Sisters Red
I have many things to say about Sisters Red, and unfortunately, none of them are very complimentary.
This had some much going for it. Jackson Pearce is a good writer (I really enjoyed Sweetly), the blurb is engaging and hooked me, the cover is lovely, the promise of a sweet sibling bond, action, strong female characters who do NOT need men to do everything for them, an interesting take on Little Red Riding Hood.......
But it doesn't really fulfill any of the things it promises. I was told I would get "heart-pounding action, fierce sisterly love and a sizzling romance". This is SO not true
1. Heart Pounding Action
Ok, first major fail. What was the point of the Fenris trying to "turn" this one Potential? What made him special? And, as another reviewer pointed out, if they were concerned about numbers, then how come they didn't realize Scarlett & her gang killing off about a hundred of them in... 5 years? Did NOT make sense. Strike one!
2. Fierce sisterly love
It was not endearing or sweet, it was.... weird. Scarlett never lets Rosie do anything on her own and never lets her do anything outside of hunting werewolves. And Scarlett clearly knows Rosie wants more, but she drags Rose around like a dog on a leash. A leash that is two centimeters long.
3. Sizzling Romance
Again, weird! It borderlines on statutory rape. Rosie is 16 or 17 years. Silas is 21 years. He is waaaayyy too old for her. I could understand her feeling attracted to him. She's a teenage girl experiencing a first crush. But your first crush usually doesn't turn out to be true love. And it felt weird and wrong that a 21 year old man "loves" a teenager. A minor. For shame. It would have made more sense (and been more legal- Scarlett is 18 or 19) for Scarlett and Silas to fall in love.
Aside from failing to deliver on everything the blurb promised, I hated all three main characters. Rosie is a useless twit, and Silas is a douche. And I'm not sorry for saying that. I hated Scarlett, she was too..... angry all the time. Worst of all, she had the potential to be a feminist character that was strong and could fend for herself. Unfortunately, Scarlett looks down on other girls for being girly and feminine. How is that... I just..... I hate Scarlett. What a judgmental bitch.
Not only did Scarlett express some horrible ideas about women (she pretty much blames the girls for being killed by Fenris, which is like blaming a rape victim for being raped. It is NEVER, EVER EVER EVER the victim's fault. It is ALWAYS the criminal/Fenris fault), but the whole book was vaguely sexist. The Fenris prey on young, vibrant, beautiful women. Only women are killed (which is not only sexist, but a tad heteronormative. What, there aren't any gay Fenris? Hmmm....) and only men can become Fenris.
There were no other important characters so I was stuck all the time with the March sisters. And they were irritating. Even the writing seemed lackluster. I'm glad I read Sweetly first, because if I hadn't, it might have completely ruined me from reading any other Jackson Pearce novels.
Sweetly was SOOOOOO much better. It's a shame, as I know Jackson Pearce can be a good writer. Too bad Sisters Red sucked so bad.
