Series: Red Queen #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: February 10th 2015
Links: Ebook • Hardcover • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Graceling meets The Selection in debut novelist Victoria Aveyard’s sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king’s palace. Will her power save her or condemn her?
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.
WOW!!! I loved this book!
So Red Queen has been getting a lot of hype, and it is very well deserved! I practically devoured this book – it did take me a while to get into it, but once I hit that groove, I couldn’t put it down.
I haven’t read fantasy books in a long while, but reading Red Queen reminded me of all the reasons I love the genre (and that I should get back to reading it some more). Victoria Aveyard has created a fresh, unique world that meshes magic and politics and has created an epic tale I highly enjoyed. This is definitely a book you don’t want to miss!
In a world where the rich and powerful are magic users are called Silvers and the poor and non-magic users are called Reds, Mare Barrow is part of the latter group. She and her family are of the lower class, constantly taken advantage of by the Silvers. Mare wants to be able to support her family, but all she’s good at is picking pockets. With the day of her conscription to the army looming before her, she tries to find a way out of it, and somehow winds up saved as a servant to the royal house. And just when there couldn’t be more surprises, Mare discovers that she herself has magic powers, even though as a Red, she should have been fully incapable of having any powers.
From now until the end of your days, you must lie. Your life depends on it, little lightning girl.
What ensues is a game of life-or-death for Mare, as she struggles to keep herself alive among the powerful and corrupted Silvers. She uses her newfound position to help a rebel cause, the Scarlet Guard, to try and create a better world for the Reds. In between learning to enhance her power, a budding romance with a Silver prince, and enemies who want to kill her, Mare has to find a way to stay alive in a world where anyone can betray anyone.
I struggled in the beginning of this book. There was just too much information too fast, but once I got the hang of it, I was quickly swept away by the world, the writing, and the characters. I was hooked onto the story – it’s an unputdownable, heart-pounding read! Victoria Aveyard wrote a fantastic debut. I am eagerly awaiting the next book!
Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.
Reading Order: Red Queen series
#0.5 ~ Queen Song: Ebook • Goodreads (Sept. 1, 2015)
#1 ~ Red Queen: Ebook • Hardcover • Audible • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Steel Scars: Ebook • Goodreads (Jan. 5, 2016)
#2 ~ Glass Sword: Ebook • Hardcover • Goodreads (Feb. 9, 2016)
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