Red Handed

I liked the first couple books in Showalter's Alien Huntress series, but didn't like the last few. So, I had mixed feelings about reading the Teen Alien Huntress series. Luckily this was a pretty darn good book. It is not high literature, but is fun to read and full of action.

Phoenix has been through rehab twice already and is trying to kick her addiction to Onadyn for good. Still she needs to see her friends sometimes, so she sneaks out to a party to meet up with them. There she meets the super hot Ryan who warns her to leave because some Outers are coming to attack the party. Phoenix doesn't listen (she has a real attitude problem) and instead hangs around. When the party is attacked by Sybilins (water sucking aliens, that will show more literally suck you dry) Phoenix stays and fights instead of leaving like she was told. Afterwards Ryan knocks her out and returns her home. Phoenix's mom thinks she's been using again and this time it is the last straw. Phoenix's mom signs her up to go to a new "hard-love" rehab school. Only the school isn't what it seems to be and Phoenix is learning about *way* more than how to kick her habit.

This was a fun read and action packed. The characters aren't the greatest ever created, but they are somewhat interesting and engaging. The world Showalter has created with multiple human races isn't gone into in any great depth, but promises to be interesting. For those who have read the adult Alien Huntress series (definitely not appropriate for younger readers because of being so heavy on the sex) you will recognize many of the teachers at the school; Mia is there as well as Le'Ace. I actually liked this book a lot better than the Adult Alien Huntress series, maybe because more page space is given to action and plot.

While Phoenix is definitely not a role-model for young adults, she does grow throughout the book and starts to become someone readers can admire as the plot progresses. The action scenes are well-written. For those who have read Vampire Academy and are intrigued by the teacher-student relationship between Rose and Dimitri, you will find something similar in this book. Ryan and Phoenix really hit it off, but as Ryan is one of Phoenix's teachers their relationship is (of course) forbidden. This adds some nice tension to the story.

Much of the story is spent with Phoenix learning her new skills and learning about Otherworlders. The story is engaging and a fast, fun read. I am looking forward to reading "Blacklisted" the second Teen Alien Huntress book. show less

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Fun story with engaging characters, awesome writing, and tons of action. I would highly recommend this to any YA sci-fi fans that love aliens!

Opening Sentence: I’d always loved the night, where anything could happen and everything usually did.

The Review:

Phoenix Germaine has a serious drug problem with Onadyn. It is a drug that was designed to help aliens deal with our oxygen levels, for humans it will give you the most amazing high. It is very addictive and once you start using it is almost impossible to stop. Phoenix has been to rehab twice and this time she is determined to stay clean. But one night she decides to go out with her friends to a party, and things go terribly wrong when show more a bunch of hostile aliens show up. Phoenix ends up being taken home and it looks like she is high as a kite. Her mother decides to send her to reform school because she just doesn’t know what else to do.

But it turns out the Phoenix has actually been recruited to join A.I.R., a secret agency that hunts down dangerous aliens and protects humans from them. Aliens have been a part of the world for a long time now and most people think that they are completely harmless, but A.I.R. knows better. Most aliens do live on earth peacefully and the government wants the general public to ignore any of the dangerous ones so they don’t cause problems with the peaceful aliens. At the school Phoenix will be taught how to fight, track, and eliminate any threat from aliens. She has finally found where she belongs, but this school has very strict rules and if you break any of them you will be kicked out. This isn’t a problem until Phoenix realizes that one of her instructors is the gorgeous Ryan Stone, one of the guys that helped rescue her friends in the woods, and student/instructor relationships is very much against the rules.

Phoenix was a great heroine that I liked instantly! She was feisty, smart and determined. I loved that she has a rough past and has made some really bad decisions, it made her feel more human. She has owned up to her mistakes and is doing everything in her power to change herself. I respect her for being so strong when it came to her addiction and making something of herself. She has a fun spunky attitude and is one of those people that always has a comeback. She was so easy to like and I am glad I got to read her story.

Ryan was a sexy love interest, but I felt that I didn’t really get to know him very well. He’s not in the book a whole lot and the few moments where he is you don’t really get to learn about him. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t like him because I did, he was interesting and drop dead gorgeous so what’s not to like. His relationship with Phoenix was full of great sexual tension and they had awesome chemistry. I wish I would have been able to know more about his background just so I could have connected with him better, but he was still a very fun character.

Red Handed was a very quick read full of action, romance, and fun characters. It is one of those books that you pick up and just fly right through it. I wouldn’t say that there was a ton of substance to the story but it was still very entertaining. While I did enjoy the romance it did have a slightly instalove feel to it, and I wish it would have been a little more developed. I am actually fairly new to Showalter’s works but everything I have read by her so far has been fantastic. I love her writing, it is quirky, creative, sexy, and just fun. This is a YA spinoff of Showalter’s adult Alien Huntress series, but this can be read completely separate. I personally haven’t read the adult series but I know that some of the same characters appear in the story, so if you were a fan of Alien Huntress series I would recommend you give this one a try. Also, if you are just a YA sci-fi fan and are looking for a great read you should check this one out.

Notable Scene:

I was once again alone with Ryan—who I wasn’t sure I liked. He was too bossy, too arrogant, too everything. But I knew I liked to look at him. He was a (sexy) mystery, a (beautiful) confusing puzzle.

“What’s your name?” he asked me. His blue eyes were swirling, churning. Like an ocean tempest.

“Phoenix.”

“Cute,” he said.

“You wouldn’t think so if it was your name,” I grumbled.

His lips twitched into a smile. (I was talking about you, not the name. But I like that, too.”

FTC Advisory: MTV Books/Simon & Schuster provided me with a copy of Red Handed. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. show less

Finally kicking a drug habit, Phoenix Germaine was not really surprised when her mother didn’t believe her about fighting aliens. She ended up being sent to yet another re-hab center, without even a good bye from her own mother. But this re-hab wasn’t exactly what she expected. Now finding herself in the A.I.R. (Alien Investigation and Removal) training facility, she had to work twice as hard as the others to gain the respect of the instructors, even if she only really cared about one of their opinions.

Fun, feisty and energetic, just like the characters. This may be about a Teenage Alien Huntress, but I am not sure it should be for teenagers. Violence, drugs, bad language, talk of sex and then more violence makes it an exciting and show more difficult book to put down. Shorter than some book, it is packed tight and moves fast. Lots of information included that will probably come in handy in the rest of this series. I am currently getting ready for the second book, “Blacklisted”. show less

Phoenix has a problem. A drug problem. After getting out of rehab, Phoenix thinks she's kicked it to the curb and is concerned with trying to gain back her mothers trust. That plan is thrown away when a party turns into a fight with aliens and Phoenix is brought home by a strange man, looking like she's been into drugs again. Now Phoenix is off to a special bootcamp for wayward teens. Or so she thinks. What it turns out to be is a facility that fights the bad aliens of the world and Phoenix has been recruited to train for them. She's in for the surprise of her life when she finds out Ryan, the sexy hottie she talked and fought aliens with at the party is her instuctor! Ryan and Phoenix want to be together but its forbidden for an show more instructor to date a student. That doesn't stop them from wanting each other, though...

I picked this book up when it first came out in 2007 and immediately fell in love with the story! I have re-read this book so many times and I never get tired of it. There is so much action, romance, and fantasy that its 250+ pages seem like so much more. Ryan, the hero in the story, is such a hottie and his chemistry with Phoenix sizzles off the pages! I wish they had a second story of their own because I love their banter, along their the love they share for each other. This book, along with the second book, are going to be released together sometime in the near future and I recommend getting the book when they do! show less

Ever since Phoenix's father left her and her mother her life has been in a downward spiral. Discovery of the highly addictive alien drug, Onadyn, made her hit rock bottom. Unable to stand watching her daughter ruin her life her mother sent her to rehab and once out, Phoenix was determined to stay clean. When Phoenix is attacked by an alien at an illegal party her mother, understandably believing she has returned to her drug-addictive ways, decides she has had enough and sends Phoenix to reform school. What her mother doesn't know is that Phoenix has actually been recruited by a highly elite government branch of alien hunters. The school is strict, the punishments are harsh, but Phoenix is determined to make it through and become an show more agent. She will not let anything stand in her way, not the drug addiction she constantly fights, the prejudice against her from some of the older students, or her attraction to her class instructor. More than anything Phoenix wants to become an alien hunter to make her mother proud and save her friends.

I have read a few of Gena Showalter's adult romance and liked them. However, "Red Handed" is certainly the best book I've read by her so far. With a fantastic blend of action and drama this is one of the best teen sci-fi books I've read. Phoenix was a great character in her determination to overcome her addictions and prove herself to be not just a worthy person, but a worthy friend, agent and daughter. I also enjoyed the scenes between her and Ryan, her fellow agent, instructor and crush, a lot. Although more sci-fi than fantasy and totally lacking in vampires, I really think this book would be great for those fans of "Twilight" that are looking for interesting stories to fill the gap between Stephenie Meyer's releases. show less

After reading "Playing with Fire", I wasn't really interested in reading more of Gena Showalter's books. Plus, a story about an "alien huntress" seemed a little weird to me.

But I am glad I gave it a shot. The plot was compelling and interesting and the characters were likable, if obviously cliché. This book is a mixture of sci-fi and urban fantasy and makes for a light, entertaining read. I am now interested in the whole cast of characters and want to read the rest of the "Alien Huntress" series.

Good read!

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

Phoenix has been in more than a bit of trouble lately, thanks to Onadyn, a new drug that she used. She's gone to rehab and kicked it now, but her mother still doesn't trust her. And when she's at a party in the woods that turns into a fight with aliens, her mother thinks it was more drugs.

That's the last straw.

However, this new program that Phoenix is taken to turns out to be not another drug rehab or anything, but a training facility. Phoenix is going to learn to fight aliens. She's been recruited to become a part of the elite Alien Investigation and Removal agency, or AIR.

RED HANDED is a real page-turner! Strong characters and a very imaginative and interesting premise make this book well show more worth reading. It's action-packed, and, as such, is a much quicker read than its 250+ pages would suggest. The world in which this book takes place is created very well, too.

RED HANDED easily captures the reader's attention from the first page, and as soon as you're done you'll want to pick up the next book in the TEEN ALIEN HUNTRESS series, BLACKLISTED, as soon as possible! show less