May 25, 2015

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard 5/5 stars

Hey, guys! So a lot of my friends have been recommending Red Queen to me.  I heard a LOT about it before I actually picked it up.  I requested it at the library many, many months ago, it finally gave it to me, and I read it in two days.  However, sometime before I read the book, I read a friend's paper on the book to help her edit... and received a giant spoiler.  If you've read the book, you probably know what I'm talking about (if not, comment!).  Anyway, even with this spoiler, this book was awesome.

The Cover:
The Cover:
This seems pretty self explanatory to me.  There is a crown with red blood dripping off it.  It's symbolic, and I appreciate the simplicity of this cover.  A cover

Official Description:
MARE BARROW'S WORLD IS DIVIDED BY BLOOD—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into the army she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own—an ability she didn't know she had. Except... her blood is Red.
To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into 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 her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and Mare against her own heart.
From debut author Victoria Aveyard comes a lush, vivid fantasy series where loyalty and desire can tear you apart and the only certainty is betrayal

My Review:
At first I was skeptical about this book.  For the first fifty pages or so, I was honestly a bit bored with this book.  It seemed just like another YA dystopian book, and I was a bit disappointed.  However, once things started to get good, they got really good.  I was so emotionally impacted by the end of this book, that it canceled out the slow beginning.  So, if you aren't enjoying Red Queen at the beginning, wait a little while before giving up.
The characters were amazing.  They were really complicated and interesting to read about.  I especially loved all of the complexities of Cal.  He was just an amazing character that I wish we got to see more of.  
The plot, while slow at first, was actually really interesting.  Part royal courts, part superpowers, part rebellion, part romance, five parts various betrayals.  It had all that I could possibly want.  The last hundred pages were incredibly intense and just wonderful.
I would definitely recommend Red Queen! It was so good, and I don't think I'm going to be able to wait for the sequel (though I fear it won't be as great as the first book).  

Happy Reading!

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