Review: Red Queen

Ｔｉｔｌｅ：Red Queen

Ａｕｔｈｏｒ：Victoria Aveyard

Ｓｅｒｉｅｓ：Book 1

Ｒａｔｉｎｇ：★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

This is a world divided by blood – red or silver. 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.

✩ Mare was very bold and calculating. She was quick to adapt to situations and was very smart.

✩ Cal was very sweet and caring. He was also a bit confused about his loyalties.

✩ Maven was very cunning and could be sweet as well.

❝ Anyone can betray anyone. ❞

Here is yet another series I have waited too long to start. Red Queen is just one of those series I see mentioned all the time but that I didn’t get around to reading until now (and of course I’m mad I didn’t do it sooner!) I have to say that while most of the book was good, the ending is what totally blew me away and convinced me to continue the series (25 it’s the magic number!) So before we talk about the ending, let me tell you a little more about the rest of the book.

As far as world-building goes, I was pretty wrapped up in the story and wanted to know more. I loved the political aspects of the story. I’ve really been getting into stories where one race/class is oppressed and rebellion is brewing. This book had both of those things plus the added bonus of having that fantasy element with the red and silver blood and the abilities.

Mare was an interesting main character as well, and a strong one at that. She did whatever she had to in order to support her family and protect her friends. She was bold even when she lived among her enemies. She tended to speak her mind and could understand the way her actions could be perceived. She was smart, and I really enjoyed her character and the way she grew into her role.

Without giving away too much, I want to say that I really enjoyed the way the Queen handled Mares display during the Queenstrial. I liked the cover story and everything else that went with it. I also enjoyed how we were able to learn more about the kingdom’s history through the lessons Mare took in private. It was a nice way to keep expanding upon the world building without having big info dumps.

❝ Rise, red as the dawn. ❞

Now, that being said, I have to admit that it felt like the majority of the story went by a little slow. Yes, we learned about the world and we got to see the characters develop (we even had some romance I could really get behind), but I just didn’t feel like it was very clear what the plot was moving toward at times or like there was very much action…

Until chapter 25. Everything changed in chapter 25. Chapter 25 was honestly so intense and had me holding my breath. So much happened in those last chapters of the book that I just couldn’t put it down, and the last chapters made me realize that there was no way in hell I wasn’t reading through the rest of the series.

Honestly, I can say that this book may not be the most well-paced but it’s a fun read and I see a lot of potential for the rest of the series. I don’t regret picking this up and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next! (Especially after all of those crazy plot twists!!!)