Ruby Red

First of all I finished this in less than a day! When a story is so good you can’t put it down the author is doing something right. And yet again I’m annoyed at myself for reading it so fast and now having to wait for the next book 😂 I love this story. It’s unlike anything I’ve read before and the twists and turns that you don’t see coming are absolutely brilliant. Can’t wait to have them all as paper copies on my bookshelf.

Ruby Red by Nikki Minty.
Zadok series book 2.
Another brilliant read from Nikki. I love this series. Great story and characters. Can't wait for next book. 5*.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I was so happy to see this available. I definitely was dying for more once I finished Pastel Pink. This book took a very unexpected turn. I love how easy this book is to read and how hard it is to put it down. I read it in two days. A book of similar length before this took me about a week. I liked the relationship developments. I also like that Harlow finally started seeing Slater clearly. I’m sad about the way it ended, but I didn’t kind of anticipate it. I’m already looking forward to the next. With the name, I’m hoping I get lots of Jax action.

I have been waiting eagerly for book 2 of the Zadok series and Ruby Red certainly didn’t disappoint.
Firstly the cover is again, amazing. Alex/Slater is even more handsome than I imagined.

The story takes off exactly where book 1 finished and as I’ve come to expect from Nikki Minty’s story telling, the book was just as fast paced and exciting as Pastel Pink.

The world building was fantastic. I’m amazed at the authors ability to not only imagine, but also describe so well the planet of Zadok. I enjoyed seeing Summer and Spring and felt for Jax at the end.

This was a great addition to the Zadok series and cannot wait for the next book (Please let Harlow pick Jax).

I received an arc copy of Ruby Red through NetGalley, uploaded by Books Go Social.

Second in the series and quite the adventure! I didn't read the first one, so had a bit of catching up to do to figure out the new world, but had no real problem. A good adventure, like the whole "color caste" approach and looks to be continued. All the elements of a good fantasy adventure - definitely recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and Nikki Minty for the opportunity to read Ruby Red in exchange for an honest review.

Ruby Red is the second book in the Zadok Series, following Pastel Pink, though this second installment is far superior and immensely heart-pounding.

SPOILERS if you have not read Pastel Pink.

As this novel picks up right where the first one left off, with Harlow being left alone in the dangerous forest after certain devastating events happened between her Earth spirit, Ruby, and that of Vallon Slater's Earth Spirit, Alex.

While I like to touch on the book's plot with the majority of my reviews, I feel like discussing most aspects of the plot for this novel would give all the goods away. What I'd really like to say is the drama and tension is so much more intense in this book than the first one. All the characters were introduces and developed in book one, while this novel revolves around all these character's relationships in interesting and highly unexpected ways.

I very much appreciate the different relationships and drama going on among Harlow, Zavier, Jax, Slater, and Floss, with a few others strewn in. I also appreciate that the Earth aspect of this novel with Ruby is very small and just didn't feel like it had a place in this story. Most of Harlow's time is spent on Zadok, with about 5% of the novel being on Earth, if that, as opposed to Pastel Pink's 50/50 of the storylines. This book was much more focused, and the worldbuilding continues to develop in interesting ways.

A few unexpected twists occur that really add to the relationship drama and dynamic of the novel. I'll touch on just a few of the plot elements without giving away all the true fun of it.

Jax: still into Harlow and working on breaking down the color hierarchy
Zavier: still into Harlow, but may finally move on...maybe?
Slater: still into Harlow, even though he treated her poorly and overreacted
Floss: maybe kind of starting to like her sister?
Harlow: dealing with her own feelings, hiding from the color system because of her current circumstances, more so than usual, and seeing some new places on Zadok outside of the Zeek caves

The end was a bit awkward, but  there is a lot of potential for events to come with these characters. A really fun, fast read, even better than the first novel, which has me itching for book three! And yes, it would appear there will be a third installment October 2021 called Powerful Purples.

OMG where do I even begin?!
This book was HECTIC. After the cliffhanger of Pastel Pink I was sooo ready to get going with Ruby Red. Let me tell you now that this book did not disappoint. I’m pretty sure I even enjoyed it more than Pastel Pink, which is saying a lot because I LOVED Pastel Pink, like a lot

All the new POV’s were so so great to read. I loved reading Alex/Slater’s POV, Zavier and the surprise one towards the end. But you also still have Ruby/Harlow’s Chapters which were of course 👌👌
I actually really started to like Harlow/Ruby a lot more in this book, I felt like she really changed in a good way, I’m excited to see where her relationships goes with some of the other characters in the next book 👀

All the drama going down in this book was just so exciting to read, there were definitely a few “oh shit” moments 😂
I also loved exploring more about some of the other races this time! Those specific chapters were definitely some of my favourites

Also obviously just wanting to say…
#teamJax
😂😂

Give me book 3 now please 😂😂 I can’t wait!!

this was a great second book, the cover is beautifully done and the story is just as great. I enjoyed the characters and going through this world.

This series has become a top favourite for me since reading it. I love how simple the writing is, and I don’t mean that to be cruel. I mean that it’s a breath of fresh air compared to being stuck in a house without A/C. In the world of books these days, between 20+ books in a series and books with so much wording it gets overwhelming, having a light simple read like this clears my mind and I get to just enjoy the story.

Nikki has a brilliant mind when it comes to writing, and I can’t believe everything that happens in one book. Just having different POVs, as much conflict as there is and the characters. I’m hooked from page one of Pastel Pink. Nikki needs more recognition as an author and I hope that in the future she gets the spot light she deserves!