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“Red Queen” by Victoria Aveyard Book Review

Book: Red Queen

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Series: Book #1 of Red Queen series

First published February 10, 2015

Red Queen

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.

Mare Barrow is a common girl with red blood. The king and the aristocracy are of silver blood. They are strong and have abilities that enable them to oppress the “reds” and use them as slaves. Each dynasty has its own characteristic qualities and powers. There are those who control fire, water, animals, metals and air. Each family carries its colors.

Mare’s fate accidentally brings her together with the heir to the throne. Predestined to be a “red”, he sneaks into the village where she lives. Impressed by her story and her plight, he tries to help her. He gets her a job in the palace and thus saves her from compulsory military service. But did he really help her?

Red Queen

At the Queen’s Trials, a tradition to determine the girl who will become the new queen, Mare falls into mortal danger. As a result, she unleashes her unimagined powers before the eyes of the entire royal court. Her powers are unprecedented, especially for someone with red blood. So she falls into her golden cage. She is drawn into the intrigues of the palace and becomes the plaything of the king and queen.

The plot reminds me a lot of “The Hunger Games”. The whole story with the rebels and their hideouts, the fact that they use Mare as a face to put down the rebellion of the “inferior” Reds. But on the other hand, the author kept me on my toes. One of the iconic phrases of the book was “anyone can betray anyone” and it was like that throughout the book. I developed a sense of paranoia, just like the main character. I was hoping for betrayal at every turn and it did come, but not in the way I expected.

More reviews from the series:

Glass Sword

King’s Cage

Dora

Hello, my name is Todora, but now also known as Dochka or Docheto. I have two wonderful dragons at home (boys ages 5 and 7) that I am trying to raise in the love of books. I was quite a chatterbox as a kid when I had required reading in school, and now I am trying to make up for it. I love reading fantasy, sweet endings are not my "thing". I love it when there are struggles, intrigue, and surprises in a book that shake you to your core. If I fell into paranoia that all the characters were traitors, my rating would be 5 stars. In short, I love to read and if one day I find a way to make this my sole occupation and get paid for it :D, I will have stumbled into heaven.

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