Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Amy    
Lynnie 

young adult, fantasy, action/suspense

In Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, Mare Barrow has grown up being a Red--categorized by the color of her blood. She's known nothing but hardship, as most Reds are conscripted to war or have menial jobs and live in deplorable conditions. The Reds are ruled over by the Silver-blooded, including the royal family. The Silvers are born with abilities that allow them to keep the Reds in line through fear and intimidation while the Silvers live in luxury.

That was then, this is now, and due to circumstances beyond her control, Mare has displayed her own magical ability--one that a person with red blood should never possess. As she is assimilated into Silver society, the story becomes a game of who can be trusted and how long secrets can be kept.

Amy's review

At first, I didn't think I would like this book. First, the title is similar to another book, The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory, and I dislike unoriginality. (And, it turns out the title isn't even accurate for this book.) Then, I started reading and the story appeared to be a mashup of a bunch of other very popular YA stories and, did I mention, I dislike unoriginality. I saw strong similarities to storylines from Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Cinderella.

But, the more I read, the more I started enjoying the story on its own merit. It's not perfect and has some holes (like the premise of Gods making the decision to live on Earth and make life miserable for humans and the fact that the bad guy was obvious to me from the start) but it was fun. I enjoyed the cast of characters and the locations in the story. I liked the sibling relationships. The action was enjoyable and the tempo was fast-paced. I ended up staying up LATE because I couldn't go to bed without knowing how it ended!

I'll certainly read the next one when it comes out and it looks like there are some novellas on the way too (a trend which, on principle, I don't appreciate unless the novellas are free so I'll keep my fingers crossed). I'd like to see what comes next for this cast of characters.  

Lynnie's review

I really enjoyed this book though I agree with Amy that there is a lot in Red Queen that you've seen before in other YA fantasy fare. The narrator, Mare, does a great job of teaching us about the world she lives in as she is learning about it herself. There was a lot happening in this novel and if you buy into the premise of the book, the world that Victoria Aveyard created is never dull. I particularly enjoyed that even though the book flirted around the edges of several potential romances, those really took a back seat to the advancement of the story and the action.

I was a little frustrated by the ending, but it's what I've come to expect from any book series. That said, I'm looking forward to reading about what happens next- bring on the sequel!