Summary

Scarlet is seventeen when she learns that her best friend and the first love of her life, Char, is sick with cancer. It’s progressed too far to fight so Scarlet has to watch on as Char decides to die with what dignity he can. On the weekend before her eighteenth birthday, Char begs Scarlet to go out on one last birthday date, like they used to, so she would have a final happy memory of him. After his siblings agree to help get them out of the house, Scarlet reluctantly agrees. While out on their date, the two teens are attacked by a shadowy monster that throws Scarlet into a window and puts Char into a coma from which he doesn’t wake from. His family blames her and Scarlet is left alone at the mercy of a man who she thinks is her friend and turns out to be anything but. Broken and without Char by her side, Scarlet decides that a swift end at the hungry jaws of a shark is preferable to the hell she lives in but, just as she jumps from the pier she’s perched on, she finds herself in a dusty old parlor with a mysterious old woman staring at her. The woman offers Scarlet a way to save Char, to cure him of his cancer, but a payment must be made. Her sacrifice is blood and life. Every night, before the sun rises, Scarlet must shed blood for Char. To keep this bargain, she must also swear to become a hunter of the same shadowy monsters that attacked her- the Holloweds. If she fails to offer her blood in exchange for Char’s life, he dies. Once Char dies, Scarlet dies and becomes a hunter in earnest, devoted to killing Holloweds for the rest of eternity.

Characters

Scarlet

Scarlet Evans is the main female character of the book. She’s strong but tortured by her past and the things she’s had to do to survive. She grapples with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and a whole heap of trauma that she does eventually seek counseling for. Her favorite color is blue and she has a diverse taste in music. She enjoys art, reading, and listening to music. She was born in the bible belt but always had a contempt for religion as it was forced on her at a young age. She identifies as she/her, and is bisexual.

Araya

Araya Hall is Scarlet’s roommate turned best friend turned girl friend in the series. Where Scarlet is cool and collected, Ray tends to be fairly sunshiny and pleasant. Though she prefers to make love over war, Ray won’t hesitate to stand up for the people she loves and has been known to get violent (albeit clumsily) for the people she loves. Her favorite color is yellow, she loves summer, lemon pound cake, and baking.

Kyrian

Kyrian Pierce is the definition of “golden retriever boyfriend”. He’s the one who finds Scarlet first in St. Jane’s and the one that pretty much forces his brother Knox to talk to her. Kyrian has been a hunter for a few decades and lives for the hunt (literally). His favorite color was red until he met Scarlet, and then it became blue. Kyrian loves animals, motorcycles, fantasy novels, Scarlet, and will never admit how much adores Ray.

Knox

Knox Pierce, twin brother to Kyrian, is the more level-headed and logical of the two. He’s an intellect that believes knowledge is power and spends much of his time journaling and recording his hunts. Knox’s favorite color is black, he has a taste for fine dining, and enjoys lavishing attention and adoration on Scarlet.