Review of Chasing The Red Queen

[Adhdguy]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Chasing The Red Queen" by Karen Glista.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Chasing the Red Queen follows two main perspectives, Donja and Torin. Donja is an eighteen-year-old girl who is dealing with the death of her father, her mother's remarriage, and her new family. To top it all, she finds out that her boyfriend had been cheating on her for a couple of months. Her feelings are all over the place, and she's in a really vulnerable state. Torin is an Iridescent, who's centuries old. He's investigating the deaths of multiple Chippewa women, who are brutally murdered. Donja's troubles seem superficial when compared to Torin's. Still her problems are typical of a teenager, dealing with her first heartbreak grief. The contrast between both the points of view are clear, and we can easily identify whose point of view we are currently in.

Frankie is the most amazing brother to ever exist. Even though he's just nine, he still defends his sister and tries to make her happy. Too bad he had to grow up too fast. The sisterly bond that's forming between Donja and her step-sister is sweet to read about. Karen Glista handled family dynamics really well. The way Donja's and Torin's plots intertwined was wild. It was such an action-packed scene, you can't help but read on. It is always fun to read the portion of the book where the title comes from, and this book was no exception.

Even though I enjoyed the book, there are parts of it that I loathe. There's an underage relationship. The girl's eighteen and the guy is thirty-five. And the guy got her pregnant but no one seems to care. That's basically rape but no one is bothered by it at all. Lisa raised a valid point about the age difference, but she isn't listened to. Donja is barely eighteen and Torin acts like he's in his mid-twenties, but is in fact, centuries old. Authors really need to stop pairing teenage girls with centuries old people and play it off as romance. Especially when the teenager in question is in a really vulnerable state, and can be easily taken advantage of. One date was all it took for her to fall in love with the Iridescent. There are some lines that made me stop in my tracks and not in a good way. “I don’t know who shattered your self-esteem in the past,” he said, “but I’m damn glad he did because I get to pick up the pieces, and girl, they’re priceless." Now, I understand why he said that, still it raises some red flags. “Yes, I led you to believe you had a choice in this, but you don’t. I must have you, Donja, your scent resides within me, the taste of your skin, and I need you—like the air that I breathe, I fought it, I really tried,” Donja gives terrible advice. “Grab him, I mean literally with your hand and don’t let go no matter what he says." She's advising her step-sister to have sex with her boyfriend, even when he isn't consenting. This is rape, no matter what. The relationships with minor kids in the book is disturbing. Antonio fell in love with Anna when she was twelve. He watched her while she slept, calmed her when she had nightmares and helped her family too. This is supposed to be romantic, but all I can think of is the age difference between them. He's hundreds of years old, and she was just twelve, a child. Garret is homophobic and calls a gay person degrading names.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars . The age differences were the only thing I couldn't get on board with, but I think a lot of people may not be bothered too much by it.

This book is recommended for readers who love romance. Those who love vampire like beings won't have much problem with the age differences, so they are bound to enjoy it.

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Chasing The Red Queen
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[MsH2k]

You raise some valid points about the age difference in the relationships. Once you notice something like that in a story, it's hard to unsee it. Thank you for your honest review.