Title: Red Queen [Goodreads Link]
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Goodreads Summary: The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.
That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.
Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.
But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.
Review:
I'm going to start off by saying that I enjoyed Red Queen a whole lot, but, in saying, it's hard to ignore how much the book relies on tropes and cliches to further the story's development. This probably made me shed half a star from the rating because I literally predicted every twist and turn the story took. BUT. I still stand by the point that this book is a lot of fun and didn't take long to captivate me and make sure I didn't put it down. It's not unique, but I don't think that's always a bad thing.
There's also a bunch of interesting and complex characters in this story. The idea of "anyone can betray anyone" runs deeps in the story and I think that makes you always look a bit closer into what characters are doing and see different sides to everyone. I enjoyed that Mare was really headstrong and sure of herself, but I did think that made her a little hard to read from at times. Sometimes she was so passionate about her opinions that had very quickly developed and it was difficult, as a reader, to rationalise her decisions. But overall, the characters were A+.
As for the setting, Aveyard really captures the scenes that are directly present in the story but I hope that in future books we get some more world building for everything else. I would also like some more information of the war and why it's happening/how it started. I think these things need to be developed more to strengthen this series.
Overall, this book is a fun ride, that's both compelling and emotionally captivating. If you, like me, really enjoy the elemental stuff from Avatar: The Last Airbender, you'll really enjoy some of the fight scenes we get in this book (seriously!). I can't wait to see where this series goes and hope it only gets better from here. Also, I'm rooting for Cal/Mare #soznotsoz (also, who wants to see them duel as much as me???)
Let me know in the comments your thoughts on Red Queen. How'd you find the shock ending?
Until next time,
- J, xxx
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