Oooh you guys, Red by Alyxandra Harvey is a beautiful, ominously dark, and thrilling read set in a CASTLE. *swoon* I love books set in castles, they are so exciting since they always hold deep secrets and usually house a young and handsome guy worthy of falling in love with, like in this one, yay!
At first I thought this book was based on Little Red Riding Hood’s fairytale because a) the title Red and b) the girl in the cover with a red dress in the woods kind of hint on that, but as I read the summary and immersed myself into the story, I found out that it was a different storyline altogether. However, this book does read itself like a fairytale. It has magic, mythical and fantastical creatures, the before mentioned ominous setting, and basically almost every other element that defines them as such. Very cool, and creepy at times too!
The main character, Kia Alcott, was an interesting person and one whose personality I’m not exactly used of meeting. She’s dark and temperamental, a natural troublemaker thanks to her ability to wield fire, but cool enough to not pass off as arrogant or a dis-likable person. She’s actually quite nice and smart, though I doubt we’d ever be close friends if we had the chance to meet in person. Still, I liked her company and was rooting for her to come out alive from the dreary situations she got herself into.
But as much as I liked Kia, I couldn’t help but love Ethan’s character more. I was thrilled to be able to read from his point of view because he’s the type of character that leads a life with a double personality (or more) just to hide his true self. He comes off as the cocky rich guy, but is a complete sweetheart beneath the facade. He’s a brokenhearted boy who’s had a hard life as the son of a crazy person who’s bent on making sure all the kids of those in the Cabal keep up with the tradition- of slaying monsters or locking them up to study.
The overall plot is crazily chaotic, but good, and it has unexpected twists to keep the book entertaining ’til the very end. The author did a great job in combining so many elements and I liked that she wasn’t afraid of taking things a step further. The ending of Red, although a bit cheesy, was a nice enough way to wrap things up while leaving room for a sequel which I’m hoping will be written. It has to be. I need to see how things develop between Kia & Ethan plus to learn more about Kia’s ability. I’ll be crossing fingers.
As a final note, all I have left to say is that Red is one awesome read and I think you shouldn’t overlook it. You’ll probably end up liking it as much as I did once you read it! *wink*
P.S. Happy release day, Red! I love, love, LOVE your pretty cover.
Thanks for the review! I am SO going to have to read this now. Happy book birthday to Alyxandra! I looooove the cover. So delightfully creepy and moody. 🙂
I hope you end up loving it too! I wish I had this beauty in my bookshelf, it's so pretty to look at. 😉
This sounds like a treat. I have to add this to my TBR! Thanks for sharing and thanks for the great review!:)
You're very welcome. 🙂
You're very welcome. 🙂