Review: Red Queen

Red Queen (Red Queen, book 1) by Victoria Aveyard

Genre: Young Adult High Fantasy
Edition Reviewed: Ebook
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Goodreads: Red Queen (1)

This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.

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 ...

---

Review:

Up front I will say that I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I was reading The Red Queen as a buddy read, with a chapter limit, and it was so hard to make myself stop. Even though the writing was very bare, it captivated me.

However—and my buddy read partner Kat can confirm—right off the bat I had it figured out. The whole plot. That huge cliffhanger that everyone was talking about was obvious within the first 20 pages. And despite it's addictive qualities Red Queen has huge flaws.

Mainly being that every aspect of the book is borrowed. It's dipped its pen in every genre and plot tropes/lines to create a fun, exciting read. Sadly many things are forgotten because of it. The world that these characters are in feels like high fantasy. Yet there is technology. It's never described well enough to actually explain how advanced that technology is, or what anything being used really looks like. There's TV and security systems, but is it high tech or low tech? Nothing is ever elaborated on. Leaving the readers imagination to feel in the blanks.

The characters are one dimensional and very predictable. Their interactions at times were fun, but I never truly felt for them. Which could have counteracted the low quality of the world building. Since I knew where everything was going I felt like all the characters' actions and responses were contrived. The female lead was a moron. Though she had her moments and it wasn't romance being forced down reader's throats. Well sort of.

In the end The Red Queen was so busy borrowing things that it ended up lacking any substance. If you're good at figuring out plots this will be a bitter disappointment. Even if you're not good at guessing, you'll probably figure it out. The best part about The Red Queen has to be that you'll know right away if you can read it. It will either suck you in despite yourself, or you'll escape it's grasp. Despite myself I'm looking forward to the next book. After all I had fun and it was a quick read, why not check out the next one?

Sexual Content: Humor, mild make out sessions, kissing of multiple love interests, and actually fairly clean.

 
2/5- Average/disappointing, library check-out.

---

Previous book(s) in series:
Reviewed on BW:	Amazon:	Goodreads:
Red Queen (1) Glass Sword (2) Untitled (3) Untitled (4)	Red Queen (1) Glass Sword (2) Untitled (3) Untitled (4)	Red Queen (1) Glass Sword (2) Untitled (3) Untitled (4)