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waitaminuteash's review
no❤️
DNF at page 59
literally could not force myself to pick this book up and sit through another page
DNF at page 59
literally could not force myself to pick this book up and sit through another page
skycrane's review
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.
fran2567's review
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Not the best book I ever read, but definitely enjoyable. The first part of the book is very light and mostly romance and sex, then (quite suddenly) in the last 3 chapters a lot of random stuff is added and the plot moves very fast. Would recommend if you’re looking for a light read. Has steamy scenes for every sexual interest (vanilla/kinky/etc) and the characters are likeable. I also liked the chosen family aspect of the book; very warm and kind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Death, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Abandonment
very sexualmischievous_monkey's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the original concept of using sororities and fraternities as vampire dens and the world building really couldn't have been better; the pacing of the world building was excellent and the rules and levels of authority, responsibility and obligation for the vampire/human community were all well laid out. And the sex...I really liked the sex and this book was just dripping with it (yeah, I said that :D ).
Although this was a light read, it ended up touching on some heavy topics. The tone changes dramatically from the start to the finish of the novel. In addition to the insta-love (which is almost always off-putting and rarely made palatable by any author), there was not enough depth to some of the storyline but I will put that down to this being the author's first published work.
Not sure if I will carry on with the series. But I can see myself returning to some parts of this book, for reasons ;).
Although this was a light read, it ended up touching on some heavy topics. The tone changes dramatically from the start to the finish of the novel. In addition to the insta-love (which is almost always off-putting and rarely made palatable by any author), there was not enough depth to some of the storyline but I will put that down to this being the author's first published work.
Not sure if I will carry on with the series. But I can see myself returning to some parts of this book, for reasons ;).
lezreadalot's review
2.0
2.5 stars. Well, this is a bit of a bummer. I was expecting this to be a racy, sexy, good time with vampires and sorority sisters and perhaps a bit of silly fun and lots of tropes. It ended up letting me down in a bunch of material ways. It's nowhere as fun as I expected it to be, the pacing was just way too fast, even for a book that borders on erotica, and the plot, when it did pick up, went in ways that I didn't really like?
Or perhaps I shouldn't say I didn't like it. I just wasn't as interested in it as I might have expected. This isn't that short of a book; the audiobook is just over 11 hours long. But I still feel like we barely got enough of the two main characters. I loved the found family vibe of the sorority, and I understand needing to introduce other members who are going to get their own books further down the line. But Ginger and Camila fell in love after like two seconds, and while they were hot together, I felt zero chemistry between them. Lots of telling, but I felt nothing other than physical attraction. To be honest, I think this would have hit way better for me if it had been a slow burn enemies to lovers romance between Ginger and Samantha. By the end, that was a relationship and friendship that I was actually really interested in. Not that I disliked Camila; not at all. But again the fact that they were exchanging vows after the blink of an eye really turned off my slow burn loving soul.
I'm also not sure how much I liked the paranormal world building. I won't give too much away, but the way that vampires worked in this world, the mild harem aspect and all that, might have contributed to the fact that I barely felt any romance between the two main characters; just lust. I know this is just me being picky, but the fact that vampires have sex with almost everyone who feeds them... eh. Now, if there was actual polyamory, that would have been a different story. Like, I would have really enjoyed that. But instead, it just engenders this weird jealousy between them that I feel like never really got fully resolved. As for the larger plot elements, I never really got that interested in it. Things moved from 0 to 60 so quickly. I flat-out disliked the way that things turned out with Ginger, and the very end was just way too abrupt. This was Weatherspoon's first book, I think, and unfortunately it really shows. There's a lot of stuff about the writing and the style that make it easily identifiable as something that was written in the early 2010s. Most of it is benign and forgivable, but I did find myself wincing and cringing a couple times though.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Kiera Grace, and I liked it. Not all of her voices really fit the characters as I imagined them, but overall, I really liked her narration. I'm not sure if I'll continue with this series. I've been wanting to read more of Weatherspoon's backlist, but this is probably the weakest thing I've read from her. Definitely wasn't all bad, and if you want a smutty paranormal good time, you might find it here. It just didn't tick the boxes that I wanted.
Content warnings:
Or perhaps I shouldn't say I didn't like it. I just wasn't as interested in it as I might have expected. This isn't that short of a book; the audiobook is just over 11 hours long. But I still feel like we barely got enough of the two main characters. I loved the found family vibe of the sorority, and I understand needing to introduce other members who are going to get their own books further down the line. But Ginger and Camila fell in love after like two seconds, and while they were hot together, I felt zero chemistry between them. Lots of telling, but I felt nothing other than physical attraction. To be honest, I think this would have hit way better for me if it had been a slow burn enemies to lovers romance between Ginger and Samantha. By the end, that was a relationship and friendship that I was actually really interested in. Not that I disliked Camila; not at all. But again the fact that they were exchanging vows after the blink of an eye really turned off my slow burn loving soul.
I'm also not sure how much I liked the paranormal world building. I won't give too much away, but the way that vampires worked in this world, the mild harem aspect and all that, might have contributed to the fact that I barely felt any romance between the two main characters; just lust. I know this is just me being picky, but the fact that vampires have sex with almost everyone who feeds them... eh. Now, if there was actual polyamory, that would have been a different story. Like, I would have really enjoyed that. But instead, it just engenders this weird jealousy between them that I feel like never really got fully resolved. As for the larger plot elements, I never really got that interested in it. Things moved from 0 to 60 so quickly. I flat-out disliked the way that things turned out with Ginger, and the very end was just way too abrupt. This was Weatherspoon's first book, I think, and unfortunately it really shows. There's a lot of stuff about the writing and the style that make it easily identifiable as something that was written in the early 2010s. Most of it is benign and forgivable, but I did find myself wincing and cringing a couple times though.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Kiera Grace, and I liked it. Not all of her voices really fit the characters as I imagined them, but overall, I really liked her narration. I'm not sure if I'll continue with this series. I've been wanting to read more of Weatherspoon's backlist, but this is probably the weakest thing I've read from her. Definitely wasn't all bad, and if you want a smutty paranormal good time, you might find it here. It just didn't tick the boxes that I wanted.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
car accidents, references to suicide, rape, attempted rape, assaultindecisivesailorscout's review
4.0
Short and spicy! We really need more lesbian paranormal romance. Rebekah really knows how to turn up the heat.
opaloctopus's review
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
egexe's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I am to my understanding in the minority for liking it as much as I did, but nevertheless I thought it was a good story with a bit fast romance to it, I can't deny that but for anyone wanting more smutty vampire story set in modern day college, it's a great one (just make note of the content warnings)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Rape
Moderate: Sexual content