Red at Night - Review

Red at Night

By: Katie McGarry

Published: April 1st 2014 by Harlequin Special Releases

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Source: Kindle Freebie

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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Goodreads description--In Red at Night, Stella and Jonah are total opposites. She's the girl with purple hair from the wrong part of town. He's a high school senior who hangs with the cool crowd. Until a car accident leaves him haunted by guilt, and Jonah starts spending time at Stella's favorite refuge…the local cemetery.

Stella knows she should keep her distance—after all, she spent her girlhood being bullied by Jonah's friends. Once he's sorted out his tangled emotions, Jonah won't have time for her anymore. Too bad she's already fallen for him….

Red at Night is short. That should be obvious with it being a novella and all. But it's Katie McGarry, so I got sucked in rather quickly. I love how even with so few pages, Katie McGarry was able to give me the impression that I knew both Stella and Jonah very well. Stella's home life is essentially the exact opposite of Jonah's. He father leaves her with whatever girlfriend he's conned. Stella lives in constant fear of being kicked out and not having a place to go. She's often hungry, and rarely has everything that she needs. The worst part of all is that Stella's learned that without hope there is no disappointment. But is Jonah too much to hope for?

Jonah has had it all growing up. His family moves to a different, bigger home regularly. He's surrounded by friends at school. He's never known how it feels to not even have a pair of shoes that fit. As a matter of fact, his group of friends have often made fun of Stella. And he's done nothing to stop it. But as the description states, one night and a car accident changes Jonah. He can't go back to the way things were. He can't witness what he's witnessed and not be affected by it.

More than anything, I just wanted more. Stella and Jonah's story builds nicely, but then the climax and resolution felt too rush to me. I guess that's the way things typically go with novellas.

I loved how Katie McGarry and Harlequin included the Goodie Two Shoes foundation focus. I honestly don't know much about this foundation, but I'm thankful that Harlequin and Katie McGarry are shedding some light on those whose focus is on helping others. I'll definitely be looking into this foundation more.

Red at Night gets 4 Stars. Have you read Red at Night? What did you think? Let me know!