Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Series: Red Queen
Publisher: Orion
Publication Date: February 10th, 2015
Source: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

I was a little nervous about picking this one up, because it only earned 3 stars from Jen. You can read her review here. Red Queen is compared to Graceling and The Selection. I read Graceling a long time ago and I liked it. I can't really vouch for it's comparison to The Selection though, because I've only just started that one. 

I try not to read to much into the... "This book is such and such book meets such and such book". Because half the time.. it's all bull shit. And it's nothing like either. Red Queen reminded me of a lot of different books, but it worked for me. It was a nice blend. 

I'll be honest in saying that one of the things that made reading this so enjoyable was the fact I buddy read it with Jess. Reading with a friend is so freaking fun, especially when you read a book like this that has so many twists and turns. There were many WTF texts flying between our phones. 

Red Queen wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but I did go in somewhat blind and that added to the experience. I read the blurb months and months ago back when I added it to my 'to read' list, but I did not read it before we started. 

I loved the whole Silver/Red blood thing. It kind of reminded me of the Red Rising world, with the color classes.. but less complicated. I wish I had silver blood. How cool would that be. And not to be gross, but I kept wondering if these silver bitches had silver periods!! They would almost have to, right? I really want to know! And if a red and a silver were to procreate, would their blood then look pinkish? Like a metallic pink? 

Anyway, I thought Red Queen was super fun and interesting. It leaves you hanging a bit.. but what series book doesn't? I'm really looking forward to reading the next one. 

About the author:

After growing up in small town Massachusetts, Victoria attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She graduated with a BFA in Screenwriting, which is exactly the degree being sought after in a recession.

She tries her best to combine her love of history, explosions, and butt-kicking heroines in her writing. Her hobbies include the impossible task of predicting what happens next in A Song of Ice and Fire, road trips, and burning through Netflix.

Find Victoria:

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