Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
I bought a copy of Red Queen on a recent visit to Singapore. I don’t usually spend much time in Orchard Road (expensive) but I was geocaching in the area and couldn’t resist a peek into the Kinokuniya bookstore. This branch is enormous and I spent many hours happily lost in a world of books.
Anyone can betray anyone.
The Red Queen has had a mixture of reviews on Goodreads, so I was not sure what to expect. It was good with a solid storyline but predictable and the (many) loose ends frustrated me – clearly I need to read the next book in the series.
But she was a foolish girl, and now I pay the price.
I didn’t feel the romance was genuine (insert sad emoticon) and there were several things about the story that didn’t quite add up…
We will rise, Red as the dawn.
These are the questions I am still trying to work out…
Why did Mare not change out of her ‘princess’ clothes when Cal took her back to visit her family, surely she would stick out like a beacon? Why was Mare continually patronising Kilorn? She was always trying to protect him to the extent she treated him like a child. Why the name Mare? It reminds me of a horse…
Recommended age: 12+
Title: Red Queen
Series: Red Queen #1
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publication Date:
10 February 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Purchased
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This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.
The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.
That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.
Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.
But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart. — Abstract from Goodreads.com
Lonna
I’ve been waffling back and forth with this one. It’s certainly not encouraging when the reviews on GR are so polarized. Many of the things you’ve mentioned are a turn-off for me, especially the perfunctory romance, inserted for marketing rather than enrichment of storytelling. I think I will wait to see what book 2 has installed. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Cait @ Paper Fury
I didn’t really like this one. 🙁 I felt like it “borrowed” very very heavily from other popular YA books and that’s not really okay for me!! Like, I get that we can’t all be mega original and there are only a certain amount of ideas out there, but seriously?!? This was SO Red Rising x The Selection and that bothers me. 😛 But I did like the plot twist with Maven at the end. ;D
Thanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!
Kimberly Sabatini
I’ve man handled this one a few times and feel better about not picking it up. Sounds good, but I know I’d probably have very similar thoughts. *sigh*
crushingcinders
I know what you mean. The cover is so pretty and I kept going back to it…
Kimberly Sabatini
And Laini Taylor has set the bar for me–and I know you love her too…