Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Published by Harper Teen
Genre - Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopia
SYNOPSIS
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.
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
Red Queen is the debut novel of Victoria Aveyard and the first in the Red Queen series.
I added this to my amazon wish list based solely on the cover (Just look at it, isn’t it gorgeous?). It was only later that I came to know of all the hype around it. The hype escalated its place on my TBR and also increased my expectations from the book.
Written in first person from Mare’s point of view, the story is set in world where (quite literally) powerful silvers rule over weak reds. I really liked the world building and the concept of various silver families (or houses) having different super powers.
The start was incredibly slow which made the story hard to get into. I just kept waiting for things to happen almost until the climax of the book.
It was no surprise that Mare develops feelings for Cal, the silver prince but her feelings for Maven (Cal's half-brother) who she gets actually engaged to, did not seem as genuine. I just didn't feel the chemistry between either of the two pairings which made the love triangle weird. There was also Mare's friend from stilts, Kilorn with unrequited feelings for Mare. I guess that makes it an even weirder love square. My favorite quote from Red Queen is-
I personally was indifferent towards Cal, and liked Maven more for the larger part of the story until… well, the plot twist. Speaking of the plot twist, I did not see that coming! It was unexpected and gave way to a great climax that made me want to read the next book (Glass Sword) immediately. The climax was probably the best thing about the book besides the cover.
My favourite character was probably Julian Jacos, Mare’s teacher/librarian. He reminded me of Cinna from The Hunger Games. For that matter, he wasn’t the only thing that reminded me of it and Hunger Games wasn’t the only book I was reminded of while reading Red Queen. A nobody forced into limelight with the royalty and forced to do someone else’s bidding but instead becomes the face of a revolution. Rings a bell anyone?
Although Red Queen is a concoction of previous ideas, I think anyone who likes to read dystopian or fantasy books will enjoy it.
My Final Rating :- 3.5
What did you think of Red Queen? Let me know in the comments!
Cheers,
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