I requested this book after hearing about it on a favorite book blog I visit. The description made it sound intriguing and it combined two of my favorite interests - erotica and art. When I saw NetGalley had it for review I was super excited to check it out. And, wow, I absolutely loved it! It is probably my favorite book of 2017. The combination of art and erotic is a catnip combination that I hadn't read much of before. And the author wove together a sexy, compelling, absorbing read that I devoured in one setting. I finished it and immediately started looking for other books by the author, pleasantly surprised when I found that I had one from her in my ebook collection that I hadn't got around to reading yet. That book is part of a series and I can't decide if I want to start them right away or wait until a special occasion, like an upcoming week I have off from work.

I hope the author revisits this world of art and erotica again in the future.

OMG! This was my first read of a Tiffany Reisz book and what an unforgettable read it was!
This novel, quite pornographic in places, really pushes the boundaries of the genre. Warning: this is not your average romantic novel!
Each scene and chapter inspired by a famous painting, it will leave you truly hot under the collar!

OK… so The Red is definitely for a niche audience. I really didn’t know what I was about to get into when I started reading this. I thought it was going to be normal smutty romance set against the backdrop of the art world. Instead, I got just erotica, no romance, and a strange paranormal element that didn’t really make sense. I’m not 100% sure what this story was trying to be. Was it a contemporary romance? Was it a paranormal romance? Was it just plain old smut? After reading this, my best summation of the genre I could discern was “fantasy erotica.”

The Red is actually the story of a woman becoming a prostitute… albeit a classy one. Mona is a broke 25 year old art gallery owner. It was her mother’s dying wish that she keep the gallery open. However, she’s dead broke and there just isn’t any way for her to keep the gallery. Enter Malcolm, a handsome stranger who offers to help her out of her predicament by giving her rare art in exchange for one night a month. During said night he basically has carte blanche with her body. What follows is a series of sexual encounters based on famous paintings. There is always a dream like element to the scenarios and the events that occur could not happen in real life. This is where the paranormal elements comes in full of deals with the devil and elaborate fantasy sequences.

I’ll just put this plainly: The Red was incredibly filthy. Like… I did not expect there to be the level of smut that existed here. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but I also think there should be some fair warning involved before people dive into this. A non-spoilery way to describe the smut in The Red is to say that Mona is penetrated by a multitude of people and objects.

Overall, I was a bit put off by the smut in The Red. Personally, I felt like it was over the top filthy. As I was reading most of the dialogue I could swear I could hear a twangy porn track playing in the backdrop. I guess I could say this was the fanciest porno I’ve ever read. Perhaps this just isn’t the book for me.

This book sucks you in from the beginning! The story line was intriguing and had you wishing they could be together in the end. However, the ending is unexpected and welcomed!

This book took me by surprise - I wasn't entirely sure I would like it. I've not read much erotica, and I'm still not sure if I enjoy reading erotica, but this book was a hoot! Firstly, it actually had a plot. And it was a plot that I strangely became quite invested in. I was immediately hooked - this book was saucy, dark, twisted, and completely addictive.

A very engaging effort. While I found some of the erotic subject matter to not really be to my taste (multiple flavors of supposedly realistic fantasy situations with only the continuity of all being based on famous works of art). This writer does have a flair for writing in a manner that draws you into the story despite some extremely distasteful and offensive content, which is quite an achievement. (To show that this isn't typical erotic subject matter examples of the sex scenes included rape fantasies including with a glass bottle, semi-bestiality with a real minotaur complete with animal smells and giant bull penis which later results in her being able to sexually desire someone to fist her with their whole arm, slave ownership and not in a sub-dom context, but actual slavery where the property/slave is sexually assaulted by multiple potential buyers, and even death "porn" where one of the individuals is actually starving to death and is revived by sexual "energy" and at another time has a sucking chest wound yet still craves sex), and oh yes the overall context of semi-forced prostitution (although called "whoredom" in the book) all supposedly made allowable by either being "play acting" or in a dream context so not real enough to be objectionable or leave permanent damage (although bruises do seem to be fine) I also really disliked the context of "training" her to be with a man who continuously degraded her and her finding this sexually compelling too. That all said I still rated it 3 stars and couldn't say I hated it. If the violent sex scenes had been a little less objectionable to me personally I'd probably have given it 4 stars because she did keep me engaged in the story and the "mystery" of the man behind the art.until the very end. I only wish she had tempered these scenes a bit more so enjoyment of the story idea and writing overwhelmed the winces at some of the sex scenes.

This was a very gripping read, I was really into the characters and the story although I felt the ending was a little rushed.

I would like to thank Netgallery for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my opinion.
I have read many of Tiffany's books and she doesn't disappoint and this one was no exception. This book is slightly different to what she usually writes, but brilliant all the same.
Mona's mother passes away and leaves Mona her art gallery. The gallery is in serious financial trouble and then along comes Malcolm.......
Incredibly erotic, amazingly written and leaves you wanting more.

The owner of a failing art gallery in Noo Yawk gets an offer she can’t refuse. . . or really doesn’t want to refuse. She’d promised her mom she’d do anything to keep the gallery open, and now anything and everything is what she has to do. Two-thirds of the way through something happens that makes her back out of the deal, something bad enough that she thinks it’s worth losing the gallery over, but in the end she perseveres.
Despite trying to make it “just business,” she actually grows quite a bit through the story, and not just sexually. Malcolm unintentionally taught her how to be manipulative. . . not that Seb didn’t deserve it. But the whole point of the story, besides the sex, is that in the end it made her stronger.
I love the nymphs! Best and funniest scene ever. Too bad there wasn’t more of them.
So yes, I enjoyed most of this. The ultimate reveal was easy to guess with all the clues strewn around, but by then it didn’t really matter. Not a fan of the ending, though; that’s one guy who didn’t deserve to be rewarded.

I am speechless. This was just an exceptional read. The fantasies, the characters, the bedroom scenes,(or not bedroom scenes), were utterly amazing. I was transfixed with every word. I am embarrassed to say this is my first book by Ms. Reisz. But I am happy to say I am going to one click many of her books after this review. What a complete, fantastic author. And one of my all time favorite endings from a romance.

I really liked this one. From the very beginning a mystery was mentioned about Malcolm that will entice the reader to read more. I will say that looking up the actual paintings for a visual reference will help be in the mindset of what Mona is actually looking at and what is to be performed. I will say I kind of didn't get Sebastian's character during "The Bleeding Man" chapter. I'm not sure if his actions were of reason or not. Maybe it was to keep his character "short" in a way because this is a novella. Anyways, I always have an open mind when reading Tiffany's books because I never know what she will throw in the story. I kind of want a follow up of Mona and Spencer!

This story was beyond creative and so original. I am completely in love with the concept. I loved that it centered around art. The writing itself was art. It was incredibly beautiful. I loved the character development as well. I found myself so involved with the characters' story early on. I found the pacing a little slow at times, but overall, this book definitely held my attention and I would love to read more from this author!

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of a paranormal romance sounded really fun based in classic art. In between book series I often read something short, romantic, fluffy, and fun! This wasn't what I was expecting.
I'm just going to say this book was way too dirty for me. Each chapter has a lot of raunchy sex. I didn't find it romantic at all. Yet, the character of Malcom had me perplexed and I had to see how the story ended. It was a surprise and twisted ending that was very interesting! This book wasn't for me, but it will be for someone else.

The Red is absolutely absorbing, titillating, and exquisite! EXQUISITE!

Mona St. James promised her dying mother that she would do anything to maintain ownership of their private art gallery, The Red. But after years of struggling financially, it looks like she will have to sell. Out of nowhere, a mysterious man appears in the gallery with an offer to save The Red in exchange for "carte blanche" use of her body. His name is Malcolm, and he is as elegant as he is handsome. Mona accepts, more attracted and intrigued than in need. As she says to Malcolm, "You could have seduced me for free." What takes this from a great read to 5-star exceptional are a few unique features.

First, while there are many sex for payment storylines out there, this one is unapologetic. Malcolm neither needs to pay to get laid, neither does he think lesser of Mona for accepting payment. For her part I appreciate that Mona isn't backed into a corner. She was ready to sell the gallery and literally no one was going to die if she didn't take Malcom's offer. Her equal footing and lack of shame was liberating and refreshing. It removes the potential "ick" factor from my enjoyment of their arrangement.

Second, Mona and Malcolm are art connoisseurs. I loved how works of art are referenced throughout Mona and Malcolm's trysts. Every time a famous piece is mentioned, I eagerly looked it up and read about it. So I'm indulging in my erotica and learning a lot at the same time. Bonus!

Third, I appreciated Mona's strength and unspoken feminism. The women in this story and in the classical art are not viewed as victims. Sex is not a commodity to be taken from them; it is an instrument of power. This pervasive viewpoint greatly added to my enjoyment of Mona and Malcolm's story.

The Red is a combination of hardcore erotica with an achingly tragic love story, which ultimately rights itself. I loved this so much, I will definitely read it again and I strongly recommend it. Mind blowing and mind opening all at once!

This is an honest and voluntary review on an ARC received on NetGalley.

An unapologetic sinfully erotic read.

Very good story with wonderful use of art in the plot. Tiffany weaves believable stories and characters the reader can relate to.

Wow. This honestly was just as great as everyone said it would be! I'm a little late to the party on this one, and I've only read Tiffany Reisz's recent Harlequin Blaze trilogy. I haven't read the Original Sinners books, which I think these may be related to? Doesn't matter. This book was honestly so great, I kind of lack words. It's scorching hot and mysterious. I loved Mona and Malcolm, but mostly I loved this as a story of Mona's awakening---and not just to sex, but to herself as a daughter, as a woman, and to the role of fate in her life. The connection to the art world and art itself was seamless.

This book is 100% sexy, and if you can imagine something happening in the bedroom, it happens in the book. That means everyone is going to find something that turns them on, and maybe something that will be over the top. Worth it! An amazing erotic romance.

I did get my copy of this from NetGally.

Whew!! This book was STEAMY!!! If you don't like almost pornography erotica then this isn't for you. I however liked it. It was definitely a guilty pleasure, read late at night, type of book for me. This book actually somewhat took me out of my comfort zone, which surprised me a bit.

Though this book is DIRTYYY! I just want to add it does have a good plot and revolves around romance and does in fact include character development. Which is, in fact one of my favorite things an author can include in her book and plot,

I do recommend this book for a late night read, guilty pleasure or just a good sit down read.

"Things aren't what they seem."

My god, this book sucked me in! I had to keep reading to see how the next scene would play out. Some parts had me so flushed and hot I had to take a moment to fan myself and say "Jesus H, Tiffany. Are you trying to kill me?!"

The story line will grab you and leave you aroused, a bit confused, but intrigued and wanting more. The vivid description of each piece of art, of each scene together paints a picture in your head that is so clear it's like watching it play out on screen.

Tiffany is always an automatic one click for me. Add a little Nora Sutherland in the mix and I couldn't get my hands on this fast enough.

Another 5 star read from the Queen. ONE CLICK. TRUST ME. You need the SEXY stranger and his FILTHY mouth in your life.

I was so looking forward to this... that is, I was looking forward to the idea of it. I quickly realised, about 2 sentences in, that it was not what I was actually expecting.
The writing style was so far below the standards of the Original Sinners which I loved and lusted and lived and breathed when I devoured all the books last year.... In comparison, this was really a disappointment, and I kept thinking, is this really Tiffany Reisz? I consoled myself that it was Nora's weird and twisted brainchild, and Tiffany was just channelling her. Still. I expected a bit higher quality. Maybe because it's an ARC, and some typos and weird sentences have not been weeded out... but I will not be reading it again to find out.
The book is described as "a standalone novel of slightly demented pornography" (Reisz) and that is pretty much true. The premise is not too bad - you have a struggling gallery owner who meets a mysterious guy who offers to help her gallery out, but that's about where the "not too bad ends". You might think, what's in it for him? Well, as it turns out, the gallery owner's body. Yep. He tells her fair and square on page 5ish that he'll help her keep the gallery open by supplying her with high art if in exchange she gives him 'carte blanche' of her body for a year. Ummmm.... where have I read something like this before? Oh yeah. Every B category porn story .Come on Tiff. You can do better. But okay. I'll go with it. The idea of playing out scenes from famous paintings as sex acts is cool enough, that is, until, spoiler alert, it starts to depict human trafficking, sexual slavery, human sacrifice, bestiality and rape as those things she presumable agreed to when she gave him 'carte blanche'. No. Just, no. I felt like this book should have come with a massive trigger warning, as there are a lot of people who may enjoy naughty/kinky erotica, but be disturbed by the weird scenes in this book. I think I'm pretty open minded, and I realise this is all a "fantasy" but still... Tiffany has been so good at conjuring boundary crossing sexual scenes that were still tasteful and written so well that they could be considered high poetry, and then she comes up with this? I really felt like maybe it was written by the 18yo Eleanor for her creative writing class.
The characters were flat, and I couldn't care less about Mona or Malcolm or The Red. It felt like the gallery going under and even the characters were just background, the padding to what the book really was - a string of short porn stories wound together by these characters that happened to be in each. Their interactions and high emotions felt so over the top it was really a struggle to keep going. At times I thought, maybe this is an erotic parody of the high strung emotional prose of The Sorrows of Young Werther,
All in all, I am sad to say it was quite disappointing to me. I picked it up because it was written by Reisz, but I only finished because I hate giving up on books, and thankfully this was pretty short. And the ending? Oh please. I read erotica because I like to imagine myself in the shoes / positions of the main characters, but nothing that happened to Mona an nothing she ever did would ever make me want to be in her place.