Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Series: Red Queen
Pages: 320
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release date: 10th February 2015
Amazon – TBD
Synopsis: (Goodreads)
A thrilling new fantasy trilogy for fans
of DIVERGENT and THE HUNGER GAMES.
The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.
To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.
Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.
But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?
The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.
To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.
Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.
But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?
Review:
4 out of 5 stars
The few reviews I had seen for Red Queen prior to reading it were high
in praise so I started this one expecting greatness and I’m pleased to say it
didn’t fail to disappoint.
Our MC is Mare Barrow who lives in a world
divided by blood – silver and red; she is from a family of poorly reds who are
destined to serve the elite silvers that are differentiated by their supernatural
abilities. The concept is extremely unique and I liked the details we are given
about the different classes.
Mare is a skilled thief and an extremely
likeable heroine, she was strong and determined with a cunning and stubborn
personality; when her best friend is conscripted into the army she does
everything she can to win his freedom, but when her own unusual ability is
discovered it brings out a whole new saga and a plan by the royals to arrange a
marriage between Mare and their son so the knowledge that reds have powers
isn’t revealed – she becomes a lost silver princess, her time at the palace is
also an opportunity for Mare to secretly plot with the Scarlet Guard who lead
the red rebellion.
There are a number of mind blowing plot
twists and turns I never expected, there were secrets, political conspiracies
and betrayals and it all came together nicely, the world-building is
beautifully imagined with an ending that left me gaping. The action had me
sitting on the edge of my seat and the smidgeon of romance was well written but
certainly wasn’t at the forefront of the story.
All of the characters are fascinating and
written to perfection; each played a pivotal role in the overall story, I had
no idea who could be trusted and in the end I was spot on. Cal and Maven had me
intrigued!
Red
Queen is a
fabulously thrilling YA Fantasy, it all came together perfectly and I’m more
than eager to read the next book in the series.
Thank you to Harper Teen via Edelweiss for
the opportunity to read and review Red
Queen.
About
the author: I'm a
screenwriter/YA author who likes books and lists. This site is the nexus of my
universe.My book RED QUEEN will be published Winter 2015 from HarperTeen at HarperCollins. I'm repped by the incomparable Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc.
The genres I'm into include YA, Fantasy, Historical, Adventure, Apocalyptic - if people are dying, I'm buying.
I can't wait to read this one! It sounds so good, and I haven't heard a bad thing about it yet. I definitely like the sound of Mare
ReplyDeleteMare was such a great MC! I hope you enjoy this too Michelle.
DeleteYay, I think I'm gonna wait for the audio for this one. I'm excited!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear your thoughts Nereyda! it would be great on audio.
DeleteI reading this one now, and struggling despite liking aspects. I think because right away I drew comparisons to Red Rising and Hunger Games. I need to just focus on this a little and see if I can slip in. I am glad to see you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI hope it picked up for you Kimba, I haven't read Red Rising and agree with the HG comparisons - looking forward to hearing what you thought.
DeleteI've heard so many good things about this one and it's getting so much hype. I can't wait for it!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great read! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
DeleteThis sounds like the perfect mix. I like that it still included romance even if it wasn't in the forefront of the story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great review! I'm glad you really enjoyed this one.
Thanks Alexa, this was a lot of fun; I usually prefer more romance but I was too engulfed in the story to notice it was lacking.
DeleteFrom that title, I was kinda hoping that this would be an Alice in Wonderland re-telling, so I'm mildly disappointed that it's not. Divergent, and The Hunger Games comparisons aside, the plot twists, and characters sound amazeballs. Still, I'll probably hold off until book 2 to see if this series has staying power.
ReplyDeleteCarmel @ Rabid Reads
I keep telling myself to hold off on reading some series until it progresses but I give in easily ;-) the wait for the sequel is then excruciating.
DeleteAn Alice in Wonderland retelling would have been amazing.
I loved Divergent and The Hunger Games, and after reading your review, I am definitely going to get this one.
ReplyDeleteMe too Ellen! I hope you enjoy it :-)
DeleteI want to pick this up so badly after your review!
ReplyDeleteI hope you do & enjoy it as much as I did :-)
Delete