Review: Red by Alyxandra Harvey

Red is the color of Kia Alcott's hair.
It's her temper, which blazes hot and always gets Kia into way too much trouble.
And it's the color of fire. Fires that Kia can start…just by thinking about them.

When her latest “episode” gets her kicked out of school, Kia is shipped off to her grandmother, who works for the wealthy Blackwoods. It's an estate shrouded in secrets, surrounded by rules, and presided over by a family that is far from normal…including the gorgeous and insolent Ethan Blackwood.

Ethan knows far more about the dangers of the forest surrounding the estate than Kia can ever imagine. For this forest has teeth, and Ethan is charged with protecting the outside world from its vicious mysteries.

But inside, even the most vibrant shade of red doesn't stand a chance against the dark secrets of the Blackwood family…

I'll start off with this: Red wasn't the most original book in the world, nor was it the most thrilling or gripping or the best at anything. What it was though was good, it managed to stand on it's own despite filling pretty much every single YA book cliche possible. If a book can take a tried-and-tested formula the way Red did and still have me flicking the pages in earnest then it is a good book. It isn't innovative and new and shiny, so I can never call it an A book, but it is the better side of average and I liked that.

Kia was such a great character. She doesn't make stupid decisions and she is sassy but not in that reckless way that so many authors think makes a character strong. She was witty and had a voice that I enjoyed reading. The other characters were great as well - Ethan, despite being the typical broody YA hero, was also a very likable character and I liked that there was a development in this relationship. No instant love - well not as much as in other YA books!

The storyline was great as well, it was eerie and developed slowly, building the tension in an atmospheric way that I sort of felt in my bones. It was great. The ending was fantastic, the twist as absolutely fantastic even though I had guessed it was coming, and how the characters dealt with the situations felt real and great.
Overall, despite the lack of originality in this book, it was fresh and fun the read. it kept me gripped and I came to really care about the characters. Harvey did good again!