Oh, that Dex and Perry! I love these two and writing a review of the Experiment in Terror books is effortless and fun, I swear! First off, Perry. How do I even express how much I love this girl? I wish more authors would make a Perry in their stories. Perry is complex, in fact I know there is so much more to her based off the hints Karina Halle is dropping through the series, but even if I didn't feel that something was coming, I'd still think Perry was a 100% developed character.
Also, the romance that has no romance concept is one of my favorite things about this series. I LOVE that Perry and Dex have to work together, that he has a beautiful girlfriend, and that he teases her about how they +might+ have something else in their future.
OK, Dex. In the first book I didn't feel like I knew Dex all that well because it's mostly about Perry. But in Red Fox we see bits and pieces of Dex that start to peel away the layers hidden there. I think I will eventually love Dex when I finally get to see the real him. But we did learn, with some delight, that he wears boxers, not briefs. ;)
OK, the plot. I'm not a fan of the whole Native American spirit world, but I enjoyed this trip to the Southwest. I enjoyed the characters there, the bar, the crazy rural people and setting (I live in this kind of place myself) and the wacky ranchers.
My favorite part, and don't ask me why because I'm sure people don't think it's as funny as I do, was when Perry came home after getting in a bit of trouble while Dex was away in town.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable. I leave you alone for two hours and you fall off a cliff, get attacked by a crow, and a snake explodes all over you."
I get it, you have to be there, but I laughed so hard picturing Perry all thrashed up and Dex just looking down at her like WTF are you doing? ! :)
Here's why Red Fox gets a five star and most of the other books I review on here don't quite make it: These books are FUN. They make me laugh and in fact, almost the minute I pick one up, I begin to smile. How is that NOT a five star read? It just is.
I'm getting ready to write an article on the trends in NA books these days and in my opinion, and take from that what you will, I'm no expert beyond what you see here, Karina Halle has definitely started a new trend in NA literature that bucks the old system of how we look at girls/women and what we expect in a five star character.
I'm gonna be honest, I don't particularly care for some of the ways in which adult women are being portrayed in the new adult market - but everything I see about Perry is awesome. From her struggle in high school with her weight, to her nagging self-doubts, to her sense of humor, and outcast feeling. Perry is real. Perry is me, almost! Except, I'm way older than Perry...but I remember! That's the point!
I wish more authors would take a good long look at the characters they build and decide to make them more real. How they do that is up to them, but Karina Halle has nailed it, so please, don't copy her. We only need one Perry. (Just like we only ever needed one Bella.) Find that part of you that struggles and make a character out of it.
I love this series, I love Ms. Halle's writing, and I will definitely continue to pick up her books in the future.
Originally posted over at New Adult Addiction
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sassb
Ticks all the boxes - sooo good.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 11, 2013