Better Off Red
Vampire Sorority Sisters Book 1by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Pages: 348
Pub Date: November 2011
ISBN10: 1-60282-574-2
ISBN13: 978-1-60282-574-1
Every sorority has its secrets...
And college freshman Ginger Carmichael couldn't care less. She has more important things on her mind, like maintaining her perfect GPA. No matter how much she can't stand the idea of the cliques and the matching colors, there's something about the girls of Alpha Beta Omega—their beauty, confidence, and unapologetic sexuality—that draws Ginger in. But once initiation begins, Ginger finds that her pledge is more than a bond of sisterhood, it’s a lifelong pact to serve six bloodthirsty demons with a lot more than nutritional needs.
Despite her fears, Ginger falls hard for the immortal queen of this nest, and as the semester draws to a close, she sees that protecting her family from the secret of her forbidden love is much harder than studying for finals.www.goodreads.com
MY TAKE
I first "met" Rebekah in 2010 when she did a guest post for me while I was on vacation. I don't recall if she approached or I her but we kept in touch and even spent a few hours at lunch and shopping. And yet, I hadn't read her first book in this series until just yesterday. It's so weird to read a friend's book. What if it isn't good, or worse what if it is terrible.
Well, THANK GOODNESS, I was really impressed by the quality of Rebekah's writing. From plot to personalities she scores high.
Situation and World-building: Rebekah comes up with a unique situation in which, for the majority of humans, demons and vampires are invisible. Vampire arose from Demons which are fallen angels but not necessarily evil. There's a little wiggle room to help out with some tight situations later on, but what's really intriguing for someone who reads a lot of paranormal, is the unique quality of the world while Rebekah still maintains enough traditional aspects of vampirism to make it easy to suspend disbelief. Where the world is a little wonky is with the Vampire-Demon mix and hierarchy.
Sexuality and Characterization: Rebekah always says she writes gay and lesbian paranormals, so readers should be aware of that in case they can't handle sex between same gender couples, and there's a lot of sex. If you've ever had curiosity about how lesbians make love this will give you a darn good picture, and what it shows it there isn't too much difference in what part goes where or how couples interact. Insecure members of a relationship behave the same regardless of sexual preference. The sex is presented as sex, and as natural as any other sex. Like real life, not all the sex is between committed couples, but the important things: consent, desire, respect and satisfaction are important.
Ginger, or Red is really, really well understood. If I didn't know her, I would suspect Rebekah of being Ginger; she is that into her head. The story is told from Ginger's point of view. She fulfills no stereotype; nor do any of the characters. That's a beautiful thing to see.
Ginger isn't struggling with her sexual identity too much, but with her sorority's unique qualities, the questions one would make if having to choose life or death or immortality. And, the same relationship issues any young woman has regardless of her partner's gender.
Rebekah admirably throws a world out into the book like a net, and then she deals with a lot of different ideas and situations. But it's all pretty cohesive.
Another thing I noted a lot through out the book was how well Rebekah captured dialogue and internal monologue for her characters. I don't actually know Rebekah's age, but I would say she was well versed in collegiate speech patterns. I was impressed. There was no ridiculous macho posturing or simpering cuteness. It was very real.
Much fun, and suspenseful BETTER OFF RED encompasses a range of themes: life, love, death and sex; power, control, campus politics. Sometimes the most dangerous person is not the vampire.
I am really looking forward to Rebekah's development as a writer - I think she'll go far.
Highly recommended - contains lesbian sex and it's well done (if you ever wondered what was happening between the sheets - you'll find out). I loved how she portrays people as people.
Find Rebekah and learn all about her.
buy link for available books: http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/categories.php?category=Paperback-Books/Lesbian-Fiction/Browse-by-Author/-Weatherspoon%2C-Rebekah-
personal website: http://letusseeshallwe.blogspot.com/p/home.html
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