Red: A Love Story

Marco and Marisa are teacher and student, a recipe for one of the original taboo romances. They share a love of classic literature, using the words of the past to express their feelings in the present. Their romance is a whirlwind; they fall fast and deeply, but Marisa’s past and relationship with her mother is a complication Marco doesn’t want to be a part of. When the couple is discovered and Marco’s reputation is on the line, he makes a decision based on his own history of heartbreak. Is their love as star-crossed as those they have read about?

Set in Brazil, Collet’s inclusion of the beauty of Sao Paolo makes for a vivid backdrop, however the narrative is often unnecessarily wordy. The storyline itself lacks direction at times and the book, noted as a stand-alone novel, ends on a lackluster note at best. There are two more volumes forthcoming and there is a rather obvious cliffhanger ending, leaving the reader to wonder what direction Collet will take next. Dubbed as a “thinking woman’s Fifty Shades of Grey”, any similarity between the two books is superficial at best. Perhaps future volumes will add the depth to the story it is currently lacking.