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