Burning Red by Trinity Slain

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

THE MONSTER BENEATH HIS SKIN IS NOW CALLING TO ANOTHER…AND SHE HAS NO IDEA.

Garron’s life of captivity has been nothing but torture and pain. In a desperate escape, a new ally, Jaxon, has sacrificed his own freedom, giving him the impossible. Now he must honor his word to find and protect the sister of the only friend he has had in decades. The task is harder than he’d ever expected, and the gorgeous woman is not what she seems. Maxine calls to the monster they’ve created beneath his skin on a primal level. And she’s not ready for the beast that has already claimed her as his.

Her fate is bound to his…even if she doesn’t believe it. Maxine’s life is spiraling dangerously out of control as a dark secret awakens and she accidentally kills the only person with her missing brother’s whereabouts. Now her own life is in the crosshairs. When a handsome stranger rescues her claiming to have the answers she so desperately needs, she’s left with only one choice. But Garron’s clearly crazy with stories of torture, caves, and monsters. Or is he? Unable to fight the undeniable pull, the blazing desire ignited threatens to consume them both.

Time is running out. Hunted and fighting for their own lives, they must work together and return to the very hell in which Garron escaped. To save her brother Jaxon and the rest of the captives, she may have to sacrifice everything, even herself.

Burning Red

Monsters created through genetic manipulation!

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 🤎🖤💜💙❤️
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📔📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 😲🫣😡😤🥰

The Hero: Garron – he spent years in an underground research facility where mad scientists tortured him and experimented on him, turning him into something not totally human. Each day he got painful injections which played havoc with his system and caused terrible pain. He didn’t know how many years he had been kept there and even remember what his last name was or how old he was. A new guy was brought into the containment area next to him. He said his name was Jaxon and he talked a lot. Though Garron didn’t respond since most of the time when new guys were brought in, they didn’t survive long.

The heroine: Maxine – she is Jaxon’s sister and her brother had been missing for months. She was worried about him even though he had told her to go about her life since his plan would take time. She worked at a sporting goods store and one of the customers, Eddie Blascoe had been bothering her. She worked for Frank, who had been her dad’s best friend and partner in national sharp shooting contests. Her best friend Cory also worked at the sporting goods store. Maxine knew that Jax was gathering evidence against the Gregori family who murdered her mother and were responsible for putting her dad in prison.

The Story: Jaxon seemed to survive the initial treatments where they were being held and spoke to Garron every day until finally Garron gave Jaxon his name. They spoke through the vents in their containment cells each night with Jaxon telling stories of his friends and family. Garron was most interested in the stories of Jaxon’s sister. They also discussed plans of escape. Though Garron had thought for years it wasn’t possible, he still had hope. The plan was for Garron to cause a disturbance and Jaxon to escape since they couldn’t think of a way for both of them to get out.

Lately I have been loving books about genetic experiments and non-traditional types of monsters. This one had all that and a bag of chips. There were rabid looking animals that were products of genetic experimentation running wild, there were villains that weren’t just the scientists doing the experimentation. There were also people who gained special abilities as a result of the experiments. It was all very engrossing, and I was caught up in the story from the start.

The book was told from multiple points of view which I really liked, I love getting the perspective of both main characters and even that of the supporting characters. The serum the scientists have developed is called “The Red” which is where the title for the book comes in. They developed the serum for its medical benefits, and though the doctors thought the “patients” had volunteered, that was obviously just putting their heads in the sand since nobody would willingly volunteer to be tortured and killed in the most painful ways, live in containment cells and be treated brutally by the guards.

I have to say, one thing that I don’t like in books is when people are stupid or do stupid things. There was one point in this book when Maxine was in a gun fight with a bunch of guys trying to abduct her and instead of killing them, she shoots three of them in the knee. I mean it’s obvious she knows how to handle a gun and is a good shot, but she should of went for the chest or the head. I mean a knee shot has to be painful, but it isn’t enough to stop someone who is determined.

I loved how “The Red” affected everyone differently and gave them different abilities. There were some pretty cool ones in addition to increased strength, faster running ability, and faster healing. There were some kind of gross side effects such as the hunger for raw meat and blood, though that isn’t all that different from Vampires. I can’t wait to read more from this series. I did notice there was a 32-page prequel to this book that is about Jaxon, so I grabbed that and will read it after this.

I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

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