Red Queen Review

RED QUEEN
Series: Red Queen Trilogy (Book One)
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: February 12th 2015

Book Length: 383 pages
Publisher: Orion
Source: Physical copy, Goodreads 
Review: 4/5 *Full Review Below.

Blurb:
A thrilling new fantasy trilogy for fans of DIVERGENT and THE HUNGER GAMES.

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

The poverty-stricken Reds are commoners, living in the shadow 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.

Then Mare finds herself working at the Silver palace, in the midst 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.

Red Queen is without a doubt a mix of all the books you will have read but who hasn’t read the same plot over and over again? It all depends on how hard you have been bashing the YA genre, for me maybe a little too much but I know for a fact that in 10 years I’ll still be reading these kind of books haha. Frankly I feel this book has taken some of the best components of others and mixed them into a high action fantasy, I do a love book with some crazy superpowers.

We’re introduced to a world with two types of people: Red and Silver. The Reds have red blood and are considered inferior to the Silvers and therefore live in poverty and made to serve. The Silvers have silver blood and are considered the ruling class; some are also born with special abilities such as manipulating the elements.

Our heroine Mare is a Red who pickpockets to support her family but her 18^th birthday is looming and without a real paid job she will be sent off to war. She’s soon offered a job working for the royal family, Mare doesn’t want to leave her family behind but if it means avoiding going to war and providing for them she will do it. During her first real job she is discovered to have dangerous powers of her own. The Royal family decides to hide her in plain sight and give her a completely new identity as a Silver orphan unaware of what she was and being raised by Reds.

“They’ve pulled me inside out, swapping Mare for Mareena, a thief for a crown, cotton for silk, Red for Silver. This morning I was a servant, tonight I’m a princess. How much more will change? What else will I lose?”

Queens are selected for their abilities and Mare is thrown into dangerous politics, deceits and forbidden love. This book mostly revolved around the love triangle between Mare and the two princes. The princes are completely different from each other and not all they seem. Mare is betrothed to one while secretly lusting for the other who is now engaged (Awkward!). This love triangle gets plenty complicated as some are better at hiding their true intentions, no one leaves this book with a happy ending. Throughout this book you will question loyalties and identities as a revolution is brewing from the Reds, no longer willing to be seen as second class and where everyone must choose what side they will fight on.

The book is a bit too slow paced for my liking but it makes up for it with it’s jam packed action. The author creates a truly unique world filled with conspiracies and schemes, the massive twist was easy to guess but it was beautifully written and will still leave you shocked. The second part of this book is much better than the first as it’s picks up the pace with the endless betrayals and a jaw dropping climax that will leave you stunned and craving more.

The world building was amazing and created in vivid detail but I’d say this book tried to be too different from other YA as it was just too much to digest for me. I’m a simple soul and would have loved about 3 less love interests hahaha. I would definitely recommend this to fellow fantasy lovers and I will be reading the next installment after that crazy ending.