Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - Paul's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from HarperTeen via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard

My Pre Reading


Upcoming Release Date: February 10, 2015


Synopsis: 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?

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Review: After just the first few chapters, I knew I would love this book. 

I am a huge fan of stories that blend fantasy and sci-fi. Red Queen does this excellently. The story takes place in a futuristic dystopian world, but there are many fantastical elements as well. 

The world building in this novel is excellent. Every time more of the world was revealed, I wanted to know more. Aveyard makes the world feel bigger than just this story. It is a complex world, but it is easy enough to follow. I was completely immersed as I read. 

Although there is one main protagonist, there are many main characters in this book that appear often and have much influence on the story. Aveyard introduces these characters so well. There was never a time when I was overwhelmed by an onslaught of new characters or couldn't remember who someone was. The characters were introduced perfectly. And I fell for so many of them. So many great characters!

The concept of Silvers and Reds is so interesting. It touches on caste systems and social divides, but in a way that isn't too heavy considering there are superpowers involved. There is definitely an X-Men or Avatar: The Last Airbender feel to this world. 

Towards the end, there were some characters that had abrupt changes that I didn't quite follow, but I saw something similar coming. There were a few things I thought that I had picked up on being foreshadowed, but they didn't come to fruition in this novel. I look forward to seeing whether they actually come to be in the rest of the trilogy. The romance in this novel is relevant to the plot, but it also felt like it was only there to make the book feel more YA mainstream. Love triangles...

I am a huge fan of this novel. I give it a well deserved 5/5. I am looking forward to the rest of this trilogy. If you are a fan of this book too, you may want to check out the author's YOUTUBE PAGE. Her twitter is also quite entertaining: @VictoriaAveyard.

--PAUL