Feb 10, 2015

Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: 2.10.2015
Pages: 400
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Fantasy, SciFi
Series: Red Queen #1
Source: ARC from NYCC

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):
Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood--those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard--a growing Red rebellion--even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

Review:
It's not a secret that RED QUEEN is this year's Divergent. It seems like it's all anyone is really talking about, which made me a little hesitant to start it because sometimes when I book is hyped A LOT, I just don't get it or it falls flat or something goes wrong, but this book ... Oh, wow, this book. It's everything they say and more.

As soon as I finished this book, I immediately started texting/tweeting/messaging people to read it because it is THAT good. I was that excited to tell the world about it.

In her debut novel, Victoria Aveyard launches herself into the YA fray and starts kicking ass and taking names. This book reads like something from a seasoned pro with tight plots and compelling characters and world building skills to make George RR Martin sit up and take notice.

I absolutely loved Mare. I loved her quirks and problems, her pigheadedness and convictions. She is one of the strongest female heroines I've meet in a long while. If I had to pick Katniss, Tris or Mare as an ally in any fight, I'm going Mare all the way.

Mare is flanked by the dual hotness of princes - Cal and Maven are two sides of the same coin, but driven by different motives and affecting Mare in different ways. I spent the bulk of the book wondering who I liked more and loving them both equally.

You want this book. I daresay you NEED this book. I love saying that I knew Bella before she was famous. I hung out with Katniss before the rest of the world. And Tris? We go way back. I can't wait to be standing in line for the RED QUEEN movie premiere and telling people that I've known Mare since the beginning.

Buy: Red Queen

6 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed this story. I will say there was a bit of predictability for me. I loved the powers part and the world that's built, although I could have used a bit more history with this. I hated the romance, though, and thought the book could have actually done without it. Quadrangle? No thanks. But I'm over it because I knew what was going to happen in the end and now I want more!

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  2. LOL! "I've known Mare since the beginning." You're so cute!! But I do agree! I loved everything except the romance, though that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story overall.

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  3. Five stars for me too!! I LOVED it :)

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  4. I loved it too. It's so excited when a super-hyped book lives up to all the buzz.

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  5. I'm so happy to see a glowing review of this! I am really excited to read Red Queen but have seen a few reviews that were 'meh' about it. Thanks so much for sharing reasons why I'll love it. :)

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  6. This is book one in what is expected to be a trilogy and does end on a semi cliff hanger. This is one book I would love to see made into a movie. I hope my daughter enjoys it as much as I did.

    Zia
    I found the best Belden

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