Kia is quite a typical teenager, but has a knack for finding/causing trouble. She is a smart, clever no-nonsense type of girl, with a hidden talent. After her latest 'problem' she is sent to live with her Grandmother, who is a housekeeper for the Blackwoods on their vast estate.
Ethan initially seems the typical rich kid, cold, aloof and seemingly quite ignorant of people around him. He also has a secret.
Everything has either the overtones of the supernatural, is odd or just plain creepy. How will Kia fit into her new life, and what secrets will be revealed or discovered? To find out you will have to read the book. You will not be disappointed, as I found it to be well written. Although a few things were unexplained, or glossed over.
Ethan initially seems the typical rich kid, cold, aloof and seemingly quite ignorant of people around him. He also has a secret.
Everything has either the overtones of the supernatural, is odd or just plain creepy. How will Kia fit into her new life, and what secrets will be revealed or discovered? To find out you will have to read the book. You will not be disappointed, as I found it to be well written. Although a few things were unexplained, or glossed over.
November 13, 2015
„Red“ von Alyxandra Harvey bekam ich als ARC (Advanced Copy) vom Verlag Entangled Teen zur Verfügung gestellt. Ich habe nicht damit gerechnet, dass meine Bewerbung berücksichtigt wird – umso glücklicher war ich, als es geklappt hat. Ich muss zugeben, dass ich eigentlich schon entschieden hatte, das Buch lesen zu wollen, bevor ich den Klappentext las. Das Cover ist einfach unwiderstehlich. Düster, geheimnisvoll und ein bisschen unheimlich. In Kombination mit dem Titel konnte ich die zarte Assoziation mit dem Märchen „Rotkäppchen“ nicht verhindern. Allerdings wäre der böse Wolf in DIESEM Wald noch Rotkäppchens geringstes Problem gewesen, das kann ich euch versichern.
Kia hat ihre Schule abgefackelt. Aber nicht mit Absicht, ehrlich nicht. Die Situation ist einfach eskaliert. Sie kann das nicht kontrollieren. Und selbst wenn sie die Wahrheit gesagt hätte, es hätte ihr ja sowieso niemand geglaubt. Doch ob absichtlich oder nicht, ihr Vater weiß sich nicht anders zu helfen und schickt sie fort, damit sie von nun an bei ihrer Großmutter Abby wohnt. Diese arbeitet und lebt auf dem riesigen Anwesen der Familie Blackwood. Wie sich das für ein Herrenhaus mitten im Nirgendwo gehört, gibt es hier eine ganze Menge Regeln, die Kia überholt und seltsam findet. Der Gipfel ist Ethan Blackwood: arrogant und abweisend, teilweise sogar ein wenig gruselig. Ethan hat allerdings jeden Grund, sich so zu verhalten. Er hütet Geheimnisse, die so furchteinflößend und gefährlich sind, dass er nicht riskieren kann, sich von einem hübschen Mädchen mit feuerroten Haaren den Kopf verdrehen zu lassen. Denn Ethan weiß, was im Wald des Anwesens lebt…
Wenn man „Red“ als „Rotkäppchen“-Adaption ansehen möchte, dann ist es maximal eine äußerst freie Interpretation des alten Märchens. Außer den Eckpfeilern haben die beiden Geschichten nicht besonders viel gemeinsam. Doch das macht überhaupt nichts – mir hat „Red“ trotzdem einigen Spaß bereitet. Die Protagonistin Kia brachte mich mit ihrer lockeren, sarkastischen Art ständig zum Lachen und Schmunzeln; sie ist wirklich witzig und nimmt sich selbst nicht zu ernst. Ihr habt es bestimmt schon erraten oder im offiziellen Klappentext gelesen: Kia kann mit ihren Gedanken Feuer entfachen. Im Laufe der Geschichte gewinnt sie zunehmend Kontrolle über diese Fähigkeit, was sie in meinen Augen zu einer wehrhaften, starken Heldin macht, die den Bösen kräftig in den Hintern treten kann. Alyxandra Harvey erlaubt ihr zwar nicht, sich so unabhängig zu verhalten, wie ich es mir gewünscht hätte, aber das ist höchstwahrscheinlich dem Genre geschuldet. Wäre Kia stets in der Lage gewesen, sich selbst zu retten, wäre Ethan schlicht überflüssig für die Geschichte geworden. Und was wäre ein YA-UF-Roman ohne den heißen, männlichen Protagonisten? Als Persönlichkeit fand ich Ethan allerdings nicht sonderlich interessant. Selbstverständlich ist seine abweisende Art nur Fassade; dahinter verbirgt sich ein netter, verantwortungsbewusster junger Mann, der von der Last seiner dunklen Geheimnisse fast erdrückt wird. Mir war diese Charakterisierung zu stereotyp, um wirklich von ihm überzeugt zu sein. Mein Herz brachte er nicht zum Schmelzen. Leider blieben auch die Nebencharaktere zu blass und flach; Kia und Ethan überstrahlen sie völlig. Das liegt zum einen daran, dass die Geschichte abwechselnd aus Kias und Ethans Perspektive geschrieben ist; zum anderen, dass sich die Nebenfiguren jeweils mit nur einer einzelnen Eigenschaft hervortun. So ist beispielsweise Ethans Vater, Holden Blackwood, durch und durch negativ dargestellt – ich hatte nie eine Chance, ihn zu mögen oder seine Motive nachzuvollziehen. Er ist nicht facettenreich, sondern einfach böse. Dass in der Realität niemand ausschließlich böse ist, muss ich euch wohl nicht sagen.
Das Setting hingegen fand ich unheimlich faszinierend. Der Wald der Blackwoods hat tatsächlich im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes Zähne und Klauen. An Kias Stelle wäre ich wohl geplatzt vor lauter Neugier. Sie ist da eindeutig beherrschter (zumindest anfangs), aber schlussendlich kommt auch das Mädchen mit den feuerroten Haaren vom Weg ab und verirrt sich tief im Wald. Sie wird in eine Welt hineingezogen, die seit Jahrhunderten parallel zur Normalität existiert. Schon allein das Anwesen erschien mir als surrealer Ort.
Insgesamt ist „Red“ ein solider Young Adult-Urban Fantasy-Roman, der mich zwar nicht großartig überraschen, aber mit einer sympathischen Protagonistin und einem besonderen Setting punkten konnte. Die Geschichte liest sich zügig und flüssig, denn Alyxandra Harveys Schreibstil ist schnörkellos und unkompliziert. Ich fühlte mich gut unterhalten und könnte mir vorstellen, weitere Werke aus Harveys Feder zu lesen. Sie schreibt sicherlich keine tiefgründigen Bücher, die den LeserInnen viel Interpretationsspielraum bieten, doch ab und zu habe ich brain candy ja ganz gern. „Red“ hat darüber hinaus ein recht offenes Ende, was eine Fortsetzung theoretisch möglich machen würde. Wer weiß, vielleicht ist Kias Geschichte noch nicht abgeschlossen.
Ihr könnt zu „Red“ greifen, wenn ihr euch nach ein wenig Ablenkung sehnt, die euch nicht viel abverlangt. Während einer Prüfungsphase, im Urlaub oder wann immer ihr das Gefühl habt, beim Lesen einfach mal den Kopf ausschalten zu wollen, ist Kias Abenteuer genau das Richtige. Aber gebt Acht, dass ihr nicht vom Weg abkommt, denn im Wald der Blackwoods lauern schlimmere Wesen als Wölfe…
Vielen Dank an Entangled Teen und Netgalley für die ARC-Version dieses Buches! :)
May 20, 2015
Full review as seen on Great Imaginations.
Before I start here, I have to take a quick moment to say that not all two & three-star reviews should be looked at badly or as a negative. I noticed that my past few reads have bordered on two-three stars at best, and this one has managed to make that same list. But does it necessarily make it a bad book? No. Just like some of the others I’ve rated the same have not always been bad either. I just have a picky rating system at times, comparing against some of my favorites that stack at four and five stars, and that can make it hard to decide what exactly to rate a book when it comes down to it sometimes. Or perhaps things happened that irked me, knocking the rating low, despite an engaging story and being well-written.
So here it is: Red. Two stars for me on this title genuinely means I did think it was okay. I would recommend it to anyone the slightest bit interested because it kept me engaged in the storyline. I was fascinated in the characters and the action that surrounded them with the various creatures. It kept me at a constant edge, and I really liked that because it’s often hard to find a paranormal action read to do that. There was a lot of mystery and tension, along with a touch of romance.
But then there were a lot of little things that began to stand out through the story that I couldn’t ignore.
Okay, I don’t mind reading some books with occasional animal death. Only if it’s like really necessary, you know? The whole food chain thing or if it’s an accident that is necessary to the storyline or something along those lines. But I can’t take reading a lot of it because it gets to be very hard on me honestly. It takes me away from the enjoyment of reading the piece. And by the time I’m reading a third extremely descriptive animal death (well, animal is already dead but the details are graphic about the state of its body and just ew) at barely forty percent into Red, I was almost ready to just put it down for that reason alone, despite that I liked the rest of the story. I found it unnecessary by the time it got around to third animal or so, tbh, because even though the animal could have been mentioned for the plot reasons, the reader no longer needed the gory-ass details.
I’m getting sad all over again just thinking of that. :(
I really wanted more backstory on several different things. The creatures. More on Kia and her gift–which readers do get a general idea at some point as to why she is the way she is, but I personally wanted more on that because I felt it was just too glossed over. More backstory on Abby and Kia’s mother. I could easily think of a variety of side stories with the various characters to learn more about them… Then again, I tend to over-analyze quite often. Always thinking “what ifs…” and “what about before this?” and “how did so and so get to this point?”.
Also, I felt like there was a moment where it got too ridiculous. I worried that maybe it was treating the readers as if they had no thought process or something… But after some thought, I think it was just more of an attempted plot device that didn’t work out so much.
“You’re like Bruce Wayne.”
I blinked, confused. She blinked back.
“That’s just sad,” she said when I didn’t look any more enlightened. “Batman,” she explained. “Millionaire hot guy by day, vigilante by night?”
Now, maybe it’s just me, but I really think this doesn’t make a lot of sense. To say the least without giving away much of anything, this story does seem to take place in a more present/contemporary time, he goes to what seems like a fairly large school, and is quite popular. Not to mention he is a teenage boy. Even people who aren’t interested in comics at all still know who Batman/Bruce Wayne is… I really couldn’t grasp this part. And it was hard to have the desire to continue after this part also unfortunately. Though I did, and the ending went a bit smoother at least. I could complain possibly about some of the magical creatures maybe or the romance feeling too forced and clichéd, but I can see where this was just genuinely trying to be a unique story outside of the romance aspect. I may not have been entirely fond of the romance, but it worked, and I can see an audience for it.
Other than these few small issues, I found the writing to be engaging and fun. The characters were easy to get into, and the story was interesting and an edgy paranormal. I would definitely like to give Ms. Harvey’s work another take and try for something else sometime. It’s too bad this didn’t quite live up fully to what I’d hoped, but for my first Harvey read, it wasn’t that bad. I look forward to more sometime in the future!
Before I start here, I have to take a quick moment to say that not all two & three-star reviews should be looked at badly or as a negative. I noticed that my past few reads have bordered on two-three stars at best, and this one has managed to make that same list. But does it necessarily make it a bad book? No. Just like some of the others I’ve rated the same have not always been bad either. I just have a picky rating system at times, comparing against some of my favorites that stack at four and five stars, and that can make it hard to decide what exactly to rate a book when it comes down to it sometimes. Or perhaps things happened that irked me, knocking the rating low, despite an engaging story and being well-written.
So here it is: Red. Two stars for me on this title genuinely means I did think it was okay. I would recommend it to anyone the slightest bit interested because it kept me engaged in the storyline. I was fascinated in the characters and the action that surrounded them with the various creatures. It kept me at a constant edge, and I really liked that because it’s often hard to find a paranormal action read to do that. There was a lot of mystery and tension, along with a touch of romance.
But then there were a lot of little things that began to stand out through the story that I couldn’t ignore.
Okay, I don’t mind reading some books with occasional animal death. Only if it’s like really necessary, you know? The whole food chain thing or if it’s an accident that is necessary to the storyline or something along those lines. But I can’t take reading a lot of it because it gets to be very hard on me honestly. It takes me away from the enjoyment of reading the piece. And by the time I’m reading a third extremely descriptive animal death (well, animal is already dead but the details are graphic about the state of its body and just ew) at barely forty percent into Red, I was almost ready to just put it down for that reason alone, despite that I liked the rest of the story. I found it unnecessary by the time it got around to third animal or so, tbh, because even though the animal could have been mentioned for the plot reasons, the reader no longer needed the gory-ass details.
I’m getting sad all over again just thinking of that. :(
I really wanted more backstory on several different things. The creatures. More on Kia and her gift–which readers do get a general idea at some point as to why she is the way she is, but I personally wanted more on that because I felt it was just too glossed over. More backstory on Abby and Kia’s mother. I could easily think of a variety of side stories with the various characters to learn more about them… Then again, I tend to over-analyze quite often. Always thinking “what ifs…” and “what about before this?” and “how did so and so get to this point?”.
Also, I felt like there was a moment where it got too ridiculous. I worried that maybe it was treating the readers as if they had no thought process or something… But after some thought, I think it was just more of an attempted plot device that didn’t work out so much.
“You’re like Bruce Wayne.”
I blinked, confused. She blinked back.
“That’s just sad,” she said when I didn’t look any more enlightened. “Batman,” she explained. “Millionaire hot guy by day, vigilante by night?”
Now, maybe it’s just me, but I really think this doesn’t make a lot of sense. To say the least without giving away much of anything, this story does seem to take place in a more present/contemporary time, he goes to what seems like a fairly large school, and is quite popular. Not to mention he is a teenage boy. Even people who aren’t interested in comics at all still know who Batman/Bruce Wayne is… I really couldn’t grasp this part. And it was hard to have the desire to continue after this part also unfortunately. Though I did, and the ending went a bit smoother at least. I could complain possibly about some of the magical creatures maybe or the romance feeling too forced and clichéd, but I can see where this was just genuinely trying to be a unique story outside of the romance aspect. I may not have been entirely fond of the romance, but it worked, and I can see an audience for it.
Other than these few small issues, I found the writing to be engaging and fun. The characters were easy to get into, and the story was interesting and an edgy paranormal. I would definitely like to give Ms. Harvey’s work another take and try for something else sometime. It’s too bad this didn’t quite live up fully to what I’d hoped, but for my first Harvey read, it wasn’t that bad. I look forward to more sometime in the future!
March 11, 2015
I'll start this review by saying that Red was definitely an enjoyable read with a really interesting and unique plot and of course some really amazing characters!
Kia,our main character is sent to live with her grandmother who works for the Blackwoods,after accidentally setting her school on fire and burning her best friend.There she meets the dark and mysterious Ethan who seems to be hiding something.As days pass,Kia realizes that there are a lot of secrets hidden in the depths of the mansion and particularly its forest.After weird things start happening and secrets begin to unravel,Kia gets thrust into a new and of course dangerous world,where she has to fight for her life in order to survive!And her ability to control fire is not enough...
I have read some of Alyxandra Harvey's books in the past and I really enjoyed them.That's the main reason I chose to participate in the blog tour for Red.I couldn't wait to finally get my hands on another one of her books because her writing style is really addictive and the characters she creates are so easy to fall in love with!
In this case,I fell in love with Kia and of course Ethan.Kia is such a passionate,loyal and of course kick ass female character that will give everything to unravel the mysteries surrounding the Blackwood estate and save her new friends from harm.And of course she manages to do that and so many other things that really make her stronger as a person,develop her character in the book and teach her how to control her abilities.She's strong,stubborn and her fiery temper gives life to the book.It makes it more exciting and fast paced.Because let's be real here.We all love a kick ass heroine with a temper that actually can start fires!
And of course,I can't not talk about Ethan.As soon as I started reading the book,I knew that Ethan would be the mysterious stranger with a sweet and loving nature hidden deep inside.He was just so dark and handsome on the outside,but on the inside,he is exceptionally loyal and able to love unconditionally.And of course,like Kia,he hides his own deadly secrets.His personality really surprised me and his development as a character made me fall in love with him even more!Definitely one of the best and most interesting male characters I have ever had the luck of reading about!
Moving on to the plot.It was something completely different from anything I have read before and that's what drew my attention from the beginning and made me want to read it...Desperately!The story was really fast paced as I mentioned before,and I actually managed to finish Red in two days.So if you're interested in reading a light but quick and fast paced book,this is definitely for you!The writing was exquisite...I have always loved the author's writing and this wasn't an exception!It just manages to make you feel like you're in the story and want to experience it exactly how it is told...If that makes any sense.The descriptions were on point,realistic and of course,made it so incredibly easy to imagine the world,the mansion,the woods surrounding it...Everything.
The only thing I didn't like that much was the fact that after a while,some parts of the story got a bit too predictable for my liking.And some things weren't explained that well.I would have loved it if there was a bit of a back story,explaining some facts and giving more information about the characters.In my opinion that would have made this book so much better than it already was!
Lastly,the ending was satisfying but at the same it felt rushed and kind of abrupt.I sincerely hope that...by some miracle,there will be a sequel to this book...I just need more information!
To wrap up this review,I'll just say that Red is definitely a book worth reading!It has its flaws but it's definitely enjoyable,fast paced and easy to read.Plus,the characters are fantastic and so easy to get attached to!
Kia,our main character is sent to live with her grandmother who works for the Blackwoods,after accidentally setting her school on fire and burning her best friend.There she meets the dark and mysterious Ethan who seems to be hiding something.As days pass,Kia realizes that there are a lot of secrets hidden in the depths of the mansion and particularly its forest.After weird things start happening and secrets begin to unravel,Kia gets thrust into a new and of course dangerous world,where she has to fight for her life in order to survive!And her ability to control fire is not enough...
I have read some of Alyxandra Harvey's books in the past and I really enjoyed them.That's the main reason I chose to participate in the blog tour for Red.I couldn't wait to finally get my hands on another one of her books because her writing style is really addictive and the characters she creates are so easy to fall in love with!
In this case,I fell in love with Kia and of course Ethan.Kia is such a passionate,loyal and of course kick ass female character that will give everything to unravel the mysteries surrounding the Blackwood estate and save her new friends from harm.And of course she manages to do that and so many other things that really make her stronger as a person,develop her character in the book and teach her how to control her abilities.She's strong,stubborn and her fiery temper gives life to the book.It makes it more exciting and fast paced.Because let's be real here.We all love a kick ass heroine with a temper that actually can start fires!
And of course,I can't not talk about Ethan.As soon as I started reading the book,I knew that Ethan would be the mysterious stranger with a sweet and loving nature hidden deep inside.He was just so dark and handsome on the outside,but on the inside,he is exceptionally loyal and able to love unconditionally.And of course,like Kia,he hides his own deadly secrets.His personality really surprised me and his development as a character made me fall in love with him even more!Definitely one of the best and most interesting male characters I have ever had the luck of reading about!
Moving on to the plot.It was something completely different from anything I have read before and that's what drew my attention from the beginning and made me want to read it...Desperately!The story was really fast paced as I mentioned before,and I actually managed to finish Red in two days.So if you're interested in reading a light but quick and fast paced book,this is definitely for you!The writing was exquisite...I have always loved the author's writing and this wasn't an exception!It just manages to make you feel like you're in the story and want to experience it exactly how it is told...If that makes any sense.The descriptions were on point,realistic and of course,made it so incredibly easy to imagine the world,the mansion,the woods surrounding it...Everything.
The only thing I didn't like that much was the fact that after a while,some parts of the story got a bit too predictable for my liking.And some things weren't explained that well.I would have loved it if there was a bit of a back story,explaining some facts and giving more information about the characters.In my opinion that would have made this book so much better than it already was!
Lastly,the ending was satisfying but at the same it felt rushed and kind of abrupt.I sincerely hope that...by some miracle,there will be a sequel to this book...I just need more information!
To wrap up this review,I'll just say that Red is definitely a book worth reading!It has its flaws but it's definitely enjoyable,fast paced and easy to read.Plus,the characters are fantastic and so easy to get attached to!
March 10, 2015
Oooh you guys, Red by Alyxandra Harvey is a beautiful, ominously dark, and thrilling read set in a CASTLE. *swoon* I love books set in castles, they are so exciting since they always hold deep secrets and usually house a young and handsome guy worthy of falling in love with, like in this one, yay!
At first I thought this book was based on Little Red Riding Hood's fairytale because a) the title Red and b) the girl in the cover with a red dress in the woods kind of hint on that, but as I read the summary and immersed myself into the story, I found out that it was a different storyline altogether. However, this book does read itself like a fairytale. It has magic, mythical and fantastical creatures, the before mentioned ominous setting, and basically almost every other element that defines them as such. Very cool, and creepy at times too!
The main character, Kia Alcott, was an interesting person and one whose personality I'm not exactly used of meeting. She's dark and temperamental, a natural troublemaker thanks to her ability to wield fire, but cool enough to not pass off as arrogant or a dis-likable person. She's actually quite nice and smart, though I doubt we'd ever be close friends if we had the chance to meet in person. Still, I liked her company and was rooting for her to come out alive from the dreary situations she got herself into.
But as much as I liked Kia, I couldn't help but love Ethan's character more. I was thrilled to be able to read from his point of view because he's the type of character that leads a life with a double personality (or more) just to hide his true self. He comes off as the cocky rich guy, but is a complete sweetheart beneath the facade. He's a brokenhearted boy who's had a hard life as the son of a crazy person who's bent on making sure all the kids of those in the Cabal keep up with the tradition- of slaying monsters or locking them up to study.
The overall plot is crazily chaotic, but good, and it has unexpected twists to keep the book entertaining 'til the very end. The author did a great job in combining so many elements and I liked that she wasn't afraid of taking things a step further. The ending of Red, although a bit cheesy, was a nice enough way to wrap things up while leaving room for a sequel which I'm hoping will be written. It has to be. I need to see how things develop between Kia & Ethan plus to learn more about Kia's ability. I'll be crossing fingers.
As a final note, all I have left to say is that Red is one awesome read and I think you shouldn't overlook it. You'll probably end up liking it as much as I did once you read it! *wink*
P.S. Happy release day, Red! I love, love, LOVE your pretty cover.
*Thanks to Entangled Teen for the review copy in exchange of my honest opinion. This review was also posted on my blog, The Reader and the Chef.*
At first I thought this book was based on Little Red Riding Hood's fairytale because a) the title Red and b) the girl in the cover with a red dress in the woods kind of hint on that, but as I read the summary and immersed myself into the story, I found out that it was a different storyline altogether. However, this book does read itself like a fairytale. It has magic, mythical and fantastical creatures, the before mentioned ominous setting, and basically almost every other element that defines them as such. Very cool, and creepy at times too!
The main character, Kia Alcott, was an interesting person and one whose personality I'm not exactly used of meeting. She's dark and temperamental, a natural troublemaker thanks to her ability to wield fire, but cool enough to not pass off as arrogant or a dis-likable person. She's actually quite nice and smart, though I doubt we'd ever be close friends if we had the chance to meet in person. Still, I liked her company and was rooting for her to come out alive from the dreary situations she got herself into.
But as much as I liked Kia, I couldn't help but love Ethan's character more. I was thrilled to be able to read from his point of view because he's the type of character that leads a life with a double personality (or more) just to hide his true self. He comes off as the cocky rich guy, but is a complete sweetheart beneath the facade. He's a brokenhearted boy who's had a hard life as the son of a crazy person who's bent on making sure all the kids of those in the Cabal keep up with the tradition- of slaying monsters or locking them up to study.
The overall plot is crazily chaotic, but good, and it has unexpected twists to keep the book entertaining 'til the very end. The author did a great job in combining so many elements and I liked that she wasn't afraid of taking things a step further. The ending of Red, although a bit cheesy, was a nice enough way to wrap things up while leaving room for a sequel which I'm hoping will be written. It has to be. I need to see how things develop between Kia & Ethan plus to learn more about Kia's ability. I'll be crossing fingers.
As a final note, all I have left to say is that Red is one awesome read and I think you shouldn't overlook it. You'll probably end up liking it as much as I did once you read it! *wink*
P.S. Happy release day, Red! I love, love, LOVE your pretty cover.
*Thanks to Entangled Teen for the review copy in exchange of my honest opinion. This review was also posted on my blog, The Reader and the Chef.*
March 10, 2015
* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *
Thank you Entangled Teen and Ms. Harvey!
Red is the first novel I’ve read by Alyxandra Harvey and it didn’t disappoint. Red had all the workings of a delicious YA novel: suspense, paranormal, a strong heroine and romance amidst a wonderful Goth setting! The cover didn’t lie.
Ms. Harvey jumps right into the heart of the story in the opening pages. We are introduced to Kia Alcott and we get acquainted with her ability to set things on fire…literally. The struggle lies within Kia’s temper which if it flares too hot, things start to burn.
Kia is more or less carted off from her home and father to live with her Grandmother who resides in an uber creepy mansion that contains many secrets. Kia isn’t there long before the creep factor catches her attention.
She’s introduced to Ethan Blackwood, the son of Mr. Blackwood and owner of the household her grandmother runs. Ethan is hot and cold. It was a struggle to like him, or tolerate, is more like it, until, of course as a good author would do, the layers are peeled back from him. It’s once the inner demons and struggles are exposed, that the reader empathizes with him, cheers for him, and holds out hope that there is some kind of happiness that can be obtained for him.
For Ethan, life has been planned out from infancy. His parents were initiated into a cult, for lack of a better word, that once you’re in, you cannot get out of. Ethan is charged with protecting the outside world from contact with these magical creatures that are hunted. Some, it would seem, are harmless while others proved to be quite deadly. I loved the story line with the Wendigo. The magical creatures that are harmless is what brings the humanitarian side out in Ethan, and it’s here that he shines the brightest.
Once Kia is let in on what’s going on within the mansion and within the forest, her fire becomes a valuable tool. But Kia means something different to Mr. Blackwood than what she means to Ethan. Can you see where things get juicy here? Choosing between what’s right and wrong, your heart, your family?
The secondary characters were equally as shining as Kia and Ethan. They all had depth and their own personalities.
Entangled Teen never disappoints. The talent pool is deep and as a reader, I love to swim around in their words, their stories, and Red was another knock-out that kept me up well past my bedtime. As I’ve said before in previous reviews, if a book is good enough for me to sacrifice my sleep, than it’s a 5/5 to me!
I would highly recommend Red to lovers of YA with a generous helping of romance, suspense, Goth and magical creatures that are sure to satisfy your craving for things that go bump in the night.
Thank you Entangled Teen and Ms. Harvey!
Red is the first novel I’ve read by Alyxandra Harvey and it didn’t disappoint. Red had all the workings of a delicious YA novel: suspense, paranormal, a strong heroine and romance amidst a wonderful Goth setting! The cover didn’t lie.
Ms. Harvey jumps right into the heart of the story in the opening pages. We are introduced to Kia Alcott and we get acquainted with her ability to set things on fire…literally. The struggle lies within Kia’s temper which if it flares too hot, things start to burn.
Kia is more or less carted off from her home and father to live with her Grandmother who resides in an uber creepy mansion that contains many secrets. Kia isn’t there long before the creep factor catches her attention.
She’s introduced to Ethan Blackwood, the son of Mr. Blackwood and owner of the household her grandmother runs. Ethan is hot and cold. It was a struggle to like him, or tolerate, is more like it, until, of course as a good author would do, the layers are peeled back from him. It’s once the inner demons and struggles are exposed, that the reader empathizes with him, cheers for him, and holds out hope that there is some kind of happiness that can be obtained for him.
For Ethan, life has been planned out from infancy. His parents were initiated into a cult, for lack of a better word, that once you’re in, you cannot get out of. Ethan is charged with protecting the outside world from contact with these magical creatures that are hunted. Some, it would seem, are harmless while others proved to be quite deadly. I loved the story line with the Wendigo. The magical creatures that are harmless is what brings the humanitarian side out in Ethan, and it’s here that he shines the brightest.
Once Kia is let in on what’s going on within the mansion and within the forest, her fire becomes a valuable tool. But Kia means something different to Mr. Blackwood than what she means to Ethan. Can you see where things get juicy here? Choosing between what’s right and wrong, your heart, your family?
The secondary characters were equally as shining as Kia and Ethan. They all had depth and their own personalities.
Entangled Teen never disappoints. The talent pool is deep and as a reader, I love to swim around in their words, their stories, and Red was another knock-out that kept me up well past my bedtime. As I’ve said before in previous reviews, if a book is good enough for me to sacrifice my sleep, than it’s a 5/5 to me!
I would highly recommend Red to lovers of YA with a generous helping of romance, suspense, Goth and magical creatures that are sure to satisfy your craving for things that go bump in the night.
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