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Gina Santiago is a member of an elite tactical team in charge of protecting the world. She’s devoted her life to apprehending the most heinous criminals that prey on society—and now she’s after the worst one yet.
On her own, with no backup, the trail takes her to a dusty, tight-knit town on the fringes of society, where everyone’s a suspect. Even the sexy sheriff, Morgan Hunter, isn’t telling her everything. Gina knows he’s trouble, but she’s inexorably drawn to him.
The closer Gina comes to finding out the secret of this sleepy little town and its big bad sheriff; the closer she comes to catching the predator, the more scared she gets—because she’s beginning to realize that she has a secret too. A secret that will change Gina’s life… and make her the killer’s prey.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 4, 2008
11 people are currently reading
632 people want to read
About the author
Jordan Summers
65 books182 followersJordan Summers is an ex-flight attendant with a penchant for huge bookstores and big, dumb action movies. She prefers quite dinners with friends over maddening crowds. Happily married to her very own Highlander, she splits her time with her husband between two continents.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
June 23, 2009
"Red" is the beginning of a mainstream, paranormal/urban fantasy series by Jordan Summers who has also written for Ellora's Cave and Harlequin Blaze so I knew to expect a pretty spicy read...and I got it! But paranormal fans should be warned that this series is a bit dark and broody and takes place in a future version of the United States.
Gina is a cop on the International Police Tactical Team (IPTT). She lives in a Northern America ravaged by wars and now divided into strictly controlled territories. Each 'citizen' must be tagged. No tag, no citizenship and no services. For years, rumors of Others have abounded--warriors created in government labs and then destroyed when they became more than their creators intended. Of course, these are just stories told to children and not reality. And even if they HAD existed, they don't anymore...right?
Morgan Hunter is the sheriff of a sleepy border town in the Arizona Territory. He's actually more like the big, bad wolf sheriff since most folks in his town belong to his pack. He prefers quiet without visitors and no single females can enter any pack territory unless they are 'claimed' within three days...too many fights among unmated males. So when Gina shows up to investigate a suspicious death with possible ties to his town, Morgan knows she'll make some noise in his quiet town. But it only takes a sniff for him to realize something Gina herself doesn't know. And now the two will need to work together to bring down a crazed murderer who truly 'hunts' his prey.
The beginning of the book really grabbed me as the story begins inside the head of the killer. His thought processes and enjoyment of his 'fun' is pretty darn creepy. Summers slowly builds her characters and their motivations through first person POV. Early on each chapter change results in a character change and these gradually come quicker and quicker as the plot and action build. The attraction between the main characters is pretty hot and Summers' experience writing erotic love scenes shines through.
The first person POV didn't give me any problems at first, but as the story continued and the action built I began to feel 'distanced' from each character. I'm not sure if it was the quick changes in scene and character or something else, but it became a struggle to feel any connection to the hero or heroine. The hero is very much the Alpha wolf whose character became harder as the story progressed. And the heroine made some pretty stupid moves for an experienced cop. Then Summers began to weave the 'bad, power-hungry politician' part in and it felt a bit jarring to me. Finally, the identity of the bad guy was almost written in neon fairly early on (at least for me). That made the mystery portion of the story rather a bust. I'll still probably read Jordan Summers next book in the series, "Scarlet", to see where this is going, but "Red" isn't one for my keeper shelf.
Gina is a cop on the International Police Tactical Team (IPTT). She lives in a Northern America ravaged by wars and now divided into strictly controlled territories. Each 'citizen' must be tagged. No tag, no citizenship and no services. For years, rumors of Others have abounded--warriors created in government labs and then destroyed when they became more than their creators intended. Of course, these are just stories told to children and not reality. And even if they HAD existed, they don't anymore...right?
Morgan Hunter is the sheriff of a sleepy border town in the Arizona Territory. He's actually more like the big, bad wolf sheriff since most folks in his town belong to his pack. He prefers quiet without visitors and no single females can enter any pack territory unless they are 'claimed' within three days...too many fights among unmated males. So when Gina shows up to investigate a suspicious death with possible ties to his town, Morgan knows she'll make some noise in his quiet town. But it only takes a sniff for him to realize something Gina herself doesn't know. And now the two will need to work together to bring down a crazed murderer who truly 'hunts' his prey.
The beginning of the book really grabbed me as the story begins inside the head of the killer. His thought processes and enjoyment of his 'fun' is pretty darn creepy. Summers slowly builds her characters and their motivations through first person POV. Early on each chapter change results in a character change and these gradually come quicker and quicker as the plot and action build. The attraction between the main characters is pretty hot and Summers' experience writing erotic love scenes shines through.
The first person POV didn't give me any problems at first, but as the story continued and the action built I began to feel 'distanced' from each character. I'm not sure if it was the quick changes in scene and character or something else, but it became a struggle to feel any connection to the hero or heroine. The hero is very much the Alpha wolf whose character became harder as the story progressed. And the heroine made some pretty stupid moves for an experienced cop. Then Summers began to weave the 'bad, power-hungry politician' part in and it felt a bit jarring to me. Finally, the identity of the bad guy was almost written in neon fairly early on (at least for me). That made the mystery portion of the story rather a bust. I'll still probably read Jordan Summers next book in the series, "Scarlet", to see where this is going, but "Red" isn't one for my keeper shelf.
January 8, 2009
I am beginning to wonder if anything shelved with the romance novels instead of SFF will be the death of me when it comes to 'paranormal/SF with romance'. There were elements of the story I liked -- most of them having to do with the plot, rather than the romance. But, overall I wasn't terribly happy with this book. Any spoilers I write will be at the end -- just warning you why I don't have the flag up.
So, the basic plot is that Earth's governments have been divided into city-states after wars and eco-catastrophes, with a sort of global police force that our Female Lead, Gina, belongs to. She decides to take some time off to investigate suspicious animal attacks in Arizona. Our Male Lead, the local sheriff, is a mix of help and hindrance, and Gina is trying to figure out why -- and why she finds him so very pretty.
So, my problems are twofold. The worldbuilding was a bit inconsistent -- I could never get a sense if the town Gina visited was the whole of the Republic of Arizona, or just a part, and if so, what happened to the rest of the state -- Arizona is a big place, and the town had a very small-town vibe. Actually, I had scale problems with a lot of the book -- one of the antagonists was a senator, and I could never quite grasp of what, since the US government no longer existed, and yet, he seemed to be markedly US focused. Speaking of him, he was obsessed with the idea of this Other -- modified people with special powers created in the last war and hiding.
The book generally seemed to regard the Other as something that most people thought was about on par with Roswell aliens and Bigfooy, and yet, a popular government official would openly mention them in speeches. If my senator was claiming that aliens were hiding among us, I'd be voting for the other person.
(Also, minor pet peeve with the use of synth- in front of everything -- I can see how things like chocolate and coffee would be commodities, but you do not need synth-alcohol, given you can ferment anything.)
As for the romance, Gina and Morgan hit two of my pet peeves in paranormal romance. The first is that I could never get a sense of their relationship outside of 'OMG, hot' -- I got the fact that they found each other physically attractive, but I never could pull past that to figure out how they worked as something other than a good lay. (Okay, I did get that Morgan was impressed with Gina's sense of justice, but from her all I got was 'OMG hot'.) The book did have a reason for this, but it's a spoiler[1], albeit one I saw coming.
The second reason had to do with the Others. A lot of times 'wolf' behavior was used as an excuse for Other customs... except, it was more related to the romantic idea of a wolf, rather than actual canine behavior. Someone really needs to read Limyaael's fantasy rants. Now, it could work, given that these are still humans we are dealing with, but I'd like to see something other than 'lol, werewolves' as an explanation.
In conclusion, I wasn't impressed. It might be something I would buy for a plane ride, but not something that will be staying on my shelf.
--Spoiler--
[1] Gina turns out to be part Other (werewolf, in fact), through her father, which is why she is attracted to other weres without even knowing it, including Morgan Hunter and his cousin, more than baseline humans. On the other hand, she's got a baseline human mother, which makes me wonder why one wins out over the other. And it still doesn't change the fact that I couldn't pick up anything else about the relationship from her end.
So, the basic plot is that Earth's governments have been divided into city-states after wars and eco-catastrophes, with a sort of global police force that our Female Lead, Gina, belongs to. She decides to take some time off to investigate suspicious animal attacks in Arizona. Our Male Lead, the local sheriff, is a mix of help and hindrance, and Gina is trying to figure out why -- and why she finds him so very pretty.
So, my problems are twofold. The worldbuilding was a bit inconsistent -- I could never get a sense if the town Gina visited was the whole of the Republic of Arizona, or just a part, and if so, what happened to the rest of the state -- Arizona is a big place, and the town had a very small-town vibe. Actually, I had scale problems with a lot of the book -- one of the antagonists was a senator, and I could never quite grasp of what, since the US government no longer existed, and yet, he seemed to be markedly US focused. Speaking of him, he was obsessed with the idea of this Other -- modified people with special powers created in the last war and hiding.
The book generally seemed to regard the Other as something that most people thought was about on par with Roswell aliens and Bigfooy, and yet, a popular government official would openly mention them in speeches. If my senator was claiming that aliens were hiding among us, I'd be voting for the other person.
(Also, minor pet peeve with the use of synth- in front of everything -- I can see how things like chocolate and coffee would be commodities, but you do not need synth-alcohol, given you can ferment anything.)
As for the romance, Gina and Morgan hit two of my pet peeves in paranormal romance. The first is that I could never get a sense of their relationship outside of 'OMG, hot' -- I got the fact that they found each other physically attractive, but I never could pull past that to figure out how they worked as something other than a good lay. (Okay, I did get that Morgan was impressed with Gina's sense of justice, but from her all I got was 'OMG hot'.) The book did have a reason for this, but it's a spoiler[1], albeit one I saw coming.
The second reason had to do with the Others. A lot of times 'wolf' behavior was used as an excuse for Other customs... except, it was more related to the romantic idea of a wolf, rather than actual canine behavior. Someone really needs to read Limyaael's fantasy rants. Now, it could work, given that these are still humans we are dealing with, but I'd like to see something other than 'lol, werewolves' as an explanation.
In conclusion, I wasn't impressed. It might be something I would buy for a plane ride, but not something that will be staying on my shelf.
--Spoiler--
[1] Gina turns out to be part Other (werewolf, in fact), through her father, which is why she is attracted to other weres without even knowing it, including Morgan Hunter and his cousin, more than baseline humans. On the other hand, she's got a baseline human mother, which makes me wonder why one wins out over the other. And it still doesn't change the fact that I couldn't pick up anything else about the relationship from her end.
May 12, 2009
The lack of stars here is no mistake.
I really should have known better than to even pick this up: Urban fantasy of the paranormal romance variety is not really my thing. But I hadn't found anything else at the library, and I do have a thing for repurposed fairy tales. (And post-apocalyptic settings, but that's not even mentioned in the cover copy.) And yeah, it looked a bit leather-buttish, but so what?
It wasn't until I got home that I noticed the man-titty, and I realized what I had. But, what the hell. Broadening horizons! That's what the library is all about!
So.
This is the kind of book that opens with a graphic rape/dismemberment scene, in first person. It's also the kind of book where, when the heroine sees the hero for the first time (via picture,) she realizes she hasn't gotten laid in a while. I'm sure you can guess at the rest.
My overall impression was that it read like the kind of fanfic that's more concerned with getting folks into bed than the plot. (Well, okay: Exactly like that kind of fanfic.) But honestly, if I'm sitting down to read an actual book, I would rather have more than a cursory bone thrown to world-building and non-genital character development.
If this is your kind of book, maybe you'll have better luck with it than I. If not, it's probably best to spare yourself.
I really should have known better than to even pick this up: Urban fantasy of the paranormal romance variety is not really my thing. But I hadn't found anything else at the library, and I do have a thing for repurposed fairy tales. (And post-apocalyptic settings, but that's not even mentioned in the cover copy.) And yeah, it looked a bit leather-buttish, but so what?
It wasn't until I got home that I noticed the man-titty, and I realized what I had. But, what the hell. Broadening horizons! That's what the library is all about!
So.
This is the kind of book that opens with a graphic rape/dismemberment scene, in first person. It's also the kind of book where, when the heroine sees the hero for the first time (via picture,) she realizes she hasn't gotten laid in a while. I'm sure you can guess at the rest.
My overall impression was that it read like the kind of fanfic that's more concerned with getting folks into bed than the plot. (Well, okay: Exactly like that kind of fanfic.) But honestly, if I'm sitting down to read an actual book, I would rather have more than a cursory bone thrown to world-building and non-genital character development.
If this is your kind of book, maybe you'll have better luck with it than I. If not, it's probably best to spare yourself.
September 9, 2012
The beginning of this story was gripping (if disturbing for some one): we are in the mind of a killer during his hunt.
The sample on Amazon interested me enough that I read it as soon as possible. There's a good premise/world: we're in the future, after a war has destroyed the world as we know it. The heroine is a cop in a "international" unit (more correctly Pan American) controlling borders and crime.
In this future's past, there are whispers that the government has made unacceptable experiments (Breeds-like) that created vampires and werewolves. Then it covered every trace or tried to.
There are many unexplained and inconsistent traits in this world:
-murder is very rare, but the author never explains why. As this isn't a utopian future, you do really wonder how or why. Mankind doesn't improve in a wild west setting.)
-you can be a were without knowing, all of a sudden for no reason.
The same can be said of its heroine. Even her nickname does not really stand. Either she is a cold-blooded murderer/freak, as her team thinks she is, or she is the worst cop ever. And I mean Ever. She has never captured a fugitive. They always end up dead. She has never interrogated anyone.
You really wonder what the author wanted her to be. There's no explanation for the lies her family has said to her, or at least, there are none in this story. I can think of many reasons, but here they do not stand (again).
Even the family relationships are weird. I know I'm special for my mom, :D. Every mother/father thinks so of their children. But I doubt the call them "special one". ^o^?
Character-wise the male lead was more fleshed than the female one whose reactions were somewhat difficult to grasp (when you learn every facet of your life is a lie, how do you react? Well, I doubt you do as she did).
The romance is the usual fare in the lower end of the genre. Lust at first sight that makes you wonder when we started mistaking the physical for the spiritual. Some reviewers noticed too much sex. Honestly it's the only fault I could not find. There are a couple of scenes towards the end. But the plot is well balanced: they do not fall in bed immediately.
Overall, I wasn't impressed. For those who still care, the copy I have is full of typos.
The sample on Amazon interested me enough that I read it as soon as possible. There's a good premise/world: we're in the future, after a war has destroyed the world as we know it. The heroine is a cop in a "international" unit (more correctly Pan American) controlling borders and crime.
In this future's past, there are whispers that the government has made unacceptable experiments (Breeds-like) that created vampires and werewolves. Then it covered every trace or tried to.
There are many unexplained and inconsistent traits in this world:
-murder is very rare, but the author never explains why. As this isn't a utopian future, you do really wonder how or why. Mankind doesn't improve in a wild west setting.)
-you can be a were without knowing, all of a sudden for no reason.
The same can be said of its heroine. Even her nickname does not really stand. Either she is a cold-blooded murderer/freak, as her team thinks she is, or she is the worst cop ever. And I mean Ever. She has never captured a fugitive. They always end up dead. She has never interrogated anyone.
You really wonder what the author wanted her to be. There's no explanation for the lies her family has said to her, or at least, there are none in this story. I can think of many reasons, but here they do not stand (again).
Even the family relationships are weird. I know I'm special for my mom, :D. Every mother/father thinks so of their children. But I doubt the call them "special one". ^o^?
Character-wise the male lead was more fleshed than the female one whose reactions were somewhat difficult to grasp (when you learn every facet of your life is a lie, how do you react? Well, I doubt you do as she did).
The romance is the usual fare in the lower end of the genre. Lust at first sight that makes you wonder when we started mistaking the physical for the spiritual. Some reviewers noticed too much sex. Honestly it's the only fault I could not find. There are a couple of scenes towards the end. But the plot is well balanced: they do not fall in bed immediately.
Overall, I wasn't impressed. For those who still care, the copy I have is full of typos.
February 24, 2010
I started off really not liking this book. It grew on me towards the middle. I thought the plot was interesting and the characters were somewhat likable. I even liked the futuristic world it was set in. I did not enjoy the writing, however. I felt like it was very overwritten, with far too many metaphors and descriptions. The characters reactions also didn't make sense to me. They were too extreme and unrealistic. (Really, why would someone shout there? Did that revelation really burn the character to the core? Etc.) Just overdone. That made me not enjoy the book much and will likely prevent me from reading the sequels.
February 25, 2020
When the story got to lecturing why having a fence on the southern border was immoral because we are all similar (basically implying it's all about race), I stopped immediately. I don’t like when politics of today get injected into a story that I’m reading. Not to mention how ignorant that statement was. I read in order to escape reality for a small time. I don’t do it for someone’s simplistic narrow minded ideas on a subject that they know little about except for what they are told by organizations that spread lopsided arguments to make people think the worst of humanity. See... that’s why politics shouldn’t be in works of fiction.
August 10, 2017
***DO NOT READ THE BOOK IF YOUR TRIGGERS ARE GORE, TORTURE, OR RAPE!!! BECAUSE THE FIRST CHAPTER IS ALL THREE OF THOSE!!!***
I was not warned, so I got quite a shock to my system.
Honestly, I knew from the moment I saw this book, that I would love it. BUT the attraction between Gina and Morgan was so unnecessary and ridiculous, that it ruined the whole story for me. Instead of keeping the entire series focused on the plot line of catching a deranged serial killer, Gina and Morgan became so obsessed over one another, that they soon began, what I believe, to literally fall apart, as great characters.
Suddenly they can't stop thinking about one another, they can't breath, without knowing where the other is at, blablabla. And even at one point when Morgan is supposed to be focusing on catching the killer, he literally states a line of how he is having to force himself to focus on catching this deranged killer instead of pinning over Gina. Luckily that part came at the end of the book, otherwise I would have stopped reading it by that point.
This book would have been Amazing, if Gina and Morgan's obsessed love for one another had been more of a slow, simmering kind of attraction that took 2 or 3 books to come full circle. Instead of surprise attacking the main story, and taking you on side trails of lust, seduction, obsession, and then "true love"! (supposedly)
The Characters:
Gina: I liked Gina, she wasn't an assassin, or an emotionless robot, but a woman that when she needed to be tough, could, and did so often. But she was also quite--how should I put this, naive. To the point that halfway through the story, I became disappointed in her as a person, because she became more and more as the heroin in need of saving. Her, who's nick name is Red for all the blood she has supposedly spilled.
Morgan: He was a disappointment from start to finish. Overly testosteroned male head hancho. Not interesting in the slittiest.
Side Notes:
-The side characters were better formed and way more interesting than the two main.
-We never get an explanation of why the killer did/thought the way he did, or how he became the way that he did.
-At the end of the book, Summers literally rushes the last 3 chapters, and tries to tie everything up in a neat bow and only semi fails.
***May Contain Spoilers:***
-The very #1 BIG problem I had with this story, is that you see and view things from time to time, from the killers point of view. As he hunts, rapes, torments and inevitably eats the women that he kills. Now I like gore, but I will not stand for any kind of book, no matter how small the moment is, that PITIES the killer in the end, even a little bit. What the killer did to those women is unforgivable. As a result, that was the last straw for me, and I will not be reading the rest of the series, ever.
I was not warned, so I got quite a shock to my system.
Honestly, I knew from the moment I saw this book, that I would love it. BUT the attraction between Gina and Morgan was so unnecessary and ridiculous, that it ruined the whole story for me. Instead of keeping the entire series focused on the plot line of catching a deranged serial killer, Gina and Morgan became so obsessed over one another, that they soon began, what I believe, to literally fall apart, as great characters.
Suddenly they can't stop thinking about one another, they can't breath, without knowing where the other is at, blablabla. And even at one point when Morgan is supposed to be focusing on catching the killer, he literally states a line of how he is having to force himself to focus on catching this deranged killer instead of pinning over Gina. Luckily that part came at the end of the book, otherwise I would have stopped reading it by that point.
This book would have been Amazing, if Gina and Morgan's obsessed love for one another had been more of a slow, simmering kind of attraction that took 2 or 3 books to come full circle. Instead of surprise attacking the main story, and taking you on side trails of lust, seduction, obsession, and then "true love"! (supposedly)
The Characters:
Gina: I liked Gina, she wasn't an assassin, or an emotionless robot, but a woman that when she needed to be tough, could, and did so often. But she was also quite--how should I put this, naive. To the point that halfway through the story, I became disappointed in her as a person, because she became more and more as the heroin in need of saving. Her, who's nick name is Red for all the blood she has supposedly spilled.
Morgan: He was a disappointment from start to finish. Overly testosteroned male head hancho. Not interesting in the slittiest.
Side Notes:
-The side characters were better formed and way more interesting than the two main.
-We never get an explanation of why the killer did/thought the way he did, or how he became the way that he did.
-At the end of the book, Summers literally rushes the last 3 chapters, and tries to tie everything up in a neat bow and only semi fails.
***May Contain Spoilers:***
-The very #1 BIG problem I had with this story, is that you see and view things from time to time, from the killers point of view. As he hunts, rapes, torments and inevitably eats the women that he kills. Now I like gore, but I will not stand for any kind of book, no matter how small the moment is, that PITIES the killer in the end, even a little bit. What the killer did to those women is unforgivable. As a result, that was the last straw for me, and I will not be reading the rest of the series, ever.
May 22, 2011
ceritanya ttg gina santiago yang biasa dipanggil "red" anggota semacam tactical unit yang bernama IPPT.....
disini masyarakat di bagi 2...pure blood dan 'the others' dimana others ini di buru oleh pemerintah untuh dibunuh dan dihancurkan....
awalnyapara others ini adalah manusia biasa yang rela menjadi kelinci percobaab pemerintah demi memenangkan world war....mereka di rubah menjadi vampire dan werewolf utk keperluan perang...
lalu setelah perang selesai, pemerintah menyembunyikan jejak mereka dengan membasmi mereka...
jadilah para others hidup bersembunyi...
suatu hari ada pembunuhan berantai...korbannya wanita dan tubuhnya tercabik2 seperti dimakan binatang buas...
red pergi menyelidiki sampai ke kota kecil yang bernama 'nuria'....
disana dia ketemu sama sherrif yang ganteng tapi sama sekali gak membantu penyelidikannya bahkan terkesan menutup2i sesuatu...
yang red gak tau, muria itu adalah perkampungan 'the others' dimana sherrif morgan hunter adalah alpha pack dari werewolf disana..
pertama kali morgan melihat red dia langsung merasakan sesuatu...karena dia bisa mencium kalo res adalah seorang werewolf juga....tapi red pun gak tau kalo dia werewolf...
disana seorang werewolf wanita yang gak memiliki mate bisa mengakibatkan werewolf laki2 berkelahi memperebutkan sampai mati....
morgan tanpa sepengetahuan red udah nempatin red di bawah perlindungannya sebagai mate nya ...jadi gak ada werewolf laki2 lain yang berani mengklaim red sebagai miliknya...again red gak tau mengenai hal ini sama sekali....dia cuma merasa begitu melihat morgan pertama kali, red yang dingin itu juga merasakan sesuatu, bahkan dokter jane hunter, sepupu morgan yang katanya tampan sekali pun gak membuat red tertarik....
masalahnya morgan gak tau gimana bilangin red kalo dia adalah others juga dan dia adalah mate nya.....
sekali dia mengkalim sebagai mate nya dengan cara menggigit tengkuknya pada saat bercinta, gak ada yang bisa mengambil red dari sisinya tanpa adanya pertempuran sampai mati...
dan sekali werewolf laki2 mengklaim mate nya itu berlaku seumur hidup, nereka akan bonding selamanya....
makanya pas kane ketahuan pingin ngerebut red dengan membunuh morgan dan menjadi alpha pack, morgan marah sekali.....
disamping itu juga ada politiknya....roark montgomery ingin menjadikan dunia milik pure blood dan membunuh semua others.....sayang niatnya dia digagalkan oleh red dan dia dendam sekali.....
bukunya masih bersambung....ada 3 series...sisanya belom beli...:P
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2017
If the first chapter doesn't get your heart pumping, you better stop and check to make sure you have a pulse!
Every time he kills, you get an in depth look into the mind of an insane werewolf. I really liked Gina "Red" Santiago and liked the world that Ms. Summers created in the once USA. After a terrible war between The Others (genetically enhanced humans who escaped the testing facility) and pure-bloods (humans), electric walls were erected around territories that kept out the undesirables. Gina is an agent for IPTT (International Police Tactical Team) who protect the world from The Others and the unknowns.
When a mutilated body turns up, IPTT investigates and Gina refuses to believe that a mere animal was responsible. She follows her instincts and enters the Republic of Arizona to investigate. Here she meets sheriff Morgan Hunter who just happens to be an Other himself but of course, Gina doesn't know that.
This is a rather gory start to the Dead World series but the stage has been set and Gina and Morgan are off to a good start. I will definitely be continuing the series.
Every time he kills, you get an in depth look into the mind of an insane werewolf. I really liked Gina "Red" Santiago and liked the world that Ms. Summers created in the once USA. After a terrible war between The Others (genetically enhanced humans who escaped the testing facility) and pure-bloods (humans), electric walls were erected around territories that kept out the undesirables. Gina is an agent for IPTT (International Police Tactical Team) who protect the world from The Others and the unknowns.
When a mutilated body turns up, IPTT investigates and Gina refuses to believe that a mere animal was responsible. She follows her instincts and enters the Republic of Arizona to investigate. Here she meets sheriff Morgan Hunter who just happens to be an Other himself but of course, Gina doesn't know that.
This is a rather gory start to the Dead World series but the stage has been set and Gina and Morgan are off to a good start. I will definitely be continuing the series.
February 12, 2010
The world is a different place after the last world war, leaving a line where unknowns cross to come into the different Republics. Gina, or Red, as she is called, is on the elite tactical team that helps keep order. While on her job she comes across a case that just won't let go. Taking part of her vacation Red goes to the Republic of Arizona to a tiny town. While there it seems like people are hiding something from her. As the investigation deepens Red is forced to spend more time with the Sheriff and sparks fly!! Both are keeping their own secrets but after an attempt on her life and evidence is hard to not believe they both come clean. All they have to do now is get the bad guy hard to do when they don't feel like they can trust each other.
While I could tell where the story was going I really like the world it is set in, almost a post apocalyptic with global warming out of control. I liked the characters and can't wait to read the next one. This book is not for the faint of heart as it opens with a pretty brutal rape scene, but it is a large part of the story.
While I could tell where the story was going I really like the world it is set in, almost a post apocalyptic with global warming out of control. I liked the characters and can't wait to read the next one. This book is not for the faint of heart as it opens with a pretty brutal rape scene, but it is a large part of the story.
May 28, 2012
I got this great book second hand from a friend this book is not what i would normal read as i manly read young adult books and this is NOT a young adult book!
The book had a really exciting story-line Jam packed with paranormal beings that try to hide from the human pure-bloods. While i really loved the main plot the thing that really stood out was the steaminess of the book..there was a lot of adult action that i was not accustomed to in a book but i have to say while blushing that i really loved the book as a whole.
If you like kick ass girl characters and great story-line with lots of steamy moments then you are really going to love this book.
4 stars.
The book had a really exciting story-line Jam packed with paranormal beings that try to hide from the human pure-bloods. While i really loved the main plot the thing that really stood out was the steaminess of the book..there was a lot of adult action that i was not accustomed to in a book but i have to say while blushing that i really loved the book as a whole.
If you like kick ass girl characters and great story-line with lots of steamy moments then you are really going to love this book.
4 stars.
November 28, 2008
I was super excited to read this book, and I wasn't disappointed. It's definitely not your typical romance, and I love that about it. Jordan does a great job at world building, and setting up the series, while never letting anything slide or fall apart in this story. Gina is a cool character, and Morgan is sexy enough to make me drool. I'll be ordering the rest of the series the minute they are made available.
October 28, 2009
Any book that opens with a rape/murder scene is not a book I need or want to read.
December 5, 2022
Gina Santiago, nicknamed Red because of the amount of blood spilled when she’s around, is a member of the International Police Tactical Team, a team created to protect the various republics that exist in the former United States. It is the only entity that has rights in each republic to investigate murder–which is almost obsolete–or to take care of outsiders, the people who refuse to commit themselves to a specific republic.
During a routine mission to investigate a group of outsiders who jumped the border into the Republic of Arizona, a body is found brutalized. The authorities claim it was an animal attack, but Red has other ideas. She travels to a border town to investigate, a town where everyone knows what Red is but Red herself.
The relationship between Red and Morgan Hunter, the sheriff of the border town she is investigating, is volatile and heartwarming and above all, real. They fight when they should, are intimate when they should be, and understand each other–something that’s often lacking in paranormal books.
Red is mainly written in third person, but there are sections written in first person from the killer’s point of view. The sections written in the first person are gruesome, bloody, and dark, giving extra insight into the world created for the novel.
Based very loosely on Little Red Riding Hood, this is an extremely original novel that leaves you breathless and craving more.
During a routine mission to investigate a group of outsiders who jumped the border into the Republic of Arizona, a body is found brutalized. The authorities claim it was an animal attack, but Red has other ideas. She travels to a border town to investigate, a town where everyone knows what Red is but Red herself.
The relationship between Red and Morgan Hunter, the sheriff of the border town she is investigating, is volatile and heartwarming and above all, real. They fight when they should, are intimate when they should be, and understand each other–something that’s often lacking in paranormal books.
Red is mainly written in third person, but there are sections written in first person from the killer’s point of view. The sections written in the first person are gruesome, bloody, and dark, giving extra insight into the world created for the novel.
Based very loosely on Little Red Riding Hood, this is an extremely original novel that leaves you breathless and craving more.
September 21, 2021
This book tells the story of Gina Santiago, aka Red, an agent in the law enforcement agency IPTT. The story is set in a postapocalyptic US, where the country has split into small republics. Rumors of the Others, experiments gone wrong, linger, but Red's world consists entirely of pureblood humans until she visits a town called Nuria in the Republic of Arizona to investigate a crime. She meets the sheriff, hunky Morgan Hunter and eventually uncovers the secret he and the entire town are hiding.
The story is a paranormal romance with a high level of steam and plenty of action. The writing is sometimes distracting, as word constructions sometimes feel awkward and pronoun antecedents and changes of speaker in dialogue are unclear, but overall, it's a readable romance with a decent amount of world-building. When I picked it up to read, I didn't realize it was part of a series, so some of the story threads are left unfinished. The author herself describes the romance as gritty. This book should appeal to readers looking for a steamy read with a tough hero and heroine and a paranormal setting.
The story is a paranormal romance with a high level of steam and plenty of action. The writing is sometimes distracting, as word constructions sometimes feel awkward and pronoun antecedents and changes of speaker in dialogue are unclear, but overall, it's a readable romance with a decent amount of world-building. When I picked it up to read, I didn't realize it was part of a series, so some of the story threads are left unfinished. The author herself describes the romance as gritty. This book should appeal to readers looking for a steamy read with a tough hero and heroine and a paranormal setting.
January 9, 2025
This is one from my hoard that I finally got around to reading...It was lore and story rich while still having a steamy romance, making it a perfect cocktail that had me having a hard time putting this one down.
I enjoyed the setting of a climate disaster brought on by human politics. The main reasoning for our big bad is still relevant today (if not even more so). And the main leads are so fun to watch. A classic FBI meets Local Sheriff trope.
It loses points for the ending though...I won't spoil it, but the finale didn't hit as hard as I had hoped. The pacing was smooth, but by the last 100 pages I was frustrated seeing them not do anything about the murderer. It was a fun crime mystery to unravel though. Oh, and the "alpha" cliche... honestly it was the worst part of the romance plot. What can I say? It was from the same era that gave us the Twilight series. A product of its decade, and for that I can appreciate it for what it is.
I enjoyed the setting of a climate disaster brought on by human politics. The main reasoning for our big bad is still relevant today (if not even more so). And the main leads are so fun to watch. A classic FBI meets Local Sheriff trope.
It loses points for the ending though...I won't spoil it, but the finale didn't hit as hard as I had hoped. The pacing was smooth, but by the last 100 pages I was frustrated seeing them not do anything about the murderer. It was a fun crime mystery to unravel though. Oh, and the "alpha" cliche... honestly it was the worst part of the romance plot. What can I say? It was from the same era that gave us the Twilight series. A product of its decade, and for that I can appreciate it for what it is.
August 18, 2016
This was a very creative take on the "Little Red Riding Hood"/big bad wolf fairy tale. I loved the references and crime scene findings that linked back to it by drawing attention with the phrases "what big ears, teeth, and eyes etc., you have". I'm also loving how authors are expanding romances. In other words I'm enjoying how the romance between the H/h is going beyond the prior pre-requisite 300 or 400 pages. Now readers can experience the the push and pull of a new relationship over the course of an entire series. Plus there is the added bonus of the novel being a romance whereby the HEA is of course guaranteed.
Fast forward a 150 years into the future and you'll find an Earth scorched by the sun. The parched land boasts skeletal remains of giant forests, fields of dirt where crops used to grow and nearly non-existent plant and animal life. Food and drink are no longer reaped from from the Earth but are now synthetic. Genes have been manipulated so that humans can withstand the dangers of radiation. And then there are the Others. Beings created by man, for man, and then exterminated, leaving their kind as the folk of lore.
Gina "Red" Santiago is in the grips of a nightmare that even wakefulness can't unclench. Fully clothed and covered head to toe in blood and dirt is something that Red is not unfamiliar with. As a high ranking officer of an elite tactical team charged with the Republic's safe keeping, Red deals in death all the time. But coming awake fully clothed, covered head to toe in blood and dirt while not remembering how you came to be in that state, is something else entirely. Add a pound of flesh heaved from her stomach and Red can pretty much throw life as she knew out the window.
As a social pariah and team outcast, Red is already at odds with her tactical team leader, Bannon. Red ruffles feathers again after being unable shake the feeling that a mauled woman left for dead in a copse of dead trees, was cut down by a human rather than a pack of hungry animals, which is Bannon's assessment. Determined to seek justice for the woman and her family, Red follows the trail, alone and on her own time, to the small town of Nuria, Republic of Arizona. It's here that she meets the ruggedly handsome sheriff, Morgan Hunter.
Morgan Hunter can't believe his eyes when a beautiful unclaimed female waltzes into his dissecting lab. Although he is soon on guard after a slow body perusal alerts him to the black combat boots that are only issued to tactical team members. One thing he doesn't need right now is his town and lab raided by the International Police Tactical Team, but he also can't help but feel instantaneously intrigued by the woman standing before him. The urge to mark and claim her as his own becomes nearly overpowering but when he realizes that she has no idea who or what she is let alone himself, gives him pause. Who is Gina Santiago, and more importantly, what is she doing here?
Red learns real quick that there's something strange going on in the town of Nuria and Sheriff Hunter is definitely a part of it. One, she feels inexplicably and unnaturally drawn to the sexy sheriff. Two, the whole town seems to give Morgan Hunter differential treatment and not only because he's the sheriff. It appears as if one direct look from him has the recipient lowering their eyes before him. And three, he's definitely hiding something from her and she's determined to find out what that may be.
There is someone else besides Morgan that's interested in Gina Santiago and his fascination may just be the death of her.
As things heat up drastically between Red and Morgan, so does her suspicion of him. But Red may not be the only one capable of potential homicide. After awaking once again to find herself covered in blood, Red has her clothes analyzed and discovers something horrible. The blood on her clothes is not hers, but the blood of another mauled woman discovered after her arrival in Nuria. Has Red been killing and feasting on innocent women? And if so, why can't she remember having done it at all?
In addition, unbeknown to Red, Morgan has in fact claimed her as his mate with the evidence marked all over her well pleasured body. But how can he tell her that she's not the pure-blood that she's been led to believe and that she is now in fact mated to an alpha werewolf.
Ms. Summers did an excellent job of world building in her 'Dead World' series. The landscape is well detailed but not burdensome or distracting. The technology of her future was interesting yet not overly complex. And the romance was great. Summers is an obvious master of sexual tension and get ready for some scorching sex scenes when Morgan and Rad finally get together. Whew, Morgan is one smokin' HOT wolf! I really loved how when he decided to claim Red as his own, he would stand by her no matter if she was some how responsible for the recent killings (of which he isn't truly convinced that she dealt the death blow but she was involved somehow...). In addition, the novel had great pacing yet there was one draw back. I wanted more time with the H/h. Summers spends a lot of time in other POV's, including the numerous villains and this left me breezing through their commentary to get back to Red and Morgan. Otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Fast forward a 150 years into the future and you'll find an Earth scorched by the sun. The parched land boasts skeletal remains of giant forests, fields of dirt where crops used to grow and nearly non-existent plant and animal life. Food and drink are no longer reaped from from the Earth but are now synthetic. Genes have been manipulated so that humans can withstand the dangers of radiation. And then there are the Others. Beings created by man, for man, and then exterminated, leaving their kind as the folk of lore.
Gina "Red" Santiago is in the grips of a nightmare that even wakefulness can't unclench. Fully clothed and covered head to toe in blood and dirt is something that Red is not unfamiliar with. As a high ranking officer of an elite tactical team charged with the Republic's safe keeping, Red deals in death all the time. But coming awake fully clothed, covered head to toe in blood and dirt while not remembering how you came to be in that state, is something else entirely. Add a pound of flesh heaved from her stomach and Red can pretty much throw life as she knew out the window.
As a social pariah and team outcast, Red is already at odds with her tactical team leader, Bannon. Red ruffles feathers again after being unable shake the feeling that a mauled woman left for dead in a copse of dead trees, was cut down by a human rather than a pack of hungry animals, which is Bannon's assessment. Determined to seek justice for the woman and her family, Red follows the trail, alone and on her own time, to the small town of Nuria, Republic of Arizona. It's here that she meets the ruggedly handsome sheriff, Morgan Hunter.
Morgan Hunter can't believe his eyes when a beautiful unclaimed female waltzes into his dissecting lab. Although he is soon on guard after a slow body perusal alerts him to the black combat boots that are only issued to tactical team members. One thing he doesn't need right now is his town and lab raided by the International Police Tactical Team, but he also can't help but feel instantaneously intrigued by the woman standing before him. The urge to mark and claim her as his own becomes nearly overpowering but when he realizes that she has no idea who or what she is let alone himself, gives him pause. Who is Gina Santiago, and more importantly, what is she doing here?
Red learns real quick that there's something strange going on in the town of Nuria and Sheriff Hunter is definitely a part of it. One, she feels inexplicably and unnaturally drawn to the sexy sheriff. Two, the whole town seems to give Morgan Hunter differential treatment and not only because he's the sheriff. It appears as if one direct look from him has the recipient lowering their eyes before him. And three, he's definitely hiding something from her and she's determined to find out what that may be.
There is someone else besides Morgan that's interested in Gina Santiago and his fascination may just be the death of her.
As things heat up drastically between Red and Morgan, so does her suspicion of him. But Red may not be the only one capable of potential homicide. After awaking once again to find herself covered in blood, Red has her clothes analyzed and discovers something horrible. The blood on her clothes is not hers, but the blood of another mauled woman discovered after her arrival in Nuria. Has Red been killing and feasting on innocent women? And if so, why can't she remember having done it at all?
In addition, unbeknown to Red, Morgan has in fact claimed her as his mate with the evidence marked all over her well pleasured body. But how can he tell her that she's not the pure-blood that she's been led to believe and that she is now in fact mated to an alpha werewolf.
Ms. Summers did an excellent job of world building in her 'Dead World' series. The landscape is well detailed but not burdensome or distracting. The technology of her future was interesting yet not overly complex. And the romance was great. Summers is an obvious master of sexual tension and get ready for some scorching sex scenes when Morgan and Rad finally get together. Whew, Morgan is one smokin' HOT wolf! I really loved how when he decided to claim Red as his own, he would stand by her no matter if she was some how responsible for the recent killings (of which he isn't truly convinced that she dealt the death blow but she was involved somehow...). In addition, the novel had great pacing yet there was one draw back. I wanted more time with the H/h. Summers spends a lot of time in other POV's, including the numerous villains and this left me breezing through their commentary to get back to Red and Morgan. Otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable read.
March 17, 2018
Not a bad book if you like lots of sex, futurist intrigue, and the play on Red Riding Hood and the big bad Wolf. It was a decent story, totally guessed who the bad guy was after everything. Will be interesting to see what book two has in store though
January 31, 2021
The world building in this was really difficult to get through, I found myself just reading the words instead of being immersed in the story.
I liked the idea of the book, just felt the execution was lacking. Don’t think I’ll be in a rush to read the sequels.
I liked the idea of the book, just felt the execution was lacking. Don’t think I’ll be in a rush to read the sequels.
August 15, 2020
This is very graphic, with the gore and the sex. The hunt for the killer keeps you going to see who did it and the world set in the future after some kind of world war is interesting.
September 29, 2021
Random buy at a thrift store but actually ended up really enjoying it. Interesting world and fun read.
May 21, 2009
Over one-hundred years in the future, the world as we know it is no longer. Wars have ravaged the Earth and the United States has been broke apart. There is now an electromagnetic barbed fence that stretches across the southern half of North America bisecting what used to be such states as California, Arizona and New Mexico. This fence is to stop illegals from crossings into the formers states now know as republics. The illegals are called unknowns, unregistered individuals that must be eliminated on sight.
The old U.S. Government once tried to create a race of super soldiers, and once what only existed in myth is now a reality. The genetically engineered soldiers were unlike anything known to man and became immortal, thus becoming vampires. The last world war changed everything and these special individuals became known as Others. The government denied any involvement and began again making sure the human race became pure again. The Others tired to assimilate themselves in society, hidden among the true bloods. But there are Others who barely keep control and cause destruction wherever they go. And in the small town of Nuria, in the Republic of Arizona, women have gone missing, found tortured and half eaten by some sort of monster. Nuria’s Sheriff Morgan Hunter is on the case and will try his best to find the thing responsible. But what he doesn’t count on is an outsider to walk into his town and start her own investigation. Her name is Gina Santiago a.k.a. Red, and there is something special about Red that calls out to Morgan. Morgan also has a secret he must keep hidden because if found out, Nuria and the townspeople may be destroyed.
Gina is a Lieutenant for the International Police Tactical Team that her grandfather, Robert Santiago is in charge of. Gina has lived with her grandfather ever since her mother and sister were murdered. Gina has always felt like an outsider and very different from the other true bloods. Gina longs for structure in her life and doesn’t allow anyone to break through her emotional walls, except for her grandfather who thinks she is special. Gina has nightmares where she wakes up covered in sweat and blood. She has no clue where the blood has come from and why she is in different clothes from the ones she fell asleep in. Even though she is frightened, that still doesn’t stop her from doing her job, and when she comes upon a mutilated body of a woman in the Arizona desert, she feels the need to investigate even though she is told not to. Gina finds herself in Nuria and introduced to Morgan Hunter who makes her very uncomfortable. Gina can’t help but respond to Morgan sexually and he seems to reciprocate her feelings. But Gina is only in Nuria for a few days. What she doesn’t know is that she is the next target of this deranged individual who wants Gina as his mate and will stop at nothing to have her. Morgan and Gina team up, and as they begin to find the answers they need, more women are found dead in very gruesome ways. And then Gina is attacked and Morgan will now stop at nothing to find the one responsible and claim Gina as his own.
Jordan Summers’ RED takes an excellent twist on the old Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. It is the first book in Summers’ new series called the Dead World and I can forsee some great things to come with this series. Not only does this show an apocalyptic future with a multitude of other genres mixed in from paranormal to sci-fi and romance, but there is an intense murder mystery with a killer who is so deranged because of his animalistic type qualities. The first chapter grabs you by the throat in such a way that you will not want to stop reading for anything in the world.
Summer’s characters are very complex and conflicted, especially with Gina Santiago, the female protagonist of this tale who is very unique for reasons she doesn’t even understand. As the reader slowly finds out why these killings are taking place, we begin to understand who Gina Santiago is and what her future will entail. What I do know is who she will share her future with and that is Morgan, a worthy partner and lover. Morgan is also one who is not what he seems and there are many questions that arise about him. Summer is so skilled at her world-building and plotting, you truly do not know if Morgan or even Gina are the ones responsible for these murders.
The atmosphere of RED is dark and morbid, especially with very descriptive scenes of these poor women’s deaths. A bit disturbing but never the less, you will not want to stop reading, because there are so many twists and turns where you may just fall off your seat.
RED is one book you will not want to pass up on.
The old U.S. Government once tried to create a race of super soldiers, and once what only existed in myth is now a reality. The genetically engineered soldiers were unlike anything known to man and became immortal, thus becoming vampires. The last world war changed everything and these special individuals became known as Others. The government denied any involvement and began again making sure the human race became pure again. The Others tired to assimilate themselves in society, hidden among the true bloods. But there are Others who barely keep control and cause destruction wherever they go. And in the small town of Nuria, in the Republic of Arizona, women have gone missing, found tortured and half eaten by some sort of monster. Nuria’s Sheriff Morgan Hunter is on the case and will try his best to find the thing responsible. But what he doesn’t count on is an outsider to walk into his town and start her own investigation. Her name is Gina Santiago a.k.a. Red, and there is something special about Red that calls out to Morgan. Morgan also has a secret he must keep hidden because if found out, Nuria and the townspeople may be destroyed.
Gina is a Lieutenant for the International Police Tactical Team that her grandfather, Robert Santiago is in charge of. Gina has lived with her grandfather ever since her mother and sister were murdered. Gina has always felt like an outsider and very different from the other true bloods. Gina longs for structure in her life and doesn’t allow anyone to break through her emotional walls, except for her grandfather who thinks she is special. Gina has nightmares where she wakes up covered in sweat and blood. She has no clue where the blood has come from and why she is in different clothes from the ones she fell asleep in. Even though she is frightened, that still doesn’t stop her from doing her job, and when she comes upon a mutilated body of a woman in the Arizona desert, she feels the need to investigate even though she is told not to. Gina finds herself in Nuria and introduced to Morgan Hunter who makes her very uncomfortable. Gina can’t help but respond to Morgan sexually and he seems to reciprocate her feelings. But Gina is only in Nuria for a few days. What she doesn’t know is that she is the next target of this deranged individual who wants Gina as his mate and will stop at nothing to have her. Morgan and Gina team up, and as they begin to find the answers they need, more women are found dead in very gruesome ways. And then Gina is attacked and Morgan will now stop at nothing to find the one responsible and claim Gina as his own.
Jordan Summers’ RED takes an excellent twist on the old Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. It is the first book in Summers’ new series called the Dead World and I can forsee some great things to come with this series. Not only does this show an apocalyptic future with a multitude of other genres mixed in from paranormal to sci-fi and romance, but there is an intense murder mystery with a killer who is so deranged because of his animalistic type qualities. The first chapter grabs you by the throat in such a way that you will not want to stop reading for anything in the world.
Summer’s characters are very complex and conflicted, especially with Gina Santiago, the female protagonist of this tale who is very unique for reasons she doesn’t even understand. As the reader slowly finds out why these killings are taking place, we begin to understand who Gina Santiago is and what her future will entail. What I do know is who she will share her future with and that is Morgan, a worthy partner and lover. Morgan is also one who is not what he seems and there are many questions that arise about him. Summer is so skilled at her world-building and plotting, you truly do not know if Morgan or even Gina are the ones responsible for these murders.
The atmosphere of RED is dark and morbid, especially with very descriptive scenes of these poor women’s deaths. A bit disturbing but never the less, you will not want to stop reading, because there are so many twists and turns where you may just fall off your seat.
RED is one book you will not want to pass up on.
January 17, 2012
The premise of Red is meant to be a genre-bending romantic/sci-fi/urban fantasy version of Little Red Riding Hood. The tagline at the back of the book asks "What if Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf turned out to be the same person?" It's not so much a retelling as it is a new story using the fairy tale as an inspiration, although references do abound, at first subtle, then moving to more blatant shout-outs.
At its best, the prose is passable and doesn't detract from the story. At its worst... well. The first rule of writing sex scenes is if a descriptive word about your heroine's genitals could also be applied to a cave or a wound, don't use. Suffice it to say Red fails this particular bullet point on pretty well every level, although at least there was no reference to bears or prehistoric use.
There's also a tendancy to abuse the poor comma. Either Summers or her editor had to be receiving cash every time they used a comma, because there's really no need for the extra bit of punctuation in a sentence like "The streets were just as quiet, as when she'd left." It's distracting, and blatant comma abuse makes the punctuation look like book tears. Why would you want to make the book cry?
The mystery itself builds pretty well, as does the tension between Red and Morgan. Readers will no doubt realize where the story's going before the characters do, but to the heroine's credit, it's not so much that she's slow as that she's lacking sufficient proof to make the accusation. Once she finally does make the accusation (with circumstantial evidence only), Morgan does take her seriously, although he has every reason not to. Unfortunately, all this build-up flatlines around where we should get a climax, since the reader misses most of it. Morgan goes to confront the culprint... and immediately the viewpoint changes to Red, who's nowhere near. By the time she gets there, the big showdown is half over, and she misses most of what's left dealing with a secondary troublemaker. Granted, secondary troublemaker is clearly being set up as the main antagonist for book two, but he's dealt with so swiftly in Red that it's not worth the exchange to miss the main event.
Something else that should be noted about the point of view: it shifts from Morgan and Red, both covered in third person past tense (and with bits of head-hopping) to having the occasional chapter narrated by the killer in first person present tense. In fact, the book opens with the killer, and there are all manner of trigger warnings here. He sexually pursues a young woman, intending to claim her as his mate and winds up being more violent than he means to, killing her before he gets a chance to do anything else, although he's still satisfied on more than one level by the encounter. Naturally the shift to first person is to hide the identity of the killer as long as possible, although the shift from past to present tense and back again is a little harder to adjust to.
The integration of technology with aspects that are usually supernatural (but here are explained through science) was really well done. The world-building might actually be the best part of the book, although there's not a lot of detail about anything outside the immediate story. The details that are there are nicely done, and I would imagine more is explored in the following two books, as once Red discovers the truth about herself and her background, she'd be naturally inclined to do a bit more research.
At its best, the prose is passable and doesn't detract from the story. At its worst... well. The first rule of writing sex scenes is if a descriptive word about your heroine's genitals could also be applied to a cave or a wound, don't use. Suffice it to say Red fails this particular bullet point on pretty well every level, although at least there was no reference to bears or prehistoric use.
There's also a tendancy to abuse the poor comma. Either Summers or her editor had to be receiving cash every time they used a comma, because there's really no need for the extra bit of punctuation in a sentence like "The streets were just as quiet, as when she'd left." It's distracting, and blatant comma abuse makes the punctuation look like book tears. Why would you want to make the book cry?
The mystery itself builds pretty well, as does the tension between Red and Morgan. Readers will no doubt realize where the story's going before the characters do, but to the heroine's credit, it's not so much that she's slow as that she's lacking sufficient proof to make the accusation. Once she finally does make the accusation (with circumstantial evidence only), Morgan does take her seriously, although he has every reason not to. Unfortunately, all this build-up flatlines around where we should get a climax, since the reader misses most of it. Morgan goes to confront the culprint... and immediately the viewpoint changes to Red, who's nowhere near. By the time she gets there, the big showdown is half over, and she misses most of what's left dealing with a secondary troublemaker. Granted, secondary troublemaker is clearly being set up as the main antagonist for book two, but he's dealt with so swiftly in Red that it's not worth the exchange to miss the main event.
Something else that should be noted about the point of view: it shifts from Morgan and Red, both covered in third person past tense (and with bits of head-hopping) to having the occasional chapter narrated by the killer in first person present tense. In fact, the book opens with the killer, and there are all manner of trigger warnings here. He sexually pursues a young woman, intending to claim her as his mate and winds up being more violent than he means to, killing her before he gets a chance to do anything else, although he's still satisfied on more than one level by the encounter. Naturally the shift to first person is to hide the identity of the killer as long as possible, although the shift from past to present tense and back again is a little harder to adjust to.
The integration of technology with aspects that are usually supernatural (but here are explained through science) was really well done. The world-building might actually be the best part of the book, although there's not a lot of detail about anything outside the immediate story. The details that are there are nicely done, and I would imagine more is explored in the following two books, as once Red discovers the truth about herself and her background, she'd be naturally inclined to do a bit more research.
July 17, 2014
As I read the summary for "Red," I realized that this might be a really good read for me. Then I saw the 3 star reviews and became concerned. However, after I saw a 5 Star rating from one of my Goodreads friends, my mind was made up.
"Red" is a dystopian paranormal fantasy involving a female officer, Gina Santiago, aka Red who is with the IPTT (International Paranormal Tactical Team). One thing hasn't changed in this dystopian world of the future, strong, capable women are still looked down upon by their male counterparts. As a matter of fact, Red's take no prisoner attitude is what has given her the nickname because criminals refuse to give up around her and they end up bloodied and dead.
While once again taking down the bad guys, Red stumbles upon a second crime scene involving the grizzly murder of a woman near the border town the Republic of Arizona known as Nuria. Red wants to investigate future but her Chief and grandfather demands she closes out the case as an animal attack. So Red, takes some time off to investigate on her own.
When Red enters Nuria she us surprised by the friendliness of its residents. Then. she meets the Sheriff, Morgan Hunter and experience an attraction like nothing she has ever experienced before. Morgan is just as smitten but plays it cool because he does not want the IPTT to stumble upon his and the town's secret. He must keep his feelings at bay and get Red out of there as quickly as possible. He doesn't want her to know that he also has stumbled on a ravaged body of a woman.
As Morgan and Nuria tap dance around each other, the political climate is changing and a political hopeful, Rourke is spouting rhetoric about racial purity and the need to eliminate the others (Vamps etc). Yet, Red will more to deal with than just avenging the life of the murdered woman when the killer turns his sights on her.
Most of the reviews I read that were 2 and 3 stars was because the reviewers were not crazy about the paranormal world. This is my favorite genre so this book was right up my alley. The world building was great with the POV changing from that of Gina and the killer. I loved the intrigue and was actually surprised to discover who the killer is. The sex and chemistry between Gina and Morgan was off the charts.
This read has a small connection to the Little Red Riding Hood story and I will admit that I felt it was a bit cheesy. The storyline really didn't need the connection to make this a good read. The plot would stand up well without it. There is plenty of action and I should warn you that at times the author throws in some fairly dark subject matter. So, if this bothers you take note. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one.
"Red" is a dystopian paranormal fantasy involving a female officer, Gina Santiago, aka Red who is with the IPTT (International Paranormal Tactical Team). One thing hasn't changed in this dystopian world of the future, strong, capable women are still looked down upon by their male counterparts. As a matter of fact, Red's take no prisoner attitude is what has given her the nickname because criminals refuse to give up around her and they end up bloodied and dead.
While once again taking down the bad guys, Red stumbles upon a second crime scene involving the grizzly murder of a woman near the border town the Republic of Arizona known as Nuria. Red wants to investigate future but her Chief and grandfather demands she closes out the case as an animal attack. So Red, takes some time off to investigate on her own.
When Red enters Nuria she us surprised by the friendliness of its residents. Then. she meets the Sheriff, Morgan Hunter and experience an attraction like nothing she has ever experienced before. Morgan is just as smitten but plays it cool because he does not want the IPTT to stumble upon his and the town's secret. He must keep his feelings at bay and get Red out of there as quickly as possible. He doesn't want her to know that he also has stumbled on a ravaged body of a woman.
As Morgan and Nuria tap dance around each other, the political climate is changing and a political hopeful, Rourke is spouting rhetoric about racial purity and the need to eliminate the others (Vamps etc). Yet, Red will more to deal with than just avenging the life of the murdered woman when the killer turns his sights on her.
Most of the reviews I read that were 2 and 3 stars was because the reviewers were not crazy about the paranormal world. This is my favorite genre so this book was right up my alley. The world building was great with the POV changing from that of Gina and the killer. I loved the intrigue and was actually surprised to discover who the killer is. The sex and chemistry between Gina and Morgan was off the charts.
This read has a small connection to the Little Red Riding Hood story and I will admit that I felt it was a bit cheesy. The storyline really didn't need the connection to make this a good read. The plot would stand up well without it. There is plenty of action and I should warn you that at times the author throws in some fairly dark subject matter. So, if this bothers you take note. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one.
December 31, 2009
¿Qué puedo decir de un libro que me tuvo en tensión sólo en las últimas páginas, incluso cuando ya sabía antes que los protas, quién era el asesino en potencia?
Es un libro interesante, pero tiene algunos fallos, que personalmente le restan muchos puntos a la valoración general.
El mundo y los personajes que ha creado Jordan Summers traen consigo algo que me atrajo: crudeza . Y es que hasta ahora no había leído sobre hombres lobo, fuera del género de terror, que se presentaran más como animales que como humanos. Una falta que tienen la mayoría de las novelas de romántica paranormal o de urban fantasy. Cito la más reciente que he leído: Cry Wolf.
Lamentablemente es lo único que la salva de ser una novela horrorosa, quedándose en la categoría de pasable. Summers es una autora que no vale para la trama política, pasándola de refilón, y que no sirve más que para rellenar algunas páginas, haciéndola totalmente prescindible. La trama de suspense peca de simplona. No tiene originalidad alguna y también está llevada con prisas. Desde que aparece el asesino, no como tal, sino con su identidad pública, ya empiezas a sospechar, y a mitad del libro ya lo sabes con certeza. Aparte de que la psicología del asesino es una especie de Doctor Jekyll y Mr. Hyde, donde tan pronto te cuenta que la mujer es la elegida, la perfecta, única en el mundo, que el destino les ha unido y paridas varias, y de repente se pone a pensar en tirársela en plan guarro.
La verdad es que hubo dos o tres escenas de estas que me dejaron flipada por lo incongruente que eran.Por si fuera poco, Summers decidió dar rienda suelta a su vena eroticopornofestiva, eso o se coló de novela y pensó que estaba escribiendo una para la cueva de Ellora porque la escena (y siento el spoiler) en la que Red está masturbándose en su habitación pensando en el sherif, sin saber que él la esta observando, sobra.El final del libro se queda abierto, y de hecho la sinopsis del segundo volumen de la serie titulado "Scarlet", incluye varios spoilers sobre lo que ocurre en este primero.Un apunte más antes de terminar. En la portada aparece una cita:"What if Little Red Ridding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf turned out to be the same person?La relación del cuento de la Caperucita roja con los asesinatos está muy pillada por los pelos.Al libro le daría un 5 pelao. Me quedo con la eufórica sensación de haber conseguido acabarla, y de haber disfrutado con el principio y el final de la novela. Lo del medio es mejor olvidarlo.
Es un libro interesante, pero tiene algunos fallos, que personalmente le restan muchos puntos a la valoración general.
El mundo y los personajes que ha creado Jordan Summers traen consigo algo que me atrajo: crudeza . Y es que hasta ahora no había leído sobre hombres lobo, fuera del género de terror, que se presentaran más como animales que como humanos. Una falta que tienen la mayoría de las novelas de romántica paranormal o de urban fantasy. Cito la más reciente que he leído: Cry Wolf.
Lamentablemente es lo único que la salva de ser una novela horrorosa, quedándose en la categoría de pasable. Summers es una autora que no vale para la trama política, pasándola de refilón, y que no sirve más que para rellenar algunas páginas, haciéndola totalmente prescindible. La trama de suspense peca de simplona. No tiene originalidad alguna y también está llevada con prisas. Desde que aparece el asesino, no como tal, sino con su identidad pública, ya empiezas a sospechar, y a mitad del libro ya lo sabes con certeza. Aparte de que la psicología del asesino es una especie de Doctor Jekyll y Mr. Hyde, donde tan pronto te cuenta que la mujer es la elegida, la perfecta, única en el mundo, que el destino les ha unido y paridas varias, y de repente se pone a pensar en tirársela en plan guarro.
La verdad es que hubo dos o tres escenas de estas que me dejaron flipada por lo incongruente que eran.Por si fuera poco, Summers decidió dar rienda suelta a su vena eroticopornofestiva, eso o se coló de novela y pensó que estaba escribiendo una para la cueva de Ellora porque la escena (y siento el spoiler) en la que Red está masturbándose en su habitación pensando en el sherif, sin saber que él la esta observando, sobra.El final del libro se queda abierto, y de hecho la sinopsis del segundo volumen de la serie titulado "Scarlet", incluye varios spoilers sobre lo que ocurre en este primero.Un apunte más antes de terminar. En la portada aparece una cita:"What if Little Red Ridding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf turned out to be the same person?La relación del cuento de la Caperucita roja con los asesinatos está muy pillada por los pelos.Al libro le daría un 5 pelao. Me quedo con la eufórica sensación de haber conseguido acabarla, y de haber disfrutado con el principio y el final de la novela. Lo del medio es mejor olvidarlo.
March 13, 2016
Red starts out a little bit gruesomely--the first chapter is told from the killer's POV as he stalks and ultimately rips a woman apart in a deluded belief that she is his 'One', his 'mate'. The fact that she tears apart so easily and dies fazes him only slightly, he just figures there is someone better out there after all.
The book alternates like that--we have a mostly third person POV (either from Morgan or Gina's perspective), but occasional chapters are from the killer's first person POV, especially as we get closer to learning the truth of who he is exactly. I liked that--it gave us a sense of who, or rather what, we were dealing with and later when its revealed who it is, helps to round out the character development so as not to seem like it came out of left field.
Overall I had few problems with the book--it did get a little redundant with both Morgan and Gina constantly thinking about how much they wanted to have sex with the other and the list of reasons why they shouldn't or should wait. It didn't help that Gina was largely clueless about herself and her true nature while Morgan (and the entire rest of the town) was not. While Gina was being Gina, Morgan (and the other Others, or paranormals, in town) saw the subtle meaning behind certain gestures she made. Baring her neck to him, backing down in a fight, fierce protectiveness. It made for some interesting reading.
Guessing who the killer is should either be really simple and a 'I knew I was right' moment or a confusing 'really? but I thought...?' moment. I had a little of both. I guessed correctly, but was left confused as to the killer's ability to remain so...not crazed. Reading the killer's POV chapters should make you think this guy was off his rocker and should be caught sooner rather then later, but not so much. Gina is the catalyst in so many ways and for so many plans and people.
My one true gripe with the book is near the end when Gina goes to talk to her grandfather about a sensitive matter. I didn't recognize her at all. The strong, independent, fierce and capable chick was suddenly replaced with a juvenile trying to deny that she had been caught cheating on a test. If I could have slapped her, I would have. Hard. Then run far far away when she pulled a gun or knife on me. I realize that her world was shattering in a matter of moments, but it seemed too overdone to me.
The book alternates like that--we have a mostly third person POV (either from Morgan or Gina's perspective), but occasional chapters are from the killer's first person POV, especially as we get closer to learning the truth of who he is exactly. I liked that--it gave us a sense of who, or rather what, we were dealing with and later when its revealed who it is, helps to round out the character development so as not to seem like it came out of left field.
Overall I had few problems with the book--it did get a little redundant with both Morgan and Gina constantly thinking about how much they wanted to have sex with the other and the list of reasons why they shouldn't or should wait. It didn't help that Gina was largely clueless about herself and her true nature while Morgan (and the entire rest of the town) was not. While Gina was being Gina, Morgan (and the other Others, or paranormals, in town) saw the subtle meaning behind certain gestures she made. Baring her neck to him, backing down in a fight, fierce protectiveness. It made for some interesting reading.
Guessing who the killer is should either be really simple and a 'I knew I was right' moment or a confusing 'really? but I thought...?' moment. I had a little of both. I guessed correctly, but was left confused as to the killer's ability to remain so...not crazed. Reading the killer's POV chapters should make you think this guy was off his rocker and should be caught sooner rather then later, but not so much. Gina is the catalyst in so many ways and for so many plans and people.
My one true gripe with the book is near the end when Gina goes to talk to her grandfather about a sensitive matter. I didn't recognize her at all. The strong, independent, fierce and capable chick was suddenly replaced with a juvenile trying to deny that she had been caught cheating on a test. If I could have slapped her, I would have. Hard. Then run far far away when she pulled a gun or knife on me. I realize that her world was shattering in a matter of moments, but it seemed too overdone to me.
July 31, 2025
Gina has never really belonged. Losing her parents at a young age she gravitated to her only living relative, her grandfather, it’s only natural that she become a special agent. She’s good at her job, which it killing bad guys but the problem is, she’s also good at getting her teammates killed. She’s not exactly a popular person.
Now she’s convinced there’s a predator on the loose killing and mutilating young women. And the trail has led her to a small town in the middle of nowhere run by a sheriff far too handsome for his own good.
Morgan is shocked when the beautiful woman wonders into the wolf’s den (literally). An unmated and rare female werewolf isn’t something he can pass up but what really attracts him is how vulnerable she is. Despite her hard shell, he can see she’s lost and alone in the world and everything inside him wants her close. Problem is, she’s a mess he can’t afford. An agent looking into recent murders, he’s been covering up to protect his pack, can mean the slaughter of his whole town who happen to be werewolves, a thing the agency will eliminate in a heartbeat.
But as they get closer and closer together, Morgan gets closer and closer to telling Gina who and what she really is. Even if he risks losing her forever.
This book wasn’t what I was expecting but in a good way. It has the cover of an urban fantasy and there were definite elements of that genre but it had a lot more romance to it as well which I liked. Gina was a good character. Kind and vulnerable but persistent and intelligent. Morgan was also Alpha when he needed to be but at the same time patient and jovial. I thought they made a good pair.
There was a heavy side plot of this story which kind of distracted from time spent on relationship development but I didn’t mind it because the main characters were so sexually charged every time they were together.
Now she’s convinced there’s a predator on the loose killing and mutilating young women. And the trail has led her to a small town in the middle of nowhere run by a sheriff far too handsome for his own good.
Morgan is shocked when the beautiful woman wonders into the wolf’s den (literally). An unmated and rare female werewolf isn’t something he can pass up but what really attracts him is how vulnerable she is. Despite her hard shell, he can see she’s lost and alone in the world and everything inside him wants her close. Problem is, she’s a mess he can’t afford. An agent looking into recent murders, he’s been covering up to protect his pack, can mean the slaughter of his whole town who happen to be werewolves, a thing the agency will eliminate in a heartbeat.
But as they get closer and closer together, Morgan gets closer and closer to telling Gina who and what she really is. Even if he risks losing her forever.
This book wasn’t what I was expecting but in a good way. It has the cover of an urban fantasy and there were definite elements of that genre but it had a lot more romance to it as well which I liked. Gina was a good character. Kind and vulnerable but persistent and intelligent. Morgan was also Alpha when he needed to be but at the same time patient and jovial. I thought they made a good pair.
There was a heavy side plot of this story which kind of distracted from time spent on relationship development but I didn’t mind it because the main characters were so sexually charged every time they were together.
September 23, 2011
After being utterly disappointed by the Servant Series written by L.L. Foster, I was so hesitant to this series that I completely forgot about it until I was recently cleaning out my shelves. It was a spur of the moment decision to read it instead of just giving it away: I couldn’t put the book down.
At first, I cringed when it came off as another paranormal romance where the lead female, Red, is strong and independent to the point of annoyance. I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. The beginning does show her to be quite capable of taking care of herself, but Summers does not make her a one woman army. Summers also gives Red very human female emotions. Red does not close herself off from the world and her emotions, she gets scared, angry, sexually frustrated, all without fighting said emotions. It was so refreshing, I almost cried.
Not only that but Morgan, the lead male protagonist, was not so overbearingly male that it hurt. Yes, he did try to take control of investigation, only so Red would not figure his big secret out. That was completely believable, as was his alpha male attitude that did not completely run his life. I liked that Summers did not make Morgan the be all the end all male that most male protagonists usually are. She made his cousin Kane, more attractive, but Red still feel for Morgan, another scenario so rare to paranormal romance.
The only issue I had with this novel is that it is placed in the near future with great advancements in technology. While I enjoyed the world that Summers created, it was sometime hard to follow or understand the technology and government. I gathered enough that it did not hinder the enjoyment of the story.
At first, I cringed when it came off as another paranormal romance where the lead female, Red, is strong and independent to the point of annoyance. I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. The beginning does show her to be quite capable of taking care of herself, but Summers does not make her a one woman army. Summers also gives Red very human female emotions. Red does not close herself off from the world and her emotions, she gets scared, angry, sexually frustrated, all without fighting said emotions. It was so refreshing, I almost cried.
Not only that but Morgan, the lead male protagonist, was not so overbearingly male that it hurt. Yes, he did try to take control of investigation, only so Red would not figure his big secret out. That was completely believable, as was his alpha male attitude that did not completely run his life. I liked that Summers did not make Morgan the be all the end all male that most male protagonists usually are. She made his cousin Kane, more attractive, but Red still feel for Morgan, another scenario so rare to paranormal romance.
The only issue I had with this novel is that it is placed in the near future with great advancements in technology. While I enjoyed the world that Summers created, it was sometime hard to follow or understand the technology and government. I gathered enough that it did not hinder the enjoyment of the story.
December 1, 2010
This is another book that has been sitting on my shelf for awhile. It's a gritty, futuristic, post-apocalyptic, murder mystery style PNR that reads more like a UF.
Gina Santiago, aka "Red", is a member of an elite tactical team responsible for tracking down the worst of criminals in this post-apocalyptic world. When a gruesome murder case wraps up a little too easily for Gina's tastes, she decides to further investigate. Her investigation leads her to sexy sheriff, Morgan Hunter as well as some truths about herself she may not yet be willing to face.
I LOVED this book. Something about the slow unraveling of Gina's background combined with the murder mystery, the post-apocalyptic setting, and the sexy hero totally hit all the right spots. There was a little weird thing where most of the book was written in 3rd person, but the killer's POV was 1st, but that didn't bother me past the first couple scenes. There's also one lose plot piece at the end that I wish was tied up, but maybe that happens in the next book.
Speaking of next books - so far there seem to be two more out: Scarlet & Crimson. And they're definitely on my wishlist. :-)
Gina Santiago, aka "Red", is a member of an elite tactical team responsible for tracking down the worst of criminals in this post-apocalyptic world. When a gruesome murder case wraps up a little too easily for Gina's tastes, she decides to further investigate. Her investigation leads her to sexy sheriff, Morgan Hunter as well as some truths about herself she may not yet be willing to face.
I LOVED this book. Something about the slow unraveling of Gina's background combined with the murder mystery, the post-apocalyptic setting, and the sexy hero totally hit all the right spots. There was a little weird thing where most of the book was written in 3rd person, but the killer's POV was 1st, but that didn't bother me past the first couple scenes. There's also one lose plot piece at the end that I wish was tied up, but maybe that happens in the next book.
Speaking of next books - so far there seem to be two more out: Scarlet & Crimson. And they're definitely on my wishlist. :-)
February 19, 2011
Gina Santiago, known as ‘Red’ not for her hair but for the blood spilled in many of her cases, holds tenuously to a position on an elite tactical team inside the Republic of Arizona. She patrols a world ravaged by war, with 'Purebloods' and ‘Others’ sharing a bleak existence. When bloody nightmares awaken Red to the reality she may be something quite different than her fellow tactical team members, she enters the domain of an ‘Alpha’ other named Morgan Hunter, trying to find answers to bizarre mutilations blamed on animal attacks.
Morgan Hunter is the sheriff of Nuria. Nuria’s denizens don’t pretend vampires, werewolves, and ‘unknowns’ don’t exist. Hunter suspects the mutilated bodies showing up aren’t victims of feral animals. When Red arrives in Nuria looking for answers, Hunter knows he has found a mate. The unlikely pair work at cross purposes until danger and an irresistible attraction force them together on the trail of a deadly killer. Jordan Summers blends paranormal creatures and romance together in a seamless adventure where pleasure must be taken wherever it can be found in the savage land.
Morgan Hunter is the sheriff of Nuria. Nuria’s denizens don’t pretend vampires, werewolves, and ‘unknowns’ don’t exist. Hunter suspects the mutilated bodies showing up aren’t victims of feral animals. When Red arrives in Nuria looking for answers, Hunter knows he has found a mate. The unlikely pair work at cross purposes until danger and an irresistible attraction force them together on the trail of a deadly killer. Jordan Summers blends paranormal creatures and romance together in a seamless adventure where pleasure must be taken wherever it can be found in the savage land.
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