Read this book so long ago and unfortunately didn’t post my review in time! Review to come, apologies for the delay

This was a very difficult read
It is a very moving story about the impact of rape.
This book depicted the characters so well
It made me feel every emotion possible

I wanted to like this one more than I did. It is a very contemplative exploration of the aftermath of sexual assault. However, I think that I have read quite a few other similar books and this one failed to really stand out from the crowd. I wished Kate all the very best however with her healing and was saddened by the world described around her which made it so difficult to articulate her experience. There are other novels which perhaps deal with this crime with greater fireworks but I still felt that Kate as a character held some realism. Unfortunately though I do not have any other real feedback to give.

This is a very impressive debut, on a difficult and emotionally devastating subject. When Kate meets Max at university, their friendship is immediate despite their very different social backgrounds, In the bubble of university, these differences don’t matter. However, in later years they become more obvious. The pair spend three years in each other’s pockets and sometimes, each other beds. Then each returns to their family home. Kate to a terrace house and an;alcoholic mother. Max to his wealthier, upper middle class family, with various brothers and a very superior and snobby grandma.
The book becomes more alive when Kate has a terrible experience, the kind that forever casts your life into a before and after. Kate is sexually assaulted by a member of the family and the book becomes about the aftermath and how to cope with such a life shattering trauma. I had the feeling that this was the author”s subject' and the rest of the book was written around it. This section of the novel had so much power, it made the rest of the novel fall away and feel weaker. The feelings of shame and powerlessness burn off the page. It really is a novel of two halves and this second half is written with so much emotion and fire. I felt this part was an important story, especially because it showed how survivor’s of assault can and do move on.

Really enjoyed this book. Beautifully written, and a serious subject sensitively handled. Look forward to reading more Rosie Price in future.

I really liked the premise of What Red Was, but the execution was somewhat clumsy. It was extremely slow, and I often say this works well in some books, but here it seemed to drag and there was a lot of filler with no conclusion. I found it hard to relate to Kate, or understand her relationship with Max. (Spoiler incoming) It was an interesting portrayal of how she reacted to sexual assault - and should be read for that reason - but in my opinion Price didn’t explore this enough.

I really enjoyed this book. It follows the platonic friendship of Kate and Max who meet at university. Kate becomes linked with Max’s family but when she is attacked at a party she has to decide how to can move on and keeps the links with Max in tact. Self harm and rape triggers throughout the book.

When Kate meets Max at university, it signals the start of a life-long friendship. They come from very different backgrounds. Kate having been brought up by a single mother and Max, in a large, affluent family.

I found the friendship reminded me of 'Normal People' by Sally Rooney. However, Max and Kate have a purely platonic relationship.

There are some interesting characters in Max's family, particularly the grandmother and his mother, a film director.

The novel tackles two key issues- rape and class. I thought the author dealt with the rape sensitively., illustrating how easily it can happen and how difficult the effects are to live with.

While I enjoyed this read, I felt I was waiting for something to happen. That said, it was a very well written debut and I would definitely read more by Rosie Price.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This book is firstly an exploration of the life changing effects of a rape as well as an analysis of society, class and privilege. Kate Quaile and Max Rippon are university friends. Kate lives in a council house, Max lives a life of privilege between homes in London and the country. They have a tight, non sexual friendship and share a love of film studies. Following a brutal rape at a party held in Max's London home, Kate retreats into herself and an invisible barrier forms between herself and Max. While I expected the book to manly focus on the rape and how Kate copes, it tells the story of various member of the Rippon family, which I found, bland and superfluous to the plot. I'm not sure what the alcoholic Uncle Rupert had to add to the story other than personify the upper class stereotypical image of the black sheep of the family. The book would have benefitted from omitting a lot of this detail and focus more on the psychological and traumatic effects of the rape on Kate and how she tried to pick up the pieces of her life again. As a woman, I also would have preferred if the rapist had been held more accountable for his crime, but that part of the story fizzled away somewhat. Overall a 2 star read from me. However, Bravo to the author for her debut novel.

Many thanks to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for this e-book in return for my honest review.

This is a very unflinching and well written book which I think handled its subject matter well.
I would have liked more focus on Kate and less on the Rippon family drama and I did feel that certain questions were left unanswered.
I'm reticent to say that I enjoyed this, as it is rather heavy going, but I think it is an relevant and very compelling novel.

I reviewed this titles as part of my What I Read in August video on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/wwtPnuDv2ps

It has also featured in a book haul video.

'What Red Was' is a challenging read, that concerns a sexual assault, its aftermath and the different perspectives and reflecting on the events. The books develops slowly from the opening, establishing the characters and their lives. This is a multi-perspective narrative, that creates a thought provoking read, and is carefully constructed by the author, maybe not always successfully, as I was pulled out of the story a few times,. As I said, once the assault occurs, this book becomes an important look into attitudes around the assault, and I felt it was handled well, and with confidence. It's a book about reflection, human nature, social attitudes and on the whole it's a solid debut.

What Red Was tackles the difficult subject of sexual assault and its aftermath and examines the differences in class between Kate and her friend Max. They meet at university and become close friends and Kate is invited to a party given by Max's wealthy and glamorous family. While everyone else is enjoying themselves things take a turn for the worse for Kate when she is raped.

A well-written literary read, although it took too long to get to the main event, (25% through). Much of the early section of the book dealt with various characters, mainly Max's family, who had an impact on Kate's life.

If you enjoy self-reflective and character-driven novels this will be for you. Many thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouseUK/Vintage for the opportunity to read and review What Red Was.

An unflinching look into the aftermath of sexual assault, told through the eyes of several different characters emotionally connected to the event. We go through a full range of emotions with Kate and follow her thought process as she struggles with the aftermath of what happened to her. I thought the author handled the topic sensitively and delicately, allowing the reader to form their own opinions and feelings about Kate, Max and everyone else without forcing the emotion. This is very much a character driven story, without much of a plot. It's slow paced, with a lot of internal reflection, and although I enjoyed that I think many may struggle if they're expecting more story and development.

Although I appreciated the varied narrative and multi character perspective, as it made these secondary characters feel a lot more developed, I do think that it took away from Kate's story slightly, and I wanted more from her friendship with Max in the second half of the book.

A sensitive, in depth internal look at sexual assault that I think is handled well but don't expect much plot.

Rosie Price's debut novel begins with the friendship between Kate and Max who meet at university and are from very different social backgrounds. The novel looks at the impact of sexual violence, is an exploration of trauma and the continuing power of class. It is a powerful, bold and gripping read and an extraordinary debut.

Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC.

This book came recommended by authors that I really like. I'm always apprehensive about books about sexual assault because it is such a difficult topic, but the book was wonderful. It tackled it all so well. Would recommend.

I greatly enjoyed this book, thank you for giving me a preview copy. The plot was interesting and fast paced and I sympathised with the characters. This is the first novel I have read by this author but I hope it will not be the last!

It is their first week at university when Max and Kate realise not only that they live on the same floor but that they are soul mates. They can hardly be separated anymore, they are friends, not lovers, but closer than you could ever be. They share the love for film and any secret. Even though their backgrounds couldn’t be more different, Kate from the countryside modestly raised by her mother whereas Max’ parents are successful and quite rich. Yet, one evening changes everything when Max’ cousin Lewis, who has eyed their friendship jealously for years, thinks he can take whatever he wants: Kate. The young woman falls into a deep hole. Afterwards, there is not much left of the creative and lively art student; suffering from a severe depression and increasingly self-harming herself, she does not find a way to confide in somebody. She has always been more insecure than others but now, she has lost her footing.

Rosie Price’s book starts out like a wonderful college novel. The immediate friendship between Kate and Max is mesmerising, it is really enchanting to see how two strangers can get along so well and form mutual trust without hesitation. But then the tide turns and so does the atmosphere. What I liked about it was the fact that the author does not use any direct brutal violence to describe what happens to Kate but focuses much more on the effect this traumatic experience has on her.

“And so instead she said nothing, hoping that if she chose not to voice whatever it was that lodged in her chest, somewhere between her lungs and her heart, it would diminish; that its toxicity might find its own means of excreting itself from her body”

The protagonist does not break down immediately, she keeps on going and to a certain extent is capable of deceiving the people around her and pretending everything is fine. I guess this is the trickiest part of such an experience that you cannot see what is going on inside somebody’s head and if you are not really closely observing, the actual emotional state might go unnoticed. A positive aspect, on the other hand, is that help comes from an unexpected person and that ultimately, Kate finds a way of opening up and talking to somebody about what is going on with her. In my opinion, the representation of Kate’s state of mind is quite accurate and also how she tries to hint at what happens but is not understood.

The story might trigger destructive memories in some readers, nevertheless I would definitely recommend reading the novel since it provides insight how a woman might become a victim in a supposedly safe environment and how these assaults might go unnoticed and the perpetrators get away with it.

This was so much more powerful and intense than I thought it would be but in a good way . Initially I thought it would be more of a coming of age story touching on the said issue but instead it explores the trauma and life long effects of sexual assault. It is also a family saga and you get to meet a lot of characters and discover their complexities as well which I liked .
An excellent debut .

Kate meets Max at university and they quickly become close friends. Soon Kate gets to know his successful, glamourous family, but their friendship and her life will be changed irrevocably after she is raped by a member of his family at one of their house parties. She then struggles with self harm, low self esteem and doubt until she finds a way tomove forward. This is a very important issue and the assault and its aftermath are described in a visceral and insightful way. However, the incident was just one smallish part in a meandering and quite dreary narrative about Kate, Max and his family before the attack. They mostly came across as inlikeable and unengaging rather than the fascinating and cultured people they were meant to be. I also found the ending unsatisfactory and rather disturbing.