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pause_theframe's review
5.0
My Thoughts:
This book was absolutely superb! The detail, characters, storyline and cover all wrapped together to really make this an exceptional YA book. I loved the darkness in the story, mixed with the romance, plus a bit of fun. It reminds me of one of my favourite YA authors - Sasha Hibbs. Just like her books, the dark and the light are both blended together to support the story and the characters have both depth and personality. There is so much to the story, well beyond what you see at first glance.
The story begins with a girl who is part of the paranormal - she is able to burn things, when her emotions are burning as well. Her fire power is seen as a burden by her family, so she is sent off to live with her grandmother, where things are odd, creepy and steeped with the supernatural...coincidence? I'm thinking not!
Soon, Kia learns that her power of the red is more than a burden. In the right moments, it can be a gift, possibly even a life-saver. She meets Ethan - who is, himself, shrouded in a dark evil, blackness. He is strange, distant and rude. However, we soon come to discover there is so much more to him. As we glimpse into the real Ethan, we begin to see that the woods and the Blackwood family itself has more darkness than poor Kia can even begin to imagine.
As she starts to fall for the only one she didn't expect to, will she have to choose between what she should do and the one she loves?
I thought the characters were fantastic. Kia was a strong, smart and inquiring young lady. She doesn't just take what is on the surface. After discovering her power, she understand wholly that sometimes people are what they appear. She learns to piece together the real world around her and we watch as she grows even stronger as a young woman. Ethan is also excellent. I love the level of detail that was put into his character, with the layers of emotion, secret and pain that he has wrapped round him. I didn't expect him to come out being the character he did, and it left me in an odd state - do I trust him/don't I, Do I like him/Is he a jerk?
The pace of the story was brilliant. It kept me intrigued and very much pulled into the story, the entire time. I was able to have breaking moments, to take in the detail and enjoy the romance, but there were plentiful faster paced moments, to give me a great feel for the urgency in the situation. I loved the darkness that was woven into the tale, as it really made the story for me. I love a good, dark read.
Overall, this story was excellent. I enjoyed it very much and would highly recommend it to YA readers who enjoy a dark paranormal read, with a side of romance and a heap of brilliance!
This book was absolutely superb! The detail, characters, storyline and cover all wrapped together to really make this an exceptional YA book. I loved the darkness in the story, mixed with the romance, plus a bit of fun. It reminds me of one of my favourite YA authors - Sasha Hibbs. Just like her books, the dark and the light are both blended together to support the story and the characters have both depth and personality. There is so much to the story, well beyond what you see at first glance.
The story begins with a girl who is part of the paranormal - she is able to burn things, when her emotions are burning as well. Her fire power is seen as a burden by her family, so she is sent off to live with her grandmother, where things are odd, creepy and steeped with the supernatural...coincidence? I'm thinking not!
Soon, Kia learns that her power of the red is more than a burden. In the right moments, it can be a gift, possibly even a life-saver. She meets Ethan - who is, himself, shrouded in a dark evil, blackness. He is strange, distant and rude. However, we soon come to discover there is so much more to him. As we glimpse into the real Ethan, we begin to see that the woods and the Blackwood family itself has more darkness than poor Kia can even begin to imagine.
As she starts to fall for the only one she didn't expect to, will she have to choose between what she should do and the one she loves?
I thought the characters were fantastic. Kia was a strong, smart and inquiring young lady. She doesn't just take what is on the surface. After discovering her power, she understand wholly that sometimes people are what they appear. She learns to piece together the real world around her and we watch as she grows even stronger as a young woman. Ethan is also excellent. I love the level of detail that was put into his character, with the layers of emotion, secret and pain that he has wrapped round him. I didn't expect him to come out being the character he did, and it left me in an odd state - do I trust him/don't I, Do I like him/Is he a jerk?
The pace of the story was brilliant. It kept me intrigued and very much pulled into the story, the entire time. I was able to have breaking moments, to take in the detail and enjoy the romance, but there were plentiful faster paced moments, to give me a great feel for the urgency in the situation. I loved the darkness that was woven into the tale, as it really made the story for me. I love a good, dark read.
Overall, this story was excellent. I enjoyed it very much and would highly recommend it to YA readers who enjoy a dark paranormal read, with a side of romance and a heap of brilliance!
amethystbookwyrm's review
4.0
Thanks to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for giving me this book to review
Kai always gets into trouble, partly because of her fiery temper and partly because she can start fires just by thinking. After the latest incident causes Kai to lose her best friend and be kicked out of school, she is sent to live with her grandmother, who works for the wealthy Blackwoods family. At the Blackwoods estate nothing is normal and everything is shrouded in secrets including the mysterious and sexy Ethan Blackwood. Kai soon realises that her fire starting ability is far from the most dangerous thing on the Blackwoods estate.
Red is a really enjoyable new book from Alyxandra Harvey. It is fast paced with a good balance between action, suspense and romance. The POV is from both Kai and Ethan, but the book is a bit too predictable and was a bit confusing as some things were not full explained.
Kai is a mouthy, stubborn and curious girl who is easy to empathise with as she is misunderstood and never gives up. There are a lot of different sides to Ethan as he is strong, loyal and protective but can sometimes be snobby and has a darker side. I really liked Sloane as she was a good friend.
I enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to the next book in this series. I would recommend Red to fans of Alyxandra Harvey’s other books.
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
Kai always gets into trouble, partly because of her fiery temper and partly because she can start fires just by thinking. After the latest incident causes Kai to lose her best friend and be kicked out of school, she is sent to live with her grandmother, who works for the wealthy Blackwoods family. At the Blackwoods estate nothing is normal and everything is shrouded in secrets including the mysterious and sexy Ethan Blackwood. Kai soon realises that her fire starting ability is far from the most dangerous thing on the Blackwoods estate.
Red is a really enjoyable new book from Alyxandra Harvey. It is fast paced with a good balance between action, suspense and romance. The POV is from both Kai and Ethan, but the book is a bit too predictable and was a bit confusing as some things were not full explained.
Kai is a mouthy, stubborn and curious girl who is easy to empathise with as she is misunderstood and never gives up. There are a lot of different sides to Ethan as he is strong, loyal and protective but can sometimes be snobby and has a darker side. I really liked Sloane as she was a good friend.
I enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to the next book in this series. I would recommend Red to fans of Alyxandra Harvey’s other books.
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
thepaperreels's review against another edition
3.0
"The more magic you used to keep monsters away, the more monsters were drawn to you. It was a delicate balance. Who knew what else had already gotten out?"
So this is the first book I read from Alyxandra and I cannot wait to check out her other books. Red was a little bit of everything which is very awesome to read. Drama, action, romance and intrigue. You can say that its jam packed.
I'm a fan of books that keeps leaving me mystified every chapter. And that's just what Harvey did. I kept guessing, kept getting intrigued and I enjoyed every moment of it. The moment Kia was left to enter the Blackwood property, you just know that something sketchy is going on. The way Harvey described Kia's feelings and environment gave me chills. There's a creepy and eerie factor that you can't easily shake off.
Kia was a blast. She's such a girl on fire (literally) and I enjoyed her sassiness and spunky-ness. You can't not like a who knows how to stay on her ground. She doesn't take crap from anybody and I admire that about her. Ethan, on the other hand brought me headache. He is hot and cold. But I can't deny the fact the Ethan is such a well written character. Its not that his all over the place, but he surprises you. I love the whole mystery that surrounded him even though it frustrated me for a bit.
Secondary characters can't be missed as well. Absolutely well written and no one was a prop (I hated those) Each and every character played a part that lead the book to its greatness.
I'm a big fan of the romance! No insta-love, no high school crap that went down (maybe a little) and the whole thing made sense and progressed accordingly. What I mean by that is that it may be slow.. but it was sweet and worth the wait. Sparks flyin' and by the end I can't get enough of them.
I'm not sure if this is a series or not. Things ending that way is okay.. but following it up, in my opinion, would be so much better! Overall, I was deeply satisfied with Red. Totally not a book that you wanna miss out regardless of the book genre that you read because like I said, it has a little bit of everything!
bookfever's review against another edition
4.0
It's been two years since I read a book written by Alyxandra Harvey. I've always been a huge fan of hers but due to to many other books her books that I still have to read got put aside for a while. So I'm so glad I got to read this new book of hers because it reminded me of how much I adore her books. And I couldn't get over how good this book was. It might not quite be five stars but it's absolutely a solid four stars for me!
After Kia Alcott gets expelled from her school for starting a fire and burning her best friend, her father —not knowing his daughter did it with her mind by accident —sends Kia away to live with her grandmother who lives and works for the Blackwoods at a huge estate. The closer Kia gets to Ethan Blackwood the more freaky things start happening. It's then that Kia starts to unravel the secrets of the estate, the cabal that Ethan unwillingly is a part of and the surrounding woods.
Alyxandra Harvey always has a knack for writing awesome female characters. Kia is no exception. She's snarky, fun to read about and wants to find out what's going on + she's a freaking firestarter. Can't get more badass than that!
Ethan was also a great character to read about. Him and Kia have both alternating points of few. I must admit I wasn't into Ethan's POV right away. I mean, it was interesting to get inside his head and read about the world he grew up in but initially I just wanted to keep reading about Kia. But I got over that soon enough, the more I found out about him, his friend and the cabal.
A huge part of why I loved this book was that it had a lot of different supernatural creatures. It's kind of hard to say more about these particular creatures without giving too much away but they play a integral part in the story and they really fascinated me, even though what was done to them was really wrong.
The romance between Kia and Ethan was really well-written. There's definitely no insta-love whatsoever. At first Kia even thought Ethan was stuck-up because of his wealth and Ethan did pretend to not like her at first. But slowly they grew towards each other and I just thought it was a really sweet love that was blossoming even though both Kia as Ethan quite had some baggage. I think they were pretty perfect for each other.
All in all, Red by Alyxandra Harvey was a fun and enjoyable read. It had humor, a lot of action, amusing characters and sweet romance. I also liked how the end was pretty well wrapped up. Certainly not a bad start for getting back to reading this author's book after two whole years.
After Kia Alcott gets expelled from her school for starting a fire and burning her best friend, her father —not knowing his daughter did it with her mind by accident —sends Kia away to live with her grandmother who lives and works for the Blackwoods at a huge estate. The closer Kia gets to Ethan Blackwood the more freaky things start happening. It's then that Kia starts to unravel the secrets of the estate, the cabal that Ethan unwillingly is a part of and the surrounding woods.
Alyxandra Harvey always has a knack for writing awesome female characters. Kia is no exception. She's snarky, fun to read about and wants to find out what's going on + she's a freaking firestarter. Can't get more badass than that!
Ethan was also a great character to read about. Him and Kia have both alternating points of few. I must admit I wasn't into Ethan's POV right away. I mean, it was interesting to get inside his head and read about the world he grew up in but initially I just wanted to keep reading about Kia. But I got over that soon enough, the more I found out about him, his friend and the cabal.
A huge part of why I loved this book was that it had a lot of different supernatural creatures. It's kind of hard to say more about these particular creatures without giving too much away but they play a integral part in the story and they really fascinated me, even though what was done to them was really wrong.
The romance between Kia and Ethan was really well-written. There's definitely no insta-love whatsoever. At first Kia even thought Ethan was stuck-up because of his wealth and Ethan did pretend to not like her at first. But slowly they grew towards each other and I just thought it was a really sweet love that was blossoming even though both Kia as Ethan quite had some baggage. I think they were pretty perfect for each other.
All in all, Red by Alyxandra Harvey was a fun and enjoyable read. It had humor, a lot of action, amusing characters and sweet romance. I also liked how the end was pretty well wrapped up. Certainly not a bad start for getting back to reading this author's book after two whole years.
pastryghost's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I read the audiobook version, narrated by Kate Clarke and Kevin Earlywine.
A light, fun read, made better by the great narration for Kia! 🔥🥰 I would have loooved reading this in grade school. Also Kia and Sloane are totally girlfriends. 😂
A light, fun read, made better by the great narration for Kia! 🔥🥰 I would have loooved reading this in grade school. Also Kia and Sloane are totally girlfriends. 😂
erinarkin20's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 I think.
First, I love the cover to this book. It has a creepy feel and immediately drew me in.
I think this is what led to problems for me. I was expecting this to be creepier than it actually was. It definitely has some promise from the paranormal angle but I didn't feel like I had enough explanation as to why Kia is who she is and why Ethan is who he is. Their stories weren't as developed as I wish they were.
This was a fairly quick read and had plenty of action to keep me turning the pages but while there is a bit of a creep factor with the estate and the animals, I found myself missing some information and back story that would have helped me get into this story more.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.
First, I love the cover to this book. It has a creepy feel and immediately drew me in.
I think this is what led to problems for me. I was expecting this to be creepier than it actually was. It definitely has some promise from the paranormal angle but I didn't feel like I had enough explanation as to why Kia is who she is and why Ethan is who he is. Their stories weren't as developed as I wish they were.
This was a fairly quick read and had plenty of action to keep me turning the pages but while there is a bit of a creep factor with the estate and the animals, I found myself missing some information and back story that would have helped me get into this story more.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.
hannas_heas47's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks Entangled Publishing, LLC. For a free book via Netgalley to read and review.
Lovely cover and blurb made me really enticed to read this book. Honestly though the book did a nice job of introducing a lot of paranormal creatures you don't read about often but I just wasn't sucked into the story. The cabal... Messed up intro for these families to protect the wards that surround the woods. The children have to pass a life threatening test and come out with a paranormal souvenir. Many have failed to come out with a souvenir, or to come out alive. Kia is a flame headed teenager that has the power to start fires with a thought. Her father ships her off to stay with her Grandma, who is an all around handy person for an eccentric but powerful family who are in the cabal. Strange things begin to happen to Kia and she tries to be normal. She doesn't realize that surrounded by these people....she is as normal as she can be. I just failed to connect with all of the characters. It was really hard for me because the author failed to make them likable. Overall entertainment was three stars. I liked the idea but just failed to connect.
Lovely cover and blurb made me really enticed to read this book. Honestly though the book did a nice job of introducing a lot of paranormal creatures you don't read about often but I just wasn't sucked into the story. The cabal... Messed up intro for these families to protect the wards that surround the woods. The children have to pass a life threatening test and come out with a paranormal souvenir. Many have failed to come out with a souvenir, or to come out alive. Kia is a flame headed teenager that has the power to start fires with a thought. Her father ships her off to stay with her Grandma, who is an all around handy person for an eccentric but powerful family who are in the cabal. Strange things begin to happen to Kia and she tries to be normal. She doesn't realize that surrounded by these people....she is as normal as she can be. I just failed to connect with all of the characters. It was really hard for me because the author failed to make them likable. Overall entertainment was three stars. I liked the idea but just failed to connect.
bookladysreviews's review against another edition
4.0
I'll start this review by saying that Red was definitely an enjoyable read with a really interesting and unique plot and of course some really amazing characters!
Kia,our main character is sent to live with her grandmother who works for the Blackwoods,after accidentally setting her school on fire and burning her best friend.There she meets the dark and mysterious Ethan who seems to be hiding something.As days pass,Kia realizes that there are a lot of secrets hidden in the depths of the mansion and particularly its forest.After weird things start happening and secrets begin to unravel,Kia gets thrust into a new and of course dangerous world,where she has to fight for her life in order to survive!And her ability to control fire is not enough...
I have read some of Alyxandra Harvey's books in the past and I really enjoyed them.That's the main reason I chose to participate in the blog tour for Red.I couldn't wait to finally get my hands on another one of her books because her writing style is really addictive and the characters she creates are so easy to fall in love with!
In this case,I fell in love with Kia and of course Ethan.Kia is such a passionate,loyal and of course kick ass female character that will give everything to unravel the mysteries surrounding the Blackwood estate and save her new friends from harm.And of course she manages to do that and so many other things that really make her stronger as a person,develop her character in the book and teach her how to control her abilities.She's strong,stubborn and her fiery temper gives life to the book.It makes it more exciting and fast paced.Because let's be real here.We all love a kick ass heroine with a temper that actually can start fires!
And of course,I can't not talk about Ethan.As soon as I started reading the book,I knew that Ethan would be the mysterious stranger with a sweet and loving nature hidden deep inside.He was just so dark and handsome on the outside,but on the inside,he is exceptionally loyal and able to love unconditionally.And of course,like Kia,he hides his own deadly secrets.His personality really surprised me and his development as a character made me fall in love with him even more!Definitely one of the best and most interesting male characters I have ever had the luck of reading about!
Moving on to the plot.It was something completely different from anything I have read before and that's what drew my attention from the beginning and made me want to read it...Desperately!The story was really fast paced as I mentioned before,and I actually managed to finish Red in two days.So if you're interested in reading a light but quick and fast paced book,this is definitely for you!The writing was exquisite...I have always loved the author's writing and this wasn't an exception!It just manages to make you feel like you're in the story and want to experience it exactly how it is told...If that makes any sense.The descriptions were on point,realistic and of course,made it so incredibly easy to imagine the world,the mansion,the woods surrounding it...Everything.
The only thing I didn't like that much was the fact that after a while,some parts of the story got a bit too predictable for my liking.And some things weren't explained that well.I would have loved it if there was a bit of a back story,explaining some facts and giving more information about the characters.In my opinion that would have made this book so much better than it already was!
Lastly,the ending was satisfying but at the same it felt rushed and kind of abrupt.I sincerely hope that...by some miracle,there will be a sequel to this book...I just need more information!
To wrap up this review,I'll just say that Red is definitely a book worth reading!It has its flaws but it's definitely enjoyable,fast paced and easy to read.Plus,the characters are fantastic and so easy to get attached to!
Kia,our main character is sent to live with her grandmother who works for the Blackwoods,after accidentally setting her school on fire and burning her best friend.There she meets the dark and mysterious Ethan who seems to be hiding something.As days pass,Kia realizes that there are a lot of secrets hidden in the depths of the mansion and particularly its forest.After weird things start happening and secrets begin to unravel,Kia gets thrust into a new and of course dangerous world,where she has to fight for her life in order to survive!And her ability to control fire is not enough...
I have read some of Alyxandra Harvey's books in the past and I really enjoyed them.That's the main reason I chose to participate in the blog tour for Red.I couldn't wait to finally get my hands on another one of her books because her writing style is really addictive and the characters she creates are so easy to fall in love with!
In this case,I fell in love with Kia and of course Ethan.Kia is such a passionate,loyal and of course kick ass female character that will give everything to unravel the mysteries surrounding the Blackwood estate and save her new friends from harm.And of course she manages to do that and so many other things that really make her stronger as a person,develop her character in the book and teach her how to control her abilities.She's strong,stubborn and her fiery temper gives life to the book.It makes it more exciting and fast paced.Because let's be real here.We all love a kick ass heroine with a temper that actually can start fires!
And of course,I can't not talk about Ethan.As soon as I started reading the book,I knew that Ethan would be the mysterious stranger with a sweet and loving nature hidden deep inside.He was just so dark and handsome on the outside,but on the inside,he is exceptionally loyal and able to love unconditionally.And of course,like Kia,he hides his own deadly secrets.His personality really surprised me and his development as a character made me fall in love with him even more!Definitely one of the best and most interesting male characters I have ever had the luck of reading about!
Moving on to the plot.It was something completely different from anything I have read before and that's what drew my attention from the beginning and made me want to read it...Desperately!The story was really fast paced as I mentioned before,and I actually managed to finish Red in two days.So if you're interested in reading a light but quick and fast paced book,this is definitely for you!The writing was exquisite...I have always loved the author's writing and this wasn't an exception!It just manages to make you feel like you're in the story and want to experience it exactly how it is told...If that makes any sense.The descriptions were on point,realistic and of course,made it so incredibly easy to imagine the world,the mansion,the woods surrounding it...Everything.
The only thing I didn't like that much was the fact that after a while,some parts of the story got a bit too predictable for my liking.And some things weren't explained that well.I would have loved it if there was a bit of a back story,explaining some facts and giving more information about the characters.In my opinion that would have made this book so much better than it already was!
Lastly,the ending was satisfying but at the same it felt rushed and kind of abrupt.I sincerely hope that...by some miracle,there will be a sequel to this book...I just need more information!
To wrap up this review,I'll just say that Red is definitely a book worth reading!It has its flaws but it's definitely enjoyable,fast paced and easy to read.Plus,the characters are fantastic and so easy to get attached to!
ellieroth's review against another edition
3.0
Original de: El Extraño Gato del Cuento
En una de esas encuestas de GoodReads una vez preguntaron si para escoger mi siguiente lectura, tomaba en cuenta por cuál editorial había sido publicado el libro. Mi respuesta fue sí, a diferencia de la gran mayoría de editoriales en español, editoriales en inglés tienen un estándar, o al menos es lo que he notado hasta ahora en mis lecturas. En español es un poco más difícil hacer esta diferencia porque ellas publican con infinidad de sellos sumándole a eso que por regla, tratan de hacerse con los derechos del libro que le vaya a dar más ventas y no tanto por ser fiel a cierta calidad.
Por eso, cuando pienso en Entangled Teen, editorial detrás de RED, lo primero que se me viene a la cabeza es Daemon Black, Travis Maddox (él es de Atria, sólo quiero probar un punto), historias centradas únicamente en el romance con bastante drama de por medio dónde lo demás son solo consecuencias que ayudan a la pareja protagonista estar junta. Novelas ligeras. Pensé que RED sería el regreso de Alyxandra Harvey a ese tipo de novela, como con sus primeros libros de Drake Chronicles.
RED me fue desconcertante porque fui buscando algo bastante ligero y salí con un libro que no esperaba.
Tengo la sospecha que este es el primer paso de Entangled Teen de salir de su encasillamiento, RED ha sido publicado únicamente en versión ebook por el nuevo sello de la editorial (si no me equivoco) y me da mucho curiosidad el saber porqué. Alyxandra Harvey es una escritora conocida, su última trilogía, The Lovegrove Legacy está siendo publicado por Bloomsbury. Entonces ¿por qué sacarla solo en eBook? Me gustan las teorías de conspiración u.u
Me la estoy pasando hablando de editoriales nada más... creo que tengo un punto con todo esto.
Lo que quiero decir, kitten, es que RED se esforzó un montón al inicio por ser Entangled Teen, con la chica diferente, que termina en un lugar que no quería y conoce al chico guapísimo pero misterioso. El "problema" es que mientras más avanza, más se convierte en una historia a lo Bloomsbury, cada vez menos romance pero más historia y misterio. ¡Y no está mal! Sabes que soy amante de este tipo de libros, solo que, como repito, es desconcertante ir por una cosa y salir con otra.
No sé si fue cosa mía pero sentí muy marcado cuando la escritora quiso darle más importancia al romance pero sus ganas de desarrollar más profundamente la historia le fueron imposibles de parar. RED es una historia bastante amplia para desarrollarse, en lo personal siento que le faltaron páginas para poder ser algo mucho mayor, este habría sido el tipo de libro que uno por lo general termina de leerse en dos días porque no quieres que se acabe.
Si lo que buscas realmente es una historia, más allá del romance, RED es para ti. Pero si lo que buscas es que se le de mucho más importancia al romance que a la historia en sí, creo que deberías considerar el hecho que los protagonistas no pasan mucho tiempo juntos en el libro. Algo que me fastidió porque, como dije más arriba, estaba en busca de un libro ligero.
Otra cosa es que a mí me vendieron RED como retelling de la caperuza sólo que no lo es tanto, tiene sus cosas ahí que dan una idea pero no tanto.
En conclusión, RED es un libro muy sofisticado para lo que consideraba Entangled Teen, aun así siento que la ganas de darle mucho más importancia al desarrollo o al romance se estuvieron peleando en todo el libro. Alyxandra Harvey vuelve a enamorarte con algunos personajes y para luego destruirte el alma (¡¿ERA NECESARIO ESO, ALY, EN SERIO?!). Más vale que pronto anuncian una secuela con los otros personajes o al menos una historias cortas, quiero saber que pasa con ellos. Lo necesito.
Sin duda, RED te sorprenderá. Bastante.
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En una de esas encuestas de GoodReads una vez preguntaron si para escoger mi siguiente lectura, tomaba en cuenta por cuál editorial había sido publicado el libro. Mi respuesta fue sí, a diferencia de la gran mayoría de editoriales en español, editoriales en inglés tienen un estándar, o al menos es lo que he notado hasta ahora en mis lecturas. En español es un poco más difícil hacer esta diferencia porque ellas publican con infinidad de sellos sumándole a eso que por regla, tratan de hacerse con los derechos del libro que le vaya a dar más ventas y no tanto por ser fiel a cierta calidad.
Por eso, cuando pienso en Entangled Teen, editorial detrás de RED, lo primero que se me viene a la cabeza es Daemon Black, Travis Maddox (él es de Atria, sólo quiero probar un punto), historias centradas únicamente en el romance con bastante drama de por medio dónde lo demás son solo consecuencias que ayudan a la pareja protagonista estar junta. Novelas ligeras. Pensé que RED sería el regreso de Alyxandra Harvey a ese tipo de novela, como con sus primeros libros de Drake Chronicles.
RED me fue desconcertante porque fui buscando algo bastante ligero y salí con un libro que no esperaba.
Tengo la sospecha que este es el primer paso de Entangled Teen de salir de su encasillamiento, RED ha sido publicado únicamente en versión ebook por el nuevo sello de la editorial (si no me equivoco) y me da mucho curiosidad el saber porqué. Alyxandra Harvey es una escritora conocida, su última trilogía, The Lovegrove Legacy está siendo publicado por Bloomsbury. Entonces ¿por qué sacarla solo en eBook? Me gustan las teorías de conspiración u.u
Me la estoy pasando hablando de editoriales nada más... creo que tengo un punto con todo esto.
Lo que quiero decir, kitten, es que RED se esforzó un montón al inicio por ser Entangled Teen, con la chica diferente, que termina en un lugar que no quería y conoce al chico guapísimo pero misterioso. El "problema" es que mientras más avanza, más se convierte en una historia a lo Bloomsbury, cada vez menos romance pero más historia y misterio. ¡Y no está mal! Sabes que soy amante de este tipo de libros, solo que, como repito, es desconcertante ir por una cosa y salir con otra.
No sé si fue cosa mía pero sentí muy marcado cuando la escritora quiso darle más importancia al romance pero sus ganas de desarrollar más profundamente la historia le fueron imposibles de parar. RED es una historia bastante amplia para desarrollarse, en lo personal siento que le faltaron páginas para poder ser algo mucho mayor, este habría sido el tipo de libro que uno por lo general termina de leerse en dos días porque no quieres que se acabe.
Si lo que buscas realmente es una historia, más allá del romance, RED es para ti. Pero si lo que buscas es que se le de mucho más importancia al romance que a la historia en sí, creo que deberías considerar el hecho que los protagonistas no pasan mucho tiempo juntos en el libro. Algo que me fastidió porque, como dije más arriba, estaba en busca de un libro ligero.
Otra cosa es que a mí me vendieron RED como retelling de la caperuza sólo que no lo es tanto, tiene sus cosas ahí que dan una idea pero no tanto.
En conclusión, RED es un libro muy sofisticado para lo que consideraba Entangled Teen, aun así siento que la ganas de darle mucho más importancia al desarrollo o al romance se estuvieron peleando en todo el libro. Alyxandra Harvey vuelve a enamorarte con algunos personajes y para luego destruirte el alma (¡¿ERA NECESARIO ESO, ALY, EN SERIO?!). Más vale que pronto anuncian una secuela con los otros personajes o al menos una historias cortas, quiero saber que pasa con ellos. Lo necesito.
Sin duda, RED te sorprenderá. Bastante.
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thepaperreels's review against another edition
3.0
"The more magic you used to keep monsters away, the more monsters were drawn to you. It was a delicate balance. Who knew what else had already gotten out?"
So this is the first book I read from Alyxandra and I cannot wait to check out her other books. Red was a little bit of everything which is very awesome to read. Drama, action, romance and intrigue. You can say that its jam packed.
I'm a fan of books that keeps leaving me mystified every chapter. And that's just what Harvey did. I kept guessing, kept getting intrigued and I enjoyed every moment of it. The moment Kia was left to enter the Blackwood property, you just know that something sketchy is going on. The way Harvey described Kia's feelings and environment gave me chills. There's a creepy and eerie factor that you can't easily shake off.
Kia was a blast. She's such a girl on fire (literally) and I enjoyed her sassiness and spunky-ness. You can't not like a who knows how to stay on her ground. She doesn't take crap from anybody and I admire that about her. Ethan, on the other hand brought me headache. He is hot and cold. But I can't deny the fact the Ethan is such a well written character. Its not that his all over the place, but he surprises you. I love the whole mystery that surrounded him even though it frustrated me for a bit.
Secondary characters can't be missed as well. Absolutely well written and no one was a prop (I hated those) Each and every character played a part that lead the book to its greatness.
I'm a big fan of the romance! No insta-love, no high school crap that went down (maybe a little) and the whole thing made sense and progressed accordingly. What I mean by that is that it may be slow.. but it was sweet and worth the wait. Sparks flyin' and by the end I can't get enough of them.
I'm not sure if this is a series or not. Things ending that way is okay.. but following it up, in my opinion, would be so much better! Overall, I was deeply satisfied with Red. Totally not a book that you wanna miss out regardless of the book genre that you read because like I said, it has a little bit of everything!