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A review by skycrane
Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon
4.0
I learned about this book from Olivia Waite's review, and after the first couple sentences I knew I had to read it. A vampire cult disguised as a college sorority is just too amazing of an idea. And the book turned out to be just as fun as it sounded.
I saw the author listed Octavia Butler as one of her influences, and I can see the similarities. A lot of Butler's works have these romantic or sexual relationships where one partner has ways of compelling or overpowering the other(s), often in a way that's fairly creepy and disturbing, while still being loving and affectionate ("Bloodchild" is a great example, both intensely horrifying and yet kind of sweet). Better Off Red has that element, more so than many vampire romances. Ginger is obsessed with Camilla from the first time she even sees her. Camilla can, and does, use her vampiric powers to manipulate Ginger's thoughts and emotions. The reader gets to see how Ginger struggles with this relationship, question whether it's really her consenting, and ultimately find a way to accept it.
I'm going to be a dumbass (again) and say that my main complaint is this: there's too much sex in this erotic novel! The sex is well-written and enjoyable to read, but I liked the premise and the other characters so much that I wanted to read more about that instead. But the relationship between Ginger and Camilla is complicated and compelling, so it was still very interesting.
I saw the author listed Octavia Butler as one of her influences, and I can see the similarities. A lot of Butler's works have these romantic or sexual relationships where one partner has ways of compelling or overpowering the other(s), often in a way that's fairly creepy and disturbing, while still being loving and affectionate ("Bloodchild" is a great example, both intensely horrifying and yet kind of sweet). Better Off Red has that element, more so than many vampire romances. Ginger is obsessed with Camilla from the first time she even sees her. Camilla can, and does, use her vampiric powers to manipulate Ginger's thoughts and emotions. The reader gets to see how Ginger struggles with this relationship, question whether it's really her consenting, and ultimately find a way to accept it.
I'm going to be a dumbass (again) and say that my main complaint is this: there's too much sex in this erotic novel! The sex is well-written and enjoyable to read, but I liked the premise and the other characters so much that I wanted to read more about that instead. But the relationship between Ginger and Camilla is complicated and compelling, so it was still very interesting.