Donja Bellanger was an eighteen-year-old girl who’s into gothic fashion and music. She puts on gothic makeup to mask her emotional suffering due to her father’s death. But she transformed into gothiglam after developing a sisterly relationship with Makayla. Donja’s mother married Makayla’s father. Subsequently, their family has to move to an old manor in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is a strange place, and their life has never been the same after Donja caught the eye of the two Iridescents. Torin Mancini is one of them. They do not call their kind vampires even though they were similarly immortal bloodsuckers.
Torin and Donja met during the most dangerous time for the Chippewa bloodline. A sadistic serial killer was on the loose, raping and killing Chippewa females. The moment Torin saw Donja and caught her scent, he knew that she was a special creature possessing a rare kind of blood – the one that the serial killer will desperately haunt for power.
THE EBOOK COPY WAS GIVEN BY ONLINE BOOK CLUB IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
“Let me just say that I’ve made mistakes in the past that, even now, haunt me. I can’t live like that again, I won’t, and furthermore, I won’t push myself upon any woman who doesn’t accept me unconditionally, for who and what I am.”
— Karen Glista, Chasing The Red Queen pic.twitter.com/7RjgoLiAgq
— — bits (@bitsofinkling) December 2, 2021
Chasing the Red Queen is a vampire romance novel written by Karen Glista. It also has a touch of mystery, action, and a bit of history. Upon searching the internet, I found out that the Iridescents (or miigis) were spiritual creatures who appeared to the Anishinaabe tribe, one of the first people in Canada. This legend was part of Native American history. The author used it to create an engrossing vampire tale. In this book, the vampires came from the most powerful of the seven miigis. For me, this entire Iridescent history made this book very interesting. It gave depth to the whole story.
I am also a sucker for a rich, handsome, and powerful male protagonist. Torin is a perfect man. Add to it that he works as a lead detective for the Ontario Soo. On the other hand, Donja is a sad, rebellious teenage girl. I began to like her when she opened herself to Makayla. But then again, it changed when she started displaying sexual hunger for Torin because she’s too young for that. Their age gap is fine with me. It’s just that the way their love story progressed was too fast, and they do not know each other on a deeper level. If they developed their feelings in the right amount of time, the readers would not feel like Torin just fell in love with her blood and Donja with his physical attributes.
“If you had not suffered the pain, would you have so welcomed true love?”
– Karen Glista, Chasing the Red Queen pic.twitter.com/JdV96b0meT
— — bits (@bitsofinkling) December 2, 2021
Another part that I liked was Donja and Makayla’s unexpected bond. At first, I thought that they were going to be rivals. But, it turned out to be the opposite. I genuinely cried on the scene where they opened up about their struggles after losing one of their parents.
This book contains more dialogues than narration. Sometimes, I cannot get the right emotion for a scene. Also, the first few pages were slow as the author used them to develop the mystery in the manor and introduce other characters. I gave my full attention to it after Torin and Donja finally met. I do not like the part when these vampires always have sexual needs. They use females only for sexual pleasure.
I will not recommend this to readers younger than 18 because of its sexual content and gruesome murder detail. I am sure vampire fiction lovers will find enjoyment in this one.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Not four due to the reasons I mentioned in the previous paragraphs. Not two because of its intriguing plot. There were a few minor errors but, taking them aside, it was well edited.
“Matters of the heart are not easily dismissed,” she said softly.
“…but some things are not meant to be.”
— Karen Glista, Chasing the Red Queen pic.twitter.com/MwqPtpruRx
— — bits (@bitsofinkling) December 12, 2021
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3EMJ48w
Bits Of Inkling 
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