Customer Reviews

Scarlet (Dead World, Book 2)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was surprised by the first installment in this series, with its intense, gritty post-apocalyptic universe, its rough-and-tumble heroine and visceral imagery. It stalled in places, but the momentum of the unique characters and well-spun universe kept it from being merely an oddity in its market. I was excited to see what the author would do with these characters and even more so to see that the release of the follow-up books would be so immediate.

"Scarlet" is another interesting foray into this universe, but it lacks a lot of the polish of its predecessor. Where "Red" took pains to make its main character, Gina, really own her tough-as-nails description, "Scarlet" sees Gina lose much of her spunk and danger in favor of a brave facade with more than one inner monologue about staving off tears over a separation as contrived as possible, particularly the catalyst and conversation that lead Gina's love interest, Morgan, to hoof it out of state for most of the book. Light on character development or direction, "Scarlet" left this reader a little disappointed as most of the book is spent plodding through six or seven characters' point of view on one setup after another, each as frustratingly transparent and poorly interpreted by the characters as the last.

While the selling points remain the same and "Scarlet" is worth reading for the change of pace it provides, as well as another visit to the characters the reader met in "Red," this second installment lacks the sense of purpose and the audacity of the first. Still, I haven't lost faith in this series and hope the third book, due out in the fall, makes good on all the promise the series holds.

I enjoyed the first book so much that I knew the second would be just as
good and I was not disappointed.
Jordan Summers has a way of making you feel as though you are actually there. You feel the characters as if they are well known to you on a personal basis.
I can't wait for the final book.

I enjoyed the first novel immensely but Scarlet is a let down. Spoilers Morgan and Gina confess their love... a lot but lack trust, commitment and communication. Gina never embraces her "other" nature and the novel never defines what is holding her back. Morgan leaves too easily. He is an Alpha yet is able to leave the love of his life and his pack unguarded. Gina is a tactical team commander yet forgets all of her training. Hello if someone strange comes into town proclaiming a relationship with you and ends up murdered where is the follow-up and why refuse help from recruits who you hand picked for your team. And why in a town where Morgan was loved and respected would rumors and innuendo so thoroughly destroy the trust and loyalty of his pack in a matter of weeks. Finally, Raphael and Gina? She actually had to fight the attraction after she professed her love repeatedly and again Morgan was MIA for only a few weeks. Gina and Morgan were sorely out of character. Gone were the strong, alpha personalities. I will buy Crimson and I hope Ms. Summers goes back to the original characterizations.

I'm not sure what was going on with the cover of this book. The woman looks really old on the cover and her hand looks like an old crones. Also, what the heck is Morgan wearing? It looks like he has a dress on! Other than that, I enjoyed this book and recommend it. I will be looking for the next book in the series. This one had romance, suspense and action.

SCARLET, Jordan Summers' second book in her `Deadworld' series follows Gina `Red' Santiago as she struggles to achieve control over her werewolf side while dealing with treacherous co-workers in her alpha werewolf lover's town of Nuria in the Arizona Republic and a would be dictator: Roark Montgomery. Left in charge by her chosen mate, Sheriff Morgan Hunter, Red is framed for a series of murders at the same time Hunter falls for Roark Montgomery's extended plot using the memory of his dead wife and child. Only the aid of a spurned vampire Raphael Vega and his paramour, International Police Tactical Team Private Catherine Meyers, can stop Roark Montgomery's insidious maneuverings. SCARLET is an engrossing series addition to the `Deadworld Trilogy'. This dark world of political intrigue and murder gets an erotic upgrade in book two as Raphael finds Catherine (Chaos) Meyers both a hindrance and an irresistible ally. Very entertaining!

Needless to say spoilers abound in Scarlet for Red.

Have I mentioned how much I love the covers? No? Let me digress into that for a moment. We got to see Gina/Red on the cover of Red and we got to see the deliciousness that is meant to be Morgan's naked chest as well. On Scarlet we get more Gina/Red looking badass in black and red leather plus Morgan looking badass with injuries, a fierce look on his face and unfortunately completely covered. The third book, Crimson (due out in November), promises to have a beautiful cover as well. I'd be down for prints of those covers if I thought I could get some.

Back to business. We left Gina and Morgan ready to embark on their new relationship after the threat of Morgan's cousin Kane was eliminated, Gina stepped down from IPTT to find out more about her Other self (her werewolf side) with Morgan in Nuria and Roark Mongomery is three fingers down and swearing revenge left, right and center at Gina and Morgan.

Montgomery is like those classic villians who are willing to threaten anything and everything to get what they want. He doesn't scruple to abuse his power (discreetly) or drug people into compliance or blackmail people into compliance...hell he doesn't even scruple to have them tortured and killed if it suits his goals better. The man has no 'this is going to far' switch at all. The only thing that keeps him in check is making sure things stay as secretive and far removed from him as possible. The only moves he wants made are the ones that can be used to deceive the public into doing what he wants. Quite frankly I can't stand the man at all, but I appreciate the unrepentant evil that he represents. The future is bleak, barren and little better then desert tribes for the most part--that sort of atmosphere deserves a man who will do whatever it takes to grab power.

It also deserves a hero and heroine who will do whatever it takes to make it better and Gina and Morgan fit that bill mostly. They are both preoccupied with personal problems throughout the book--Morgan with his dead wife and kid being cloned and Red with her feelings of uncertainty and uselessness. Red's head is definitely more in the game then Morgan's is for this volume. Morgan runs headlong into what anyone with half a brain would recognize as a trap. That left Gina alone in Nuria, with half the town convinced she had purposely gotten rid of Morgan, the other half convinced that she was dangerous because she couldn't control her werewolf side and all of the town convinced she was sleeping around.

The Nurians surprised me the most I think in this book, but then again Morgan is their Alpha. He is the one who kept them in line with just a hitch of his shoulders. The rumblings from last book of wanting to replace him I think never completely went away and with him running off without a word to anyone but Gina, it must have made folks very worried. Scared too. Add to it the frame job that made Gina look like a murdering slut...well...

I bought this book and read it within the same 10 hour window. The end makes for some interesting dynamic shifts and power struggles, not to mention personal developments I am intensely interested in.

I must admit, I had the original book 'Red' for at least three months after I bought it. It just sat on my book shelf collecting dust. Eventually, I got around to reading it and when I did I could not believe it took me as long as it did to read it. It was so well written that I was capable of reading it in less than five hours(non stop). When I completed the novel, ran to my PC in order to buy the next installment. Unfortunately, it had not released and I had to settle with preordering the second book 'Scarlet'.

When 'Scarlet' arrived, I read it right away and I LOVED IT! This installment in the Dead World series was much darker than its predecessor. First, the main characters did spend very much time united in this book. Without spoiling the plot, they get seperated due to surprising circumstances. Second, this story goes into more depth of not only the main character's lives but the supporting characters as well. Lastly, the circumstances that plague the characters are troublesome enough to engross the reader in the plot until the very end.

I noticed only two main issues that bothered me. The initial problem was the stupidity of MORGAN'S character. His actions in this book was best described as foolish and lacking in acknowledging other's intellegent advice. I will again not go into detail, but he made mistake after mistake bent on some impulse to fulfil a part of the past. This ended up causing Red much distress, which on occasion Morgan blindly refused to acknowledge much less assist with. But I can say it did allow for the advancement of the plot. The second issue that was noticed was the length of the novel. This novel seemed very short to me but it could have just been the fact that I did not want it to end.

All in all, I loved the novel and praise the author for her ability to write not only a superb first novel, but to continue the excellence on to the second installment. I cannot wait for the third novel 'Crimson' to release!

I thought this one lost something since the last. Gina wasn't as strong a character as she was portrayed in the first book, Red. In this installment, Morgan feels he has to leave to save the memory of his long dead wife and child. Gina is left in charge of the town, but the town-folks are not taking her being in charge very well. They seem to believe she has ran off their beloved sheriff/alpha. Things go from bad to worse when a dead body shows up and fingers point to Gina.

I did like the new and interesting characters introduced in this one, but I wished they had a bigger, better part to play in the story. The story traveled from Gina, to Morgan, to the local vampire (sorry, I'm having trouble remembering his name). Overall, I still enjoyed the novel regardless of its drop in characterization and I will read the next one.

Plot Summary: Red has left her job with the International Police Tactical Team, and she's living in the small border town where her lover, Morgan Hunter, is the sheriff. Red's acceptance in town has been evaporating since she can't shape-shift to wolf on command, and when Morgan leaves town, Red's tenuous hold is threatened by several crimes that all point toward her guilt. What Red and Morgan don't realize is that their nemesis, Roark Montgomery is pulling all the strings and setting a trap that will ruin their lives and wipe out all of the Others.

This is turning into a unique paranormal romance series, and I'm really digging it. I was impressed with the intro book, "Red," and author Jordan Summers is keeping it dark, gritty, and desperate in this follow up. This is one of the few PNR series that follows the same couple from book to book, and I wonder why more authors don't try this tactic. The relationship between Red and Morgan is put through a meat grinder here, and the only reason I care is because I watched them fall in love in book one. My emotional investment is now reaping some serious interest.

The post-apocalyptic Earth setting is solid, and I have no problems visualizing the barren deserts, the fried ozone, and the technologies that keep people alive. I wish Summers would show the Others using more of their freaky powers, but they seldom shape-shift, and mores the pity. On the other hand, I have zero regrets regarding the sex scenes, and since this is a paranormal romance (and not urban fantasy), I'm glad that my high expectations for some steamy bedroom action are satisfied.

I appreciate Summer's technique of leaving loose ends rather than dropping her readers off a cliff at the end of each book. There's sufficient incentive to follow the series without leaving me with that icky feeling that I'll never see a final resolution. She closes each book in a way that keeps me happy, but wanting to know more. I wish more authors could handle their series with the same kind of grace.

The third novel, "Crimson," will come out November 3, 2009, and frankly I'm curious to see how many books Summers can keep naming with this red color theme. I like it, but how many colors are left? Magenta? Vermilion? Puce? It may lose some of its cache with the choices that are left.

The war left much of the globe in dangerous chaos and many areas became deserts by 2010. During the hostilities scientists genetically engineered the Others; species with super or para normal skills like vampires, shifters and special elite Captain America soldiers. In the twenty-second century, on a mission sanctioned by her grandfather to Nuria, Arizona , super soldier Gina "Red" Santiago learns she is a werewolf (see RED) and remains in the town where she has fallen in love with the Sheriff alpha werewolf Morgan Hunter. He worries about Red as her survival will depend more on her learning to shift when awake than on him.

A commercial advertises buying clones as a wife, prostitute, child or slave labor. Morgan is shook because the clones in the ad are that of his dead family; he leaves town to find and destroy his late family's cells. Immediately after he departs, someone commits murder; the townsfolk believe Red killed him. Another newcomer inflicts injuries on himself and accuses Gina of beating him up. A vigilante mob demands justice while an enemy from before whom she defeated manipulates behind the scenes emotions of the townsfolk; the goal is the death of Red, who faces everyone alone again, naturally.

The super SCARLET contains two strong subplots; that of Morgan seeking a needle in a deadly haystack and Red under a lethal threat from a nasty villain. The two segments merge into a strong post apocalyptic science fiction thriller that can be summed up by the heroes' understanding that Others have to hide in plain sight as politicians play the genetics card like they used to use race in the twentieth century; especially one ruthless individual with ambitions to rule the world. The story line is filled with action while the lead couple and "Others" insure the decimated earth with paranormal and super species seem genuine.

Harriet Klausner