Heather’s Bookshelf: Ruby Red
Author: Nikki Minty
Released: 10/15/21
Genre: YA Fantasy/SciFi
“I give my face a few cool splashes of water, trying my best to avoid my sorry reflection. Alex’s comments about Jax poke at my glum, sleep-deprived mind, making me re-question Jax’s motives, along with my faith in him. When Jax had come to see me the night before last, he’d seemed different somehow—warmer. The visit had felt more intimate than usual. I shake away the memory, afraid of the feelings it stirs inside me.”
“Ruby Red” is the second book in the Zadok Series. This review contains spoilers for the original book, but is a stand alone review for only “Ruby Red”. If you want to read a review for the first in the series “Pastel Pink”, find it here. “Ruby Red” picks up right where “Pastel Pink” leaves off- with Harlow alone in the danger zone after Slater has stormed off. She’s broken hearted, alone and in danger until Jax finds her and returns her to people. Harlow’s past decisions have interesting and far reaching consequences as her secrets begin to reveal themselves and everything gets a lot more complicated.
Harlow’s really found herself in a bind and must rely on her bestie, Zavier, as well as others around her to keep her safe. Jax does his best to put her in a safe position (even lending her a husken named Lucy), but his actions are not enough as the changes in Harlow become apparent. Minty and even Floss pitch in to help her out and each work on themselves and their relationships in the process. Everything happening to her and around her may be too much for Harlow to handle this time around. If she can’t figure it all out, she’s not going to be the only one to deal with the consequences.
Trigger Warning: adult language, sexual situations, reference to rape
Overall, I really enjoyed this sequel. This was a hard review not to give anything away! A lot happens in this story and sets the pace for the rest of the tale. The best thing about this story was the pacing. You wanted to keep reading to see what would happen next and it moved along quite smoothly. This story stays mostly in Zadok and away from Earth and I think that’s really what pushes it forward. It also allows for much more ancillary character development than the first book and amazing relationship development between many of the main and ancillary characters. I really also liked the love triangle development (especially Jax’s reactions and emotions). I do have to say that Harlow/Ruby is not my favorite character (though the title one). I find her dependence on everyone around her a little frustrating and her lack of recognition of possible consequences before they occur to be maddening. But, if she didn’t do what she did, we wouldn’t have a book right? The ending was the only thing that bothered me a little. I felt it an odd place to stop and actually checked the written version of the book to make sure I didn’t miss something on Audible. Will just have to wait move on to the third book…to be continued…
I ended up checking out this book on mixed platforms (Audible and ebook). I absolutely recommend this on audiobook. Each of the voice actors are clear and easy to listen to.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A jam packed sequel with further ancillary character development. Picked right up from the first book and did not disappoint.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Nikki Minty
Interested in checking out the book for yourself?
Find it for purchase here or Audible
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