Donja Bellanger, suffering after the death of her father, finds herself in dire straits when her mom takes a new husband. Forced not only to move to a strange city, but to share a room with her glamorous, new stepsister, Makayla Hampton, her life spirals out of control.Makayla lures her from goth to glam, straight into an exclusive club, not only for wealthy elites but Immortal Descendants. Donja … Descendants. Donja crosses paths with Torin Mancini and he’s too damn handsome to be real.
Torin, who has concealed his identity as a powerful ancient sprit for eight hundred years, sets his eyes on Donja; there’s something about her blood, something he can’t walk away from. He’s not alone. A deadly predator has picked up her scent.
Stalked, she reaches out to Torin, but the lure of her blood has him on edge. As Torin battles his heart desires and feelings he thought buried and gone, one thing is clear: they have as much, if not more to fear of each other than the predator who would have her life.
Is love enough? Can she accept him for what he is and better yet, can he control his hungry, hungry eyes?
A beautiful love story with relentless action, elite battles and steamy moments… unforgettable!
more
Chasing the Red Queen by Karen Glista will grip your attention from the start. Donja Bellanger hides behind Gothic attire until her new step-sister treats her to a makeover for her eighteenth birthday. Detective Torin Mancini is investigating Chippewa girls who have been brutally killed. It draws the Iridescent killer (not vampire) to Donja because of her rare blood, causing Donja and Torin to go to drastic measure to protect her.
Karen Glista separates herself in the paranormal romance by including Iridescent in Chasing the Red Queen. They would be like vampires, but on a different level. There is a lot going on with teenage drama, a new family, moving, and murder. It engulfed me in the lives of the characters and enjoyed each twist. Truthfully, I struggled with putting this book down, yet it became so intense I had to take a break. I will look for more from this author.
This is a pacey, paranormal, action and adventure story with a number of aspects that I liked but also a few that I didn’t. Donja Bellanger is an unhappy goth girl about to turn 18 and things are not going very well for her. Her mother is remarrying and while her soon-to-be stepfather seems to be nice enough, they’ll be moving far away from her childhood home to a new house in Sault Ste. Marie. She doesn’t want to leave her best friend and she’s not over her boyfriend cheating on her. Her new step sister, Makayla, doesn’t show any signs of liking her and then she discovers they’ll be sharing a room.
She soon discovers she’s not so bad and shortly after moving to their new home, Donja goes out with Makayla and her boyfriend to an upmarket club. Sault Ste. Marie has had some gruesome murders of young women recently and one of the investigators, Torin Mancini, knows more about them than he is able to let on. The moment he lays eyes on Donja, he is drawn to her in a way that he hasn’t been in a long, long time.
This is an interesting twist on the usual vampire mythology. Iridescents are much like vampires with the need to feed on blood but they’re able to be out in daylight and things like garlic and silver don’t kill them. The Iridescents from this area of North America also have a lust for the blood of the Chippewa people which brought in a nice ethnic diversity to the story. Donja’s age bothered me a little bit but as the story unfolds and the history of Donja’s family becomes more apparent, I found it less disconcerting. It also helped that Donja’s mother’s reaction to her behaviour was quite realistic.
Donja and Torin’s instalove didn’t work for me though. I can suspend my disbelief around a couple getting together really quickly when there is a lot of meaningful interaction between the two of them. Donja and Makayla’s interaction was more meaningful in a shorter space of time than Donja’s was with Torin. The Iridescents is a male dominated hierarchy and the women seem to be of no more importance that to provide blood, sex and offspring.
The story is filled with action, epic battles and surprises. The unravelling of the plot kept me engaged and reading. The part I liked least was the romance but fortunately there was so much more to keep me entertained.
“Is it possible to love and hate someone at the same time?”
Donja Bellanger, goth teenager, and her brother Frankie are becoming part of a new blended family as their mother remarries and they all move into Sault St Marie and begin a new life. Little does anyone know life at Hampton Manor will be more than anyone could believe.
Torin Mancini and Gage LeBlanc are cops working on a series of strange cases that may present as horrific but have paranormal links. It’s more than coincidental that Gage, who is actually dating Donja’s new stepsister and Torin quickly become a foursome. In fact it’s predestined by old Chippewa legends that Donja is much more than even she knows. She both falls for and is repelled by all that Torin stands for, as the four of them, plus her stepfather, her mother and the whole population surrounding them gets ready for the ultimate battle of good v evil. Will love beat history?
This book reminded me of the Twilght series. However, it is not a rehashing of that. The two “Soos”, as divided as they are, are united even in their differences like the metaphoric design of the bridge that spans them. I think the book is a wee bit too long, and seems heavily populated which makes it drag in spots. Overall, I like Karen Glista’s story and do recommend it.
Donja is a teenager dealing with a huge loss in the death of her father. Furthermore, her mother has now remarried and she finds herself bunking up with her new step-sister whose glamorous princess style couldn’t be more different from Donja’s goth look. The girls soon have bigger problems than social differences. There is someone or something viciously attacking young women in town. The two detectives assigned the case are more than just officers of the law. They are ancient souls all too familiar with the creature who is attacking these young Chippewa women. When the lead on the case comes across Donja he is instantly attracted in a dangerous way, for he deeply craves her blood. Can he and his partner stop the ancient force before it overtakes this rare beauty?
This book is so much fun. It’s a great mix of humanistic features and fantasy elements. There is definitely some violence and gore but mostly appropriate for the older young adult set.
Modern day vampire novels have pretty much been done to death so it takes an imaginative mind and strong writing to really engage me in this genre now. Having said that I was pleasantly surprised by Chasing the Red Queen, and found this to be the most refreshing novel of its kind I have read in a long time. I guess it’s Young-Adult-ish in it’s niche but isn’t cheesy the way a lot of those books tend to be so still suitable for an older reader.
Overall it’s strong writing, good plot, convincing characters, what’s not to like.
Not what I expected. Not at all. But that is in the most positive way. Vampire stories are normally much alike each other but this one surprised me. I liked it a lot. Well written story with a nice storyline and plot. I like that the characters and how they develop.
A passionate and emotional read with new twists. Enjoyable and recommendable.
It is a mystery/paranormal/romance novel that has a lot in it. Not usually what I read but this one I can recommend to others and I will come back to this author. The story has more sites to it. It is weaved into each other in such a captivating and enjoyable way.
There are passion, drama, danger, passion, hot scenes and lots of chemistry in this amazing story.
The book, which combines several genres: romance, fantasy and detective. I undoubtedly liked this, I really enjoyed reading. I especially liked the characters and how the author developed them.
The story starts with the fact that a young girl named Donja Bellanger had to move to Sault Ste Marie Michigan due to family circumstances. Her mother found a new man, with who she was going to merry, after the death of her father and Donja had to accept a new life. There she meets her step sister Makayla Hampton. In the same place strange phenomena starts – someone kills and rapes young girls. Young and handsome detectives take up this business. Donja realizes that something binds her and Torin, he is one of detectives. It turned out that Donja has rare blood that makes him crazy and it is like a “magnet” for Thorin, therefore Torin wants to protect Donja. Can this relationship develop? I just fell in love with this story, couldn’t put it down. It’s awesome to read about such strong relationship and how they care and think about each other. Highly recommended!
I was enraptured the moment Torin and Donja met each other, the tense gazes towards each other, the want, no the need to be near and touch each other was overwhelming. I didn’t quite know what I was getting into when I started the novel and that welcomed mysterious feeling didn’t quite go away as I further read the book.
I truly applaud the author being able to write about such dark experiences with such loving words and in comfortable situations for the character. Many novels that I have read, when dark pasts come up, it is difficult in integrate it into the book without it being the main problem or theme.
I truly would recommend this novel to anyone, particularly young adults who are interested in the dark, romantic, and paranormal novels. This novel held a great amount of action and every turn was unexpected.
Fantasy and Thriller fiction combine in ‘Chasing the Red Queen’ from Karen Glister – a engaging love story between a grieving girl and an ancient entity, who struggles to control his more sinful desires for her. Donja has recently lost her dad and founds her life completely turned upside down when her mother remarries and she has to try and settle in a completely new environment. Her step-sister introduces Donja to an exclusive underground world, where Immortal Descendants mingle with the rich. It is here where she catches the eye of Torin – he is not only drawn to her beauty, but to her blood as well. In fact, the scent of her blood has captivated another, a malevolent predator that will stop at nothing to get his hands on her. Can Torin help her, or will his oven desires prove to be too powerful?
A thrilling read that is a love story at its heart, with darkness all the way through. The characters are compelling and well-developed, and the plot is exciting and twisting. There is definitely a potential for a successful series here for Karen Glister.
I would highly recommend Chasing the Red Queen to fans of fantasy fiction as it takes a refreshing take on the likes of the Twilight Saga and the Mortal Instruments series. Instead of being a typical love story between a supernatural entity and a teenage girl, a chilling murder mystery is threaded into the plot. This novel would probably be more for adults than teen readers as there is plenty of gruesome scenes, strong language, and erotic scenes. However, it as well-written and a novel that I did enjoy. There was plenty on tension within the plot, as well as likeable characters, particularly protagonists Donja (17-year-old relocated after he father’s death and mother’s remarriage) and Detective Torin Mancini (who must solve the murders of numerous women if he is to save the girl he is falling for…oh and he is an 800 ancient spirit). A pretty great read.
Michigan author Karen Glista is a registered nurse whose interests include camping, canoeing the Pine River, cooking and caring for her home in the woods. She spends her alone time writing novels – her three volume Chronicles of Orian, The Taking of Peggy Martin, and now Chasing the Red Queen.
To set the stage for her paranormal novel, Karen offers in her Prologue – ‘Just because you fail to believe, doesn’t make it a given. It is written in the ancient birch parchments of the Ojibwe that seven spirits presented themselves to the people in the Land of the Dawn to teach the Mide way of life. The first six spirits were good and kind, but the seventh grew too powerful and killed those in his presence. The other six spirits took to the river and swam back to the ocean from whence they came.’
And so we enter the strange world of this book, but Karen has that keen sense of seduction by opening her novel with very real memories – ‘ You know, looking back, I remember so well that summer I turned eighteen. Black was my color, goth my life, Debbie Hall my BFF, Kevin my heartthrob, weekends at Silver Beach, the mall, an android phone and a used Honda Civic, my very own. Life was good, really, really, good and then— it all changed.’ And she proceeds to make the setting calm and congenial – ‘The day was glorious with the blinding overhead orb pushing the temperatures past eighty degrees. Cruising down Lakeshore Drive with the waves of Lake Michigan crashing, seventeen-year-old Donja Bellanger bypassed the city of St. Joseph, her destination its sister city of Benton Harbor. She glanced over to Debbie, her best friend since fourth grade, who was applying gloss over her black lipstick. “Don’t let me forget to get eyeliner, I’m out!” she shouted over the iconic tunes of The Cure. Just off Napier Avenue, which was busy for the noon hour, Donja sped through a yellow light and rolled into Benton Harbor. Adrift in the music which was all but rattling the fender wells, she darted ahead of oncoming traffic into the parking lot of the Burger Shack. She eased her Honda into the drive-through, manning the steering wheel with her knees while digging in her purse for loose change. After grabbing their sugar-free, vanilla lattes, she careened past a delivery truck onto Pipestone Road. Sipping her latte, she took a fast exit without the courtesy of a blinker, cars honking as she darted into the parking lot of Hurley’s Quick Stop. She pulled alongside the pumps and got out, the smell of gasoline nauseating.’
She has us captured and now we learn of vampires and other paranormal aspects that make this book so readable. In her synopsis she places a guide – ‘Donja Bellanger, suffering after the death of her father, finds herself in dire straits when her mom takes a new husband. Forced not only to move to a strange city, but to share a room with her glamorous, new stepsister, Makayla Hampton, her life spirals out of control. Makayla lures her from goth to glam, straight into an exclusive club, not only for wealthy elites but Immortal Descendants. Donja crosses paths with Torin Mancini and he’s too handsome to be real. Torin, who has concealed his identity as a powerful ancient sprit for eight hundred years, sets his eyes on Donja; there’s something about her blood, something he can’t walk away from. He’s not alone. A deadly predator has picked up her scent. Stalked, she reaches out to Torin, but the lure of her blood has him on edge. As Torin battles his heart desires and feelings he thought buried and gone, one thing is clear: they have as much, if not more to fear of each other than the predator who would have her life. Is love enough? Can she accept him for what he is and better yet, can he control his hungry, hungry eyes?’
Well conceived, very well written, this is the kind of romantic paranormal story that holds something for every reader.
Chasing the Red Queen By Karen Glista
Rating: 3.5/5
I was enraptured the moment Torin and Donja met each other, the tense gazes towards each other, the want, no the need to be near and touch each other was overwhelming. I didn’t quite know what I was getting into when I started the novel and that welcomed mysterious feeling didn’t quite go away as I further read the book.
I truly applaud the author being able to write about such dark experiences with such loving words and in comfortable situations for the character. Many novels that I have read, when dark pasts come up, it is difficult in integrate it into the book without it being the main problem or theme.
I truly would recommend this novel to anyone, particularly young adults who are interested in the dark, romantic, and paranormal novels. This novel held a great amount of action and every turn was unexpected.
I am personally giving the book a 3.5/5 because this novel is like so many others but wonderfully unique. (But many reviewing site don’t allow partial stars)
In all my years of reading books, this was the first that I read thoroughly that was definitely shocking and controversial in terms of subject matter. It is a tale of paranormal romance involving a teenage girl named Donja Bellanger and her illicit love affair with the centuries-old, adult male vampire (in this book, the term is Iridescent) Torin Mancini. Now I cringed when I realized that the author herself did not keep Donja from continuing with her affair with Torin because such a relationship is illegal but she kept on going with it, it made me furrow my eyebrows and think, okay is this even
legal? And to make matters worse, there is a love scene between the two.
Anyway, back to the plot, Torin marks Donja as his territory because Donja it seems, is being eyed by another ancient male Iridescent (vampire) who seems to be going on a killing spree of Chippewa females (this is an American Indian tribe) who are descendants of the Durent family group because they all have a special type of blood that these Iridescent men need for strength and power. This is a great book but the only problem with it are the statutory rape elements that it contains. I mean, even Donja’s stepsister Makayla herself is involved with an adult Iridescent by the name of Gage who is a friend of Torin’s. I mean, what’s up with that?
Chasing the Red Queen is pacey and filled with gory details that will make the timid at heart feel queasy. It is a paranormal tale of romance that mirrors the Twilight series except that I would not recommend this book to teenagers due to the controversial subject matters. It includes a gay Iridescent as well and views him in a favorable light which to me, goes with the current issues. It basically resembles all other tales of romance between a human and a supernatural being but the illegal twists and subtle descriptions of sex and violence make it all the more “intense” and “graphic” and too much to be labeled YA fiction. It should have a rating of NC-17 if it was a movie itself and should come with an age verification feature on Amazon so that teenagers would definitely be denied from buying it in case they may be influenced by it.
Lastly, Donja’s stepsister Makayla listens to Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry, hehe.
Karen Glista’s describes her novel, Chasing the Red Queen, as “an intense romance novel.” This is not a lie. The main character, Donja Bellanger, faces a radical readjustment following an unexpected death. Her mother, equally aggrieved, takes a new husband to calm the quaking waters and generally manage the bills. While she seems to adjust to the demands of her new stepsister, named Makayla, Donja bites off more than she bargained for when she finds the one she’s attracted to has a peculiar way about him, to put it mildly. The story is indeed penetrating and told in a rather bold and creative fashion. It would do well with a strong, steady editor for word use, etc. But the action is unceasing, and there is very little down time. Steamy language and situations; probably not recommended for younger readers.
A few years ago I read ,,Interview with a vampire” Anne Rice and is it still one of my favourite books. Choosing K. Glista’s Chasing the red queen I was hoping it would be another excellent reading. I was not disappointed.
Karen Glista tell a story about a teenage girl Called Donja who lost her dad recently and after some time she meets Torin, an older, mysterious and intriguing guy. It turned out her new friend is ancient, hundreds of years old spirit.
The author shows fantastic imagination, creating a cast of vibrant and realistic characters. I truly like a romantic love story between an immortal Donaj and a vampire Torin.
Seventeen-year-old Donja has recently lost her beloved Father and has to endure another major change when her mother remarries and she must relocate to Michigan. Through her step-sister, she meets mysterious Detective Mancini, tasked with solving the gruesome murders of numerous Chippewa women. She is instantly attracted to Torin Mancini, who just happens to be an 800-year-old ancient spirit with great power. To Torin the attraction is mutual, but he senses in her blood a link to the Chippewa bloodline that an evil force that has an insatiable need to destroy. Torin must but his own desires aside to protect Donja, whilst she herself is struggling to accept his mysterious and supernatural past.
I’m not ashamed to say that I read ‘Chasing the Red Queen’ by Karen Glister in one sitting. It has one of those storylines where you just need to know what will happen with Torin and Donja next. Genuinely a great love story, that has the great fantasy twist, as well as a little bit of a murder mystery thrown in. Definitely, an entertaining way to spend a cold winter evening.