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Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is a mysterious and action-packed read. The cover is absolutely stunning and really fits the book. This is perfect for fans of high fantasy.
Title: Red Queen (Red Queen #1)Series: Red Queen #1
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction
Publication Date: February 10, 2015
Rating:
Series Rating:
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.
Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
First, just by looking at the title (Red Queen), I was intrigued. It’s so mysterious and beautiful! I am definitely a person who judges books by their covers and/or titles and my instincts are usually pretty good, so I picked up Red Queen for review. Let me just say, OH. MY. GOD. I mean, I expected it to be good, because all over the internet, I read about how good it was, but I was blown away. It was so detailed and the plot was so interesting! I just couldn’t put it down.
❀ Complex
After finishing this book, I took a moment to examine the cover a little more. I love how it incorporates the Reds through the red blood dripping from the crown, and the Silvers through the silver background. It seems like Mare, a Red, is surrounded by Silvers, because the red is in the middle with silver all around. What’s nice about this cover is that it makes you want to predict what the story will be about. You can start making assumptions right away. This is such a great cover, because it is simple, yet complex with its deep meaning. I love it so much!
❀ For Fans of Tahereh Mafi and Amy Ewing
To me, Red Queen was sort of like a cross between Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi and The Jewel by Amy Ewing. The Silvers have their own powers, referred to as “abilities” in the book and there is training for them to learn control these abilities, just like Ignite Me. Also, Mare, the main character is a girl from the slums that ends up living with the royal family in a palace, acting as their slave, in a way. I absolutely LOVED these two books and since Red Queen had a bit of both books incorporated in its plot, you can just imagine how good it was. Definitely check this book out if you are fans of Tahereh Mafi or Amy Ewing, or both. 🙂
❀ Very Unpredictable
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is a fantasy book that was so unpredictable! I’m not a huge fan of books where you can predict the events of each chapter and end up being correct. One of the best things about the way Victoria Aveyard wrote Red Queen was that it was so full of twists and kept you guessing until the very last page. That’s right, it’s not one of those books where the last few chapters are just the character analyzing what happened in the book that makes readers everywhere want to close it and move on to their next read. You HAVE to read until the very last sentence to get the full effect of this book. One thing is for sure, waiting for book two will be very, VERY difficult.
About Victoria Aveyard
I'm a screenwriter/YA author who likes books and lists. This site is the nexus of my universe.
My book RED QUEEN will be published Winter 2015 from HarperTeen at HarperCollins. I'm repped by the incomparable Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc.
The genres I'm into include YA, Fantasy, Historical, Adventure, Apocalyptic - if people are dying, I'm buying.
About The Candid Cover
Olivia ❀ Canadian YA book blogger, Starbucks lover, & professional bibliophile.
This book looks exciting.
I still can’t believe that I haven’t read this book yet. The worst part about it is that I have a copy sitting on my shelf. Just pitiful. This review was a good reminder that I really want to read this book!
I love a good mystery and this sounds like a great read.