Book Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

22328546Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Age Group: Young Adult
Rating: 5 stars
Purchase: Amazon

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 …

It’s been eons since I read a book as amazing as Red Queen. And I do mean eons.

This book has it all. Dystopian mixed with fantasy, Mare Barrow is an average seventeen-year-old Red girl. She steals for a living, something her family frowns upon, and because of that, she struggles with her selfworth. She doesn’t think she’s worth as much as her sister, a miracle with thread and neelde, or her brothers who have all gone off to fight in the war.

Reds aren’t worth much in this world. The Silvers are the rulers. They have special powers that can be somewhat compared to the X-men. They are cold, deadly, powerful, and look down on the Reds, who they only deem valuable because they can work and die in wars.

Mare gets thrown into the world of Silvers, but as soon as she steps inside this world, everything goes wrong. What starts is a game of hide and seek, of ambitions, of rebellion, of politics, of just and unjust, and of loyalty. In the Silver court, who can Mare trust?

This book has it all – I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it. The writing is lush and lyrical. Mare is a strong heroine yet very flawed – she’s judgemental, naive, and very much like a teenage girl, but she also has amazing resilience and inner strength. I don’t want to give away too much about the love interests, but they too have an unique personality, and are easy to like, although one keeps on wondering whether or not Mare should trust anyone as not one but two princes steal her heart.

The world building was the most amazing feature of the book. I loved it. It’s so unique, and I can’t wait to explore it further in the next installments.

I wholeheartedly recommend this one. READ IT.

Comments

  1. Great review! I really enjoyed this one a lot! I also really loved the world that Aveyard built. It was so fascinating. Plus the characters were great too. I picked up a copy of Glass Sword, but haven’t read it yet. I can’t wait to see what happens next though.
    Traci @ The Reading Geek

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