Title: Red Queen
(Red Queen #1)
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Dystopia
First published: February 10th 2015
Finished reading: April 11th 2015
Pages: 383
“I’m a Red girl in a sea of Silvers and I can’t afford to feel sorry for anyone, least of all the son of a snake.”
There has been a huge hype around Red Queen ever since it was published, and to be honest I wasn’t sure whether I should read it or not. Hyped books in general let me down, but I’m glad this novel by Victoria Aveyard turned out to an exception to that rule. The general plot of Red Queen might not be the most original one when you compare it to other YA fantasy novels, and the existence of yet another love triangle made me frown, but the story itself is still awesome enough to deserve the 4.5 stars I decided to give it. I love the fierceness of the main character Mare. Even if the fact that various boys seem to fight over her made me cringe, her personality and special power seriously kick ass. The world building is interestingly done and I loved the many details and descriptions Victoria Aveyard incorporated into her story. Red Queen is an interesting read with a fast pace, supernatural powers, a kick ass heroine and a lot of action. Definitely recommended for YA fantasy fans!
It’s the blood that sets them apart – the Reds and the Silvers. The Reds are living in the shadow of the Silvers, forced to obey and work for them. The Silvers are different; with their supernatural powers they form the elite of the society and treat Reds as their servants and slaves. Mare Barrow is a Red girl without an interesting future, or so she thinks. When one night she meets a mysterious guy, she finds herself shipped off to the Silver palace the next day. The stranger saved her from her terrible fate by getting her a job as a servant at the palace, and suddenly she is surrounded by those who she hates most… Soon after that, something spectacular happens that will change both her life and those of the Silvers forever. Mare Barrow then becomes Lady Mareena Titanos as the Silvers try to disguise who she really is and maintain their control over the Reds… But will it be enough to keep the Red population calm and the Scarlet Guard rebellion under control?
This novel definitely lived up to my expections. The dystopian world Victoria Aveyard created an interesting setting for this story, and I loved the prose she used in the Red Queen. I have highlighted so many sentences with my kindle! While not all characters were exactly to my liking, they fit in perfectly in the story. So many plot twists and betrayals! The Queen reminded me of Cersei Lannister (Game Of Thrones), especially how she treated the King and her son… And Arya could be a good Mare. (Does it show I’ve recently watched the first episode of the fifth season?!) To go back to Red Queen, I was pleasantly surprised with this novel and I will be waiting anciously for the sequel to be published next year. I’m sure the wait for the sequel will drive me crazy at some point!
I really love the layout of your reviews! I really liked this book too, and was so glad it lived up to the hype 🙂
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Thanks! 😀 I was so afraid to read this one because of the mayor hype around it, but Red Queen was awesome.
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Yes! Glad you liked it so much! I’m hoping my library has it when I go there after work today!
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I hope you were able to get a copy! Red Queen is a great read. 🙂
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I’ll have to try again. Someone has it checked out until the end of the month. 😦
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Ahh such a shame! Hopefully you will be able to get it next time…
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Glad you liked it! 🙂 I am really hoping that I can read it in May.
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I’m sure you will enjoy it! It’s quite a quick read as well, so easy to squeeze in between two other reads. 😉
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I’ve seen so many great reviews for this! However, as I’ve said on all the other reviews, the plot doesn’t seem too original. However, the sheer volume of rave reviews indicates to me that there must be something amazing behind the fairly standard premise.
Also, GoT is great so far this season. They’ve made a few changes from the book, which to be honest are fairly minor and I think work really well. The first four episodes leaked on Sunday and I watched them all, so I’ll be stuck for the next while! Thankfully I’m currently reading the second part of A Dance With Dragons so it’s filling my GoT void!
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The plot is definitely not original, but the world building is pretty impressive and I loved the characters and supernatural powers.
I’ve only seen the first episode so far (didn’t know about the other three leaking out!), but it’s definitely promising. I need to read the fifth book as well some time soon! I’ve been delaying it ever since I finished the fourth… I seem to have a love-hate relationship with the books; I love the story itself but the descriptions and amount of descriptions tire me at the same time. I will probably end up doing the same as with book four and read A Dance With Dragons in between other books…
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My copy is still sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read. I’ll get to it soon. Great review!
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Thanks! Red Queen is definitely worth the read.
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Your review is perfect! I fell in love with this also, despite the familiar plot☺️
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Thank you! 😀 The rest of the story makes up for the not so original plot… I cannot wait to read the sequel!
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I’m glad you liked this one! The hype always worries me, but I’m going to try it. Great review!
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I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did!
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I know what you mean about hyped up books. I was a little leary about reading this book as well because of that, but I ended up loving it! I also was not a fan that there was a love triangle in it.
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I hate it that YA fantasy series always seem to have a love triangle incorporated… Really frustrating! The rest of Red Queen made me forget about it though.
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Same here.
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I really enjoyed this one too! I was sucked in almost immediately and am now sad I have to wait for the next one.
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I know! It’s such a long wait… Expected publication in 2016 and there is not even a title or exact date known. 😦
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