As many of my readers know, I've been a fan of vampires since I first picked up 'Dracula' when I was about 10. Hey, books don't have an age-rating, do they? (OK, I got scared, but I loved it!)

In recent years, there's been such a glut of urban-supernatural fiction on the shelves that it's hard to find the true horror among them. I've gone from reading everything I could get my hands on with vampires in, to being a LOT more choosy. No sparkling, thanks.

I was therefore hugely glad to discover that 'Code Red' is absolute red-blooded horror, with a fantastic mix of old-school vampire scares mixed with small-town America creepiness. If 'True Blood' wasn't so much about relationships and more about survival.

We have a dying country town of closed-down factories and despondent not-quite rednecks, as well as a mysterious asylum - or perhaps research facility? - nearby that has a troublesome new resident. With the mood of the recent TV show 'From', it seems as if folk can't come into town without experiencing difficulties, let's say, and nobody's able to leave - but that's less supernatural and more the idea of being trapped in the place you grew up as life passes you by.

I was doubtful as to the characters when I first met them, but needn't have worried. Everyone is very real, even if they initially might seem like stereotypes. Backgrounds are sad, full of unfulfilled nostalgia and endless hope, but from the cynical lady Sheriff to the pretty girl with beauty-school ambition, they quickly become sympathetic and likeable. Just in time for the red stuff to hit the fan.

This book reminds me of the lurid foil-covered pulps of the 80s, as well as the vampire books of the 90s that kicked back against Anne Rice's romance. Imagine 'Salem's Lot' but for the modern audience; it has that same creepiness that gradually ramps up until like the protagonists, we can't escape (ie put the book down!). Oh, and spot the easter eggs if you're a fan like me.

I suspect this will be a cult classic, and it absolutely deserves the recognition that word-of-mouth will bring. I'll be recommending it.

After a slow (but worthwhile) build up, this kicks into gear in a big way in the second half and delivers some brilliant balls to the wall ordinary folks vs vampires action. R Saint Claire makes great use of her Appalachian setting and writes her characters very well, including a couple of very enjoyable strong women in protagonist Bobbi-Jean and the local sheriff. The first half is low on horror, but the tension builds well and you get to know the characters well enough to care about them when the action starts. Great fun.

Wormwood Asylum, a private mental hospital located in Southwest Virginia, specializes in treating adolescent psychoses, including Renfield’s Syndrome, an obsession with drinking blood. But when a young man is committed to Wormwood because he believes he’s a vampire, it turns out he wasn’t lying, and soon rapacious revenants are running rampant through the rural mountain community. To fight the blatant bloodsuckers, the local sheriff teams up with a candy striper and her moonshiner grandpa, who just happens to have an arsenal of war-grade weapons stored in his prepper bunker, for a bloody country hoedown of epic proportions.

This was a hidden gem. Vampires, check. Asylum, check. Southern vibes, check. I was sold from the outset and Saint Claire delivered. Excellent character development, spooky atmospheric settings, violent and tense plot line, what more was there to want. If you call yourself a horror/vampire book lover then you have got to read this book NOW!

This wasn’t the worst vampire book I’ve ever read, but it wasn’t the best either. There were too many characters to keep track of, many whom ended up not really mattering in the grand scheme of things.

I felt no real affinity toward any of the characters, nor did I root for any of them to make it to the end. The actual ending of the book was nothing spectacular, although it did end on a nite that could indicate a sequel.

I can’t say I’d recommend it to my friends because I honestly wouldn’t do so.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I had a lot of fun with this story. But there weren't that many surprises, and I figured out exactly how the story would play out pretty quickly. Now the story starts out centered around Bobbi-Jean and her work at Wormwood. Lots of creepiness and general uneasiness jump right out of the book. It creates a nice atmosphere that helps out with the slow-burn effect leading to the eventual emergence of the vamps. This story isn't really rushed and it's really easy to just pick up and read no matter where you stop at. It has a good enough framework for me to catch up pretty quickly after not touching it for a couple of months. This also allowed the latter part of the book to flow rather well. Around the halfway point, the atmosphere changed and we have a good fast-paced, Resident Evil shoot’m up right up until the end. My only disappointment is the reason behind the mad science in the book, it could have been better. But other than that this was a very entertaining and well-written horror story.

3 stars out of 5.

A huge thanks to Netgalley and R. Saint Claire for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I heard that this book won an award on Wattpad and how cool. I really need to go on Wattpad more, it has come so far....Anyway! This book started off extremely well, bloody, gory and terrifying (A regular Friday night for me.) However towards the middle the story started to bore me. I felt myself not caring about the characters, they were not well rounded enough for me.

I am looking forward to the next book this author writes.

I recommend this book for people who love vampires and horror.

This book was a 3.5 for me. It was my first time reading R. Saint-Clair's work and I went back and forth on how I felt about Code Red.

What worked for me: I loved the vampires as they are presented. Common ways to kill, hungry for blood and the aspect of not knowing who will be turned next. Scary immortal beings in a literary world that too often romanticizes them. Reading the account of Bobbi-Jean and her grandfather Silas reminded me a bit of a personal account from World War Z by Max Brooks.

What didn't work for me: the pacing. A lot of the beginning felt very drawn out and slow. Toward the end, where I found myself fully engaged, it felt like a rush to the finish. I would have liked to have more of a bit more of the Bobbi-Jean and vampire leader confrontation.

Overall, not bad just wish certain parts would have had more development.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a free ARC. I am happy to provide an honest review in return.

I wanted this one to work!

An asylum gets a new patient. He has a mental illness and suffers from symptoms that cause cravings for blood as food! In other words: He believes he is a Vampire.

"Very rare" the head Psychiatrist says to the patient's parents. Not to worry though. As this is the best facility to provide the best treatment of course.

One tiny problem. He's a real vampire.

As you can anticipate. The vampire turns the facility upside down. Creating and unleashing a group of looney tunes turned vampires. There is gore, yet somewhat frightful, and solid attempts at humor. Unfortunately, it reads more like a script, and not a good one at that.

Perhaps there's a movie to made from this. As a horror novel alone, it cries amateur and screams for a back up writer to make it work.

*Thank you to BooksGoSocial via NetGalley for the digital review copy.

This is a fun read! Saint Claire creates a thrilling vampire story that readers can sink their teeth into (sorry, I couldn't resist!).

Bobbi-Jean has big dreams: beauty school and a life beyond the rural mountains of Virginia. She works at the asylum, lives with her grandfather, and has a boyfriend named Donnie. It's a quiet life until a particular patient is admitted for care. Now, she and those she cares about must fight for their lives as the patients morph into something deadly.

Saint Claire slams on the gas and doesn't let up! The fast paved horror takes readers through a fresh twist on an classic premise. The characters come to life with realistix dialogue, and readers are sure to sympathize with Bobbi-Jean as she struggles to survive and decide how to navigate her future.

For fans of vampire horror, this is sure to satisfy that itch!

Absolutely fangtstic! R Saint Claire definitely has a way with writing that just works for me. loved this one

The premise of this book sounded so great. I was ready for a good B-movie type horror book.

The build up to the action reveal about 40-50% was really interesting and I couldn’t wait to see what was gonna happen. Everything after that I just was bored and had to reread parts because I didn’t realize what was happening.

Really slow.

I was really bored by the time I finished



Thanks netgalley for the ARC

2 ⭐️

Less vampires, more pregnant single woman and mad scientists. Perfect for fans of resident evil. I was hoping for more vampire at the beginning.

The premise of this book sounded so promising, and it was great to read the southern lingo and the characters were an interesting bunch.

I personally found this to be a little bit of a slower read. It seems to take its time getting to the action, I had to keep picking it up and rereading parts I’d missed while zoning out.

This one wasn’t for me, but others are sure to find it captivating.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and BooksGoSocial for a copy.

I had no issues imagining this book as a movie as I read. It was made to be a movie.

This starts off with a couple that have been driving all night to drop their vampire son off at a mental hospital, because they think he is just imagining that he is a vampire. The joke is on them, cause it was not all in his head.

This was a southern book, so there is a lot of things I recognized, since that is what I am, so seeing people named Cooter did not look out of the ordinary to me.

The first, lets say 25% was really good. I had an issue getting through the rest and the ending could have been a bit different.

I highly recommend this one if you need a palate cleanser, as it has good vibes.

This book read like a "B" vampire movie. And I loved it!
The first 1/2 -3/4 I admit was better than the ending but only because the ending seemed a bit rushed, extra cheesy and very predictable. Still, with that being said, I really enjoyed it.
This book was light, fun, creepy, and mixed with some Southern humor. Bless her heart, it was good!
If you're in need of a quick, entertaining read to get you out of a reading slump or to cleanse your reading palate between books, give this one a try!
I gave this 4.5⭐️, rounded up to 5⭐️. I will definitely check out more of this author's work. If her other books are anything like this one, she has gained a new fan!

One of the best vampire books I’ve read in awhile! Couldn’t put it down for nothing. Perfect amount of gore, character building & creep factor! Can’t wait to read more from this author.

I was darawn to this book by both the front cover and the description and I wasn't disappointed. An absolutely gripping read that I couldn't put down. I loved it.

In Code Red R. Saint Claire weaves one heck of a tale. From reading the blurb I thought I knew what to expect, figuring it would be a rather straightforward vampire story, and yet it’s way more than that. It has well fleshed out characters, great pacing…seriously the build up is fantastic. It’s not in your face horror right from the start, in fact it isn’t until 40-50 % in that things start to get bloody. Rather it’s a steady build up as little bits and pieces of information are dished out, getting you more and more connected to the characters and keeping you engaged and wondering what will happen next. R. Saint Claire is a new author to me but based on Code Red she’s one I’ll be keeping an eye on from now on. 4.5 stars. Thanks so much to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Code Red.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1LP49DE3RSS95/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Code Red was such an astounding read! I was drawn in by the quote "𝙑𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙍𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙨𝙮𝙡𝙪𝙢!"

Code Red is my first read by R. Saint Claire and this story did not disappoint! The events are very unique and suck you in, pun unintentionally intended and no regrets had making the pun or reading this book! Filled with blood, gore (not constant) and a ton of vampires! You'll love the amazing character building and wickedly delightful horror atmosphere.

What are you waiting for!? Get this book, it won't let you down!

Thank you Netgalley and R. Saint Claire for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.