I don't even know where to begin with this book. It was very different from anything I have read before. At first it seems that the story, which interweaves between Romanian fairy tales and the story between Irina and Andrei, is confusing and at times out of place. But once continuing on with the story I found it actually works quite well. This is definitely one that will stick with me for a long time.

A special thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

IN THE RED by Elena Mauli Shapiro is a dark and dangerous exploration of women, power, morality, and money, in a haunting world of sex, love, and crime, mixed with Romanian history and fairy tales.

Irina was scared of colors, she was told when she once spoke Romanian, before being adopted by Americans at age five. She did not speak for nearly a year, and then she spoke English. English is when the memories began. By then she was using the colors. Not the red, though, she was still scared of the red.
Her adoptive parents found two books for her: a Romanian history and a collection of Romanian fairy tales. They both became masked together in her head. Her native country became for her a place where myth and fact were the same thing. She was fascinated by them.

As a freshman at Stanford, Irina is drawn into an Eastern European immigrant underworld, when she meets Andrei, a fellow Romanian, who says he is a capitalist entrepreneur. He is older, but she is drawn to him and they become lovers, she is a kept woman. As most kept women’s roles go, they live to shop, and stay beautiful to be at the beckoning call of their master. Even though she knows she is giving up her career and she realizes this relationship is dark and unhealthy, it is addictive.

She then begins spending time with his two associates, Romanian Drago and former Russian soldier Vasilli. She travels with the men to Las Vegas where Vasilii marries the beautiful Elena, who has been sent to him from Russia. As things turn darker and dangerous, the girls are made to attend a stage show which involves live sex, evil, and money.

Through the tragedy and danger, Irina and Elena become friends as they spend their days shopping and not really accepting what their life involves. Can they escape? Will Andrei save her? Can she become human again?

The book is not my typical type of genre; however, I am always open to expanding my reading. I found it a little confusing with the switching back and forth in time from the present, the Romanian tales, and the future. The front cover draws you into the mysterious world, and if you enjoy dark, edgy, sensual, and explorations between the lines of good and evil, you will enjoy this exotic dangerous journey to love.

http://www.judithdcollinsconsulting.com/#!In-the-Red/cmoa/8AA3429F-7DCD-4850-985E-932CBE24F61D

Very meeeh book in which nothing really happens, exept all the things you would expect from the very beginning: good girl falls for bad guy, bad guy turns out to be bad guy, she never gets over him. And that's all folks!
Only interesting thing were romanian folklore stories.

the low rating of this book is simply unfair.

a friend recommended this book, citing the inclusion of story-telling via the characters and descriptions of art pieces. though I abandoned it briefly, I, thankfully, made a swift return to finish it off. Irina is Romanian, though she was adopted by American parents and brought up in the dark about her heritage. Irina's identity is something that could be relatable to some (such as myself). when she arrives at college, she breaks free of the boundaries that held her back. as she breaks free, she falls into the arms of Andrei, an unsettling yet charming Romanian man. she quickly gets tangled up in his world as he teaches her about Romanian culture, telling stories. though described as erotic, it was more about Irina's identity. her relationship with Andrei grows dark quickly, and tension builds with each chapter that passes. readers will continuously ask a question; what is Irina's fate? it's a bittersweet one, though much better than her friend Elena's. I'd never read a book like this before, and it satiated a thirst I did not know I had. the incorporation of art and fairytales is something I haven't seen before, but it makes this book so special.

ignore the low stars this book has. In the Red is a wonderful read everyone should consider.

Spoiler

(i do wish Irina ended up with dragos...)

Hmm I honestly don’t know what to rate this book. It was a very interesting read I guess.

I can't decide how I feel about this book. I'd love to chat with someone about it. It's definitely unique. I waffle between three and four stars.

This was an interesting read - very different to any thing I've ever read and while it wasn't perfect, it was interesting. The novel has three different parts, that all intersect. There's Irina's relationship with Andrei, the aftermath, and Romanian fairy tales. I confess it was the latter two which held my attention. I never quite understood what Irina saw in Andrei, he's clearly not a good man, and I just felt she could have done better... The Romanian fairy tales were by far my favourite parts of the novel. They were very interesting. I just with the whole novel had kept my attention as well as those fairy tales.