RATING: 5/5
SYNOPSIS: In a world where those with silver blood (and with it special powers) reign supreme over the non-powered red bloods (and use them as cannon fodder in their never ending war with other countries), Mare Barrow discovers that although she is red blooded, she too has a special gift. When she is discovered, she is thrown into a world of court politics and amongst an ever growing rebellion who’s goal is to right the wrongs of this way of life.
Wow! That was my final thought when I finished Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen. This was exciting, thrilling, and entertaining. Going into this I knew that Aveyard was a fan of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series and you can see that influence in some small details. Mare is such an interesting character to me because unlike most YA heroines that I read, there is nothing that we have in common. I have more in common with Cal than I do Mare. I also think that Mare is selfish which is an interesting character flaw to have in your main character (especially one that is supposed to help be the face of some organization) and in a lot of books that I read the main character is a tad selfish, but they’re always actively doing something for someone else. Everything that she does comes out of a place of anger and wrong that affects her personally even though she does cite her motives as being for others (which is kind of true but all of her actions stem from wrongs to herself). She does show moments of selflessness, but it’s always when someone she loves is in immediate danger. Also Mare is perceptive, but she is not smart in terms of logically thinking things through which is her downfall 90% of the time. She acts on her emotions (namely anger) a lot and I think that will get a lot worse for her as the series progresses. The cast of characters is also really interesting. I found myself loving almost everyone and I think Cal is the absolute greatest and I can’t wait for his further character development! Unfortunately in this book only Cal, Mare, and Maven go through extensive development so I hope that the later books will deal with Kilorn, Mare’s family, Farley, and Evangeline more because I feel like we barely scratched their surfaces. I’m also excited to see Maven’s development because I can’t tell how much of his actions are his alone and how much of it is his mother’s influence (honestly it will be so interesting to find out his mother has been controlling him this whole time but if that turns out not to be true I’ll be okay). The only problem (and it’s a problem in a lot of first-person narratives) is how exposition is given, you can tell that it’s exposition (in first-person narration it is easier to disguise exposition when the reader and narrator are going through things together and when you’re not things get awkward because the narrator has to explain things to you), but it’s only for three short chapters and after that we dive right in. After the exposition is given, you are taken on a wild thrill ride and when you reach the end you are clamoring for the next book! I can’t wait for Glass Sword to come out in February!
**While I was reading I live tweeted on my Twitter (beware there are minor spoilers) so if you want to see my reactions as I was reading check out #rachaelreadsrq
I agree with this review a lot! Even though the book was really good only the three main characters got any development with knocked it down to a four star for me. I’m going to be posting my over due review on this book soon!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can see that, I think that if the story didn’t leave my heart pounding the way it did then the lack of character development would have knocked it down for me too! 🙂 I’ll be sure to check your review out when you post it!
LikeLike
Thanks! I think I really just want to read the second book and then that book will decide if I finish the series or not. Glass Sword here I come 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree. Second books can make or break a series! I remember that after reading The Elite I didn’t want to finish The Selection series and the only reason why I eventually did was because multiple people told me that the third book was better than the second.
LikeLike
The Selection Series? I remember wanting to read those books but for some reason I didn’t pick them up. I think I should though so I can give my verdict on the series. Opinions for The Selection seem divided on it being brilliant and frustrating.
LikeLike
I loved the first book I thought it was cool and interesting, but the second book was awful. The main character got so whiny and wishy-washy that it was hard for me to finish. The last one was alright, better than the second, but the ending felt a tad rushed to me. I keep going back and forth on whether or not I want to read the continuation series about the next selection though.
LikeLike
Would you recommend it? An awful lot of people are calling the series their guilty pleasures, so I find their word slightly untrustworthy😅
LikeLike
If you’re looking for something fun to read then I do recommend it. I think it’s unfair to call the series a “guilty pleasure” read because the love story is just a small aspect of the full story. There are a lot of wonderful family dynamics and female friendships which is why I enjoyed it.
LikeLike
Okay then. I’ve only been hearing people talking about the romance in the book, so I have been keeping my distance, but it looks like I should try to pick it up from my local library. Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No problem! 🙂 The only time the romance gets out of hand is the second book, just so you’re prepared!
LikeLiked by 1 person