Review: Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: February 10th 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Point of View: 1st Person
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Dystopia, Fantasy, War Setting, Love-Triangle, Royalty, Powers

BLURB:

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?

REVIEW:

‘‘You are not Silver. Your parents are Red, you are Red, and your blood is red,’’ the queen murmurs, prowling before the bars of my cage. ‘‘You are a miracle, Mare Barrow, an impossibility. Something even I can’t understand, and I have seen all of you.’’

I can’t wait for this book to become a movie. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this enormously, but I simply know I’ll love it even more on the big screen. That way, we will actually see, in colour and with all its intensity, the Silver’s abilities, superpowers. Plus, it would be interesting to see how the author imagined her world-building, for I had trouble visualising it while reading.

There are cars and screens and cameras… so it can’t be an historical setting (despite the slight vibe of it), but I wouldn’t think it to be a science-fiction one either… or contemporary, for sure. Basically, the author created her own world – which is admirable – melding Dystopia and High Fantasy as genres. The result is pretty impressive, let me tell you.

It was relatively easy to immerge into the storyline. I wasn’t surprised to discover that Miss Aveyard is in fact a screenwriter as well as a book author, after finishing this, for everything in the narrative flowed and was clear, aside from being fantastically written. Really, I stand by my claim that this will make a successful movie. Now we just have to wait and see.

Mare – the heroine – is incontestably fearless, rather reckless, badass enough but… not a ruler born. She wants the best for her people and tries to free them with as much power as she can muster, but her taking rash important decisions draws affliction to her person and people around her. A lot. Lot. If becoming a queen is her destiny, then she requires some character development. I enjoyed her and her vision of a better world for Reds, but couldn’t exactly connect with her. I’m more of a thinker, ponderer, while she’s definitely a combatant. We could make a great team, heh, the two of us!

You know what? There is a love triangle – almost… square? – but it wasn’t a bother. It made sense and, here and there, was actually strategic. Oh, manipulation corners every chapter. If you think that there will be no sacrifices/collateral damages to getting the freedom desired, well then you might be quite shocked! Not devious or as pitiless as the ones in the TV show Game of Thrones, but it wouldn’t please me to be in Mare’s place. I’ll just wait until the war is done to sneak into this world and conquer a prince’s love, *wink* *wink*.

Red Queen deserves everything it acquired thus far: thousands of five-star ratings and reviews from readers of all over the world, a discernable tremendous hype that got to me with much force and… its standing as #1 New York Times Bestseller!