Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen (Red Queen, #1)

by Victoria Aveyard

Graceling meets The Selection in debut novelist Victoria Aveyard's sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king's palace. Will her power save her or condemn her?

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood--those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play 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 everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard--a growing Red rebellion--even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

5 of 5 stars

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This book had me from page 1, when we met our heroine and the thief, Mare. She was rough around the edges, but bold and cunning, as she must be to survive being a Red. I really liked Mare and was rooting for her (I wanted her to win, no matter what she was trying to accomplish). I found her family endearing and loved her interactions with them. The Queen was evil, the King was oblivious and too many people were sneaky liars. I thought the author did a great job world building as she painted such clear picture of this world in my mind. I felt compassion for the Reds and anger towards the Silvers. I was cheering for the Guard and hoping some influential people would side with Mare and the Reds. In the end, I had a great action packed read that also gave me some feels. I swear, I bit my nails to the quick during the last 20 minutes of the book. The epilogue floored me, while at the same time, left me a little flat. I guess I just wanted more. Can't wait for the next book.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 14 July, 2015: Finished reading
  • 14 July, 2015: Reviewed