Synopsis: Mare Barrow's world is
divided by blood—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are
lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities
make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but
when her best friend is conscripted into the army she gambles everything to win
his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in
front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own—an
ability she didn't know she had. Except . . . her blood is Red.To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into 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 her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and Mare against her own heart.
From debut author Victoria Aveyard comes a lush, vivid fantasy series where loyalty and desire can tear you apart and the only certainty is betrayal.
Must read! Must have!
Genres: Fantasy, Dystopia, Young Adult
Recommended to: fans of The Grisha Trilogy, Shatter Me, Lunar Chronicles, Throne of Glass, Defiance, The Selection
My thoughts:
“In the stories, the old fairy
tales, a hero comes. But all my heroes are gone or dead. No one is coming for
me.”
Wow,
wow, wow. This book, guys. THIS BOOK. From start to finish, it traps you in and
doesn't let go. If I were to pitch it, I'd say it's a successful and addictive
combination between The Grisha Trilogy,
The Selection, Shatter Me and something entirely unique. Dystopian and
fantasy alike, Red Queen will have
you at the edge of your seat, questioning every character and falling in love
with some of them at the same time. Prepare yourself for sheer awesomeness,
because this book definitely delivers.
“In school,
we learned about the world before ours, about the angels and gods that lived in
the sky, ruling the earth with kind and loving hands. Some say those are just
stories, but I don’t believe that.
The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind.”
The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind.”
Victoria
Aveyard created in Red Queen a
beautiful, scary and unjust world. If you're a Silver, then you are born with
supernatural abilities that entitle you to riches, education and power. They
are the ultimate superiors. Reds are normal human beings, treated by Silvers as
the dirt on their shoes and forced to fight their wars so they can live long,
happy lives without moving a finger. But in between these strictly drawn lines
that divide the powerful from the weak, a Red girl stumbles into the society of
Silvers only to discover that she's just as special as them. And this is where
the politics, a game of hide-and-seek, acting and plotting start. 
Our
main character, Mare Barrow, is forced to keep up the illusion of being a Silver
in order to hide the impossibility of a gifted Red. But she's far from perfect.
It was so easy to hate her sometimes, because she was naive, judgmental and
down-right hypocrite. She's wild and indecisive and yet she still manages to
learn from her mistakes. But what captivated me most about Mare was her inner
strength to keep up the charade in order to save her own skin only to have it
risked in a matter of seconds for a good and ultimate cause: destroying the
system and making Reds and Silvers equal. This is when I realized just how
selfless and ambitious she is and when my endless cheering for her badass
demeanor actually started.
“Part of me wishes I could submit to
chains, to captivity and silence. But I have lived that life already, in the
mud, in the shadows, in a cell, in a silk dress. I will never submit again. I
will never stop fighting.”
Let's
talk boys, cause that's the icing on the cake and everybody loves cake and
icing and boys and -- where was I? Oh yes, BOYS. Mare is betrothed to Prince
Maven, but Crown Prince Cal tugs at her heartstrings like no other, even if she
doesn't let herself admit it. Cal himself is engaged so you can see why this
whole situation might be a bit, um, intricate.
“He does not like to lose. And”—he
lowers his voice, now so close to me I can see the tiny flecks of silver in his
eyes—“neither do I. I won’t lose you, Mare. I won’t.”
Maven
will surprise you with his determination to achieve his goals and to get out of
his brother's shadow. He's smart, patient and wickedly cute. I admired him and
pitied him at the same time. But, unfortunately, he's no Cal. I don't know what
made me love Cal so much from the start, but you could see he's compassionate
and just, loyal and selfless. Not to mention pretty hot, protective, brave,
clever and funny. Be still, my heart.
Now
on the love triangle that is not actually a love triangle. Why? Well, how can I
put it? You never know for sure that the boys actually love Mare. And half the
time, one might think that she doesn't give a damn about them as well. Then it
starts getting even more complicated. Because they use each other, because they
betray each other and because they are lying to themselves. It's all a vicious
circle that no one leaves unscathed or with their feelings clear. A love and
hate storm where everyone switches their sides and lives with a treacherous
heart. My dark soul was so so happy with this.
“Romance. We flinch at the word.
There is no such thing between us anymore. Not after what we did to each other,
and what was done to us. No matter how much we might want there to be.”
The
secondary characters were wonderfully nuanced. Julian and Lucas were just great
and a true evidence that not all Silvers aren't as stuck-up and arrogant.
Kilorn infuriated me indirectly because Mare was getting herself into stuff she
couldn't handle just so she could save him. The rest of Mare's family was
actually awesome and Walsh, Farley and the rest of the Scarlet Guard have my
unwavering respect. There's also the King -- I wasn't really his fan -- and
Queen Elara that reminded me of Levana from The
Lunar Chronicles (or maybe even Cersei from Game of Thrones). Both have astounding mind-controlling powers,
both are wicked, selfish and double-faced vipers and both are easy to hate. As
is Evangeline, evil incarnate and the devil's mistress.
Another
aspect I completely loved about this book was how the author successfully
managed to combine fantasy and dystopia to create a unique world. Although it's
just the first in the series, Red Queen
introduces us to tons of characters, some good, others mostly bad. And the plot
is amazingly well planned, mixing politics with the world-building to ensure
that readers won't know what hit them until the very end. The dynamics, the
conspiracies, the confusing theories -- spectacular course of action, Miss
Aveyard.
“I told you to hide your heart once.
You should have listened.”
The
beauty of Red Queen is that it
doesn't shy away from showing the ugliness of a heart's desire and the
betrayals that might entail. The characters are flawed in a beautiful,
realistic way and it makes you care for them even if seconds ago you loathed
them. There's no black and white in here. There's only instinct, hope, illusion
and the inevitable betrayal.
“This world is Silver, but it is
also gray. There is no black-and-white.”
There was a big twist that I
actually anticipated, but didn't know how many chances it has to actually
develop. So when the time came, it was gut-wrenching and still surprising to
see it unfold. It finally put things into perspective about who's the real
enemy, because until then you don't really know who the baddies are and who is
your ally.
“The Guard won’t stop,” I say
softly, but I know he’s barely listening anymore. “And while they are certainly
to blame, you are as well. There is blood on your hands, Prince.” And Maven’s.
And mine.”
The
last chapters or so had me devouring page after page. I'm telling you, there
are so many things happening that you can't keep up. The amount of FEELS you'll
experience for some of the characters will leave you breathless. Sadness? Oh
yeah. Pity? Loads of it. Anger? Heck, yes! Pride? Definitely. Now just give me
the sequel so I won't die of anticipation and we're all good.
Red Queen will be a definite
favorite among readers when it releases next year. It's a thrilling,
unputdownable book emblazoned with forbidden romance, paralyzing action and an
intriguing game of life or death. Hearts get crushed, loyalties are tested and
a new beginning is set in motion. Rise, red as the dawn, and go read it when it
releases. You won't be disappointed.
“Many things led to this day, for
all of us. A forgotten son, a vengeful mother, a brother with a long shadow, a
strange mutation. Together, they’ve written a tragedy.”
ENJOY! ©
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