Red Awakening is the second book in the Red Zone series. This is also the first book I've read by this author but it will definitely not be the last..Very different from the books I usually read.There is nothing about this book that I did not love. Mace Armstrong is a Red Zone survivor and woke up 100 years in the future changed. He is a soldier out of place in a new world.
Keiko Santo is Comm Tech's press secretary.On her birthday she is looking for a man of old.A Viking she certainly gets that in Mace and a lot more than she bargained for. Keiko can absolutely hold her own against Mace.She may be tiny but she is a bad ass. I love the interaction between all the characters that makes for the best books. The action is almost non stop and keeps up until the end.
The blackest,darkest part of the night is the most secret of all.It's the time when creatures tiptoe and hold there breath for fear of discovery. It's the time when magic happens.
The chemistry between Mace and Keiko is electric.
She loved Mace Armstrong. And if it had happened fast, it was because they had lived a lifetime since they'd met.
When a author can combine humor and serious suspense together that's a 5 star read. It's futuristic without being so Science Fiction that you get lost. I get so excited when I find a new author to fall in love with.I'm looking forward to more books in this series in the future and of coarse I had to go buy the first book in the series so I can read about Striker and Friday!
“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I absolutely LOVED this second book in the Red Zone series. Thank you Janet Elizabeth Henderson for continuing with such an awesome story.

Mace Armstrong meets his match as he sets out to infiltrate the CommTECH press conference by "meeting" their press secretary and "convincing" her to get him a pass to attend so he can bug the head of the bioengineering team and leave. She just happens to be the one person on this planet that is perfect for him, even though she doesn't believe in him or his team.

Keiko Sato is a loyal CommTECH employee just out to celebrate her birthday when she meets Mace Armstrong. They are electric together and this story line made for a great backdrop to understand the basis of the Red Zone Warriors and the fight that they are undergoing for the people affected by the CommTECH giants and the new way of life that they (the Warriors) are thrust into.

There is tons of action and adventure as Mace and Keiko's adventure progresses and they try to avoid both the bad guys of CommTECH and the Freedom team who upset their plans.

I received a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and I just can't wait for future stories in this series!

This book has a little bit of everything and all of it amazing!

When Keiko is out on the town for her birthday celebration, all she wants is a steamy night with a Viking who doesn’t talk much. She certainly finds him, and she’s all in for a good time. Unfortunately, her Viking has a hidden agenda and Keiko is caught up in a swirl of danger that will open her eyes to the world she truly lives in.

Mace was against the mission from the beginning. But once he lays eyes on the petite press secretary, his current target, his first instinct is to claim her. Despite his internal reminders that he can’t take things further, she’s a firecracker and he can’t help but yield to his desire. When the truth is finally revealed to Keiko, he knows he’s lost the only thing that has awakened every part of him but he’ll still give his life to keep her safe.

I loved everything about this story! Keiko is a tiny thing with an attitude of someone capable of taking down the strong. She is fierce and feisty, never hesitating to threaten and act when provoked. I laughed at some of her antics and the reaction they caused in Mace. He drove her crazy and as his secrets are revealed she doesn’t think twice before speaking her mind.

’It was one thing to dream about a grumpy, take charge Viking. It was totally something else to deal with them in real life. In real life, the caveman attitude wasn’t sexy at all.
Mostly.’

There is nothing I love more than a hero with a “mine” mentality and Mace definitely falls into that category, as well as all the others that I love about a hero. He’s a huge, hulking guy with a past unlike any I’ve read before. His need to protect and claim was absolutely delicious even as he struggled with what his past had forced upon him. When Keiko threw him her bigger than life attitude it made him want to laugh or kiss her or both. The more violent her threats and actions (which couldn’t hurt a fly) the more the fell for her.

’The woman needed a keeper. She caused problems wherever she went, poking her nose in all over the place, taking on people who were twice her size. She had no sense of self-preservation…’

This is such a fun, action filled read with plenty of humor that was sharp and on point. While the chemistry between Keiko and Mace absolutely sizzles, it doesn’t consume the story. With a fast start, things only crank up even more in intensity as things move forward for this couple. There is never a moment when this bogs down. Something is constantly happening or things revealed that left me hungry to continue reading even when life dictated that I stop. The secondary characters are as well developed as the hero and heroine and I’m anxious to read more from this series. I did not read book one but was not lost at all as this gives us all the information we need to move forward.

I read Red Zone and was looking forward to the second installment to the story. This is a series and while this can be read as a stand alone, I think reading the first book will give context.

I thought Red Awakening lacked the driving urgency of Red Zone. I don't think this story was as focused which hurt the flow of the narrative. I don't too many things were thrown in which made it a bit muddled. I thought some of the banter between Mace (hero) and his teammates borderlined on mean instead of begrudging affection.

Keiko the heroine of the story was hard to connect with. The romance was a little to insta lust but I do like the world building.

All in all this took the story further and ended with the stakes being risen. I look forward to the next installment.