Rose Red

by Stephanie Van Orman

You can't buy a girl!

But in the year 2214, you can. She can whip you into shape, design your diet, be your personal stylist, and turn you from geek to chic in just one year.

After buying a model at Sleeping Beauty Inc. your life will never be the same. But what will happen when the model Harrison buys isn't exactly what he bargained for?

269 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2010

About the author

Stephanie Van Orman is a Canadian novelist from the Alberta prairie. She now lives on Vancouver Island with her husband, children, and cat.

Reviews

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my full review: https://www.mayasbookshelves.com/rose...

As someone who isn’t super into sci-fi, I was a little worried about this read and how I would enjoy it. The synopsis sounded like my cup of tea, and I was pleased to see that it actually was while I was reading the book.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice, love story set in a techy future. The purchasing and selling of humans is the biggest red flag, if that doesn't turn you away they you should be in for a nice light romance novella. The style is nothing absurdly amazing but it is well written and I have no complaints. Some of the perspective changes between Paige and Harrison were not very apparent at first glance but nothing that would cause too much issue. The story is interesting and lighthearted with some intrigue and twists. It has the fun slice of life aspects along with the family/ex drama. My only complaint is that the ending/post-resolution was extremely short. The system for the selling of humans was well thought out and intriguing. It created a system that could represent slavery, empowerment, prostitution and romance all at the same time. It was both creepy/sleazy as well as high class and I very much enjoyed the concept. The character development is wonderful with depth and growth of both main characters as well as supporting characters. The characters have issues to work through, backstory to unveil, and personalities to fall in love with.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly didn't know what to think of the book by the description, but I was taken by surprise and loved it. The twists and plot line kept me interested and the ending drama was totally unexpected! I was floored by what I read, but it made sense with the way the story flowed along. I will say out of the whole book my favorite parts were when they worked on fixing the house up with the sander always in her hands, it was sweet and she loved that one tool the most! haha But I would defiantly recommend this book as a good one to read! I am never disappointed when I read one of Orman's books, she is a very talented author. AMAZING book and well worth reading

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great sci-fi romance.. I really liked it.. It is sweet, fun, and entertaining.. Wonderful characters...

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Anuschka-Marie' · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book surprised me. Had twists and an interesting plot. I didn't expect that ending. I really enjoyed reading this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Wysteria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kept finding this book on Booksprout and finally got it but…

Personally I was under the impression that this was about robots, since the cover has a robot on it, but when I was reading it they explicitly said that the girls aren’t robots. So basically this is about girls in slavery. Once I realized that’s what it was about I was really hoping the whole slavery thing would be downplayed but no.

I assumed the plot was more like this:

Man buys robot to help him out. Robot learns about humanity and falls in love with him and him with her in the process.

What the story is actually about:

Girl is sold in slavery for debt. No one wants her. Man buys her for life. If she leaves he is alerted. Man buys her for job which I felt much better about since basically he is paying her to do her job.

I felt like the entire story was just about a girl who had been severely abused by men.

This is really more of a mystery since Paige (Rose Red)’s memory has been wiped and they are trying to figure out who did it and why.

I don’t think Harrison is very nice to her. Clearly in the beginning he is looking at other women hoping to have them or buy them. He told Rose Red what to do all the time. He even set her boundaries on where she could go.

It was cute how they renovated the house together and her love of the sander and the color yellow!

I did feel like there were a lot of loose ends since there were still a lot of people in slavery.

Even though it wasn’t the story I had thought it was I felt like the author did a good job making me want to turn the page.

Content: kissing, at the end she does say that Harrison is severely under-dressed beside her in bed but that is it, there is an illness going around called M.T.N. where you lose function of your body and die, and there is a lot of talk about how Rose Red (Paige) was abused but emotionally and physically abused in general.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Zo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hooked from the beginning

Book was free so I didn't have high expectations but could not stop reading once I started.
Future world is not too dark or too perfect. Main characters are likeable and have distinct personalities. And I totally loved that I did not know what was going to happen next. Only as with all their challenges and twists I wanted them to get a HEA so much, but how?
New fan recommends this book!