06/08/2015

// book review + discussion: red queen by victoria aveyard

Title: Red Queen, (Red Queen, #1)
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publication: 10th of February 2015 by HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover, 383 pages


Synopsis: 

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

"Words can lie. See beyond them."

Red Queen is probably one of the most anticipated releases of 2015. There was a lot of hype around this book due to its publisher so I was hoping that it would live up to it. Another reason why I was excited to read this was because it is dystopian and fantasy which I consider one of my favourite genres. This book is Aveyard's debut novel and the first installment in the trilogy. All in all, her writing and and world building wasn't too bad and the characters are well characterised. The first half of the book did have a slow start though, but the second half did make up for it with its action packed sequences.


"In the fairytales, the poor girl smiles when she becomes a princess. Right now, I don't know if I'll ever smile again."

I enjoyed reading this book, it was fairly entertaining. But one thing that annoyed me is how it seemed to me like she has recycled different ideas from YA books that's already been out for years and somehow jam-packed it into this one book. Whilst I was reading this, I'd think to myself "Why does this sound so familliar?". In this world, the society was divided by the colour of their blood. The Reds are looked down on, sent off to pointless wars and lived in slum-like conditions. The Silvers, on the other hand were like gods. They yield powers from "telekinitics", "strong-arms" to bending different elements such as fire, light, water and steels. They lived near the palace and belonged to high families.


"Anyone can betray anyone." 

Like any other YA dystopia/fantasy book, the main protagonist, Mare Barrow, 17 years old, is different from everyone else. She felt like she doesn't fit and felt like she's not good with anything besides steal from people. But she couldn't be more wrong. An incident happens during the Queenstrial (Like Kiera Cass' selection where the royalty picks the person whom they'll be wed to) which triggers her power and stirs quite the controversy. Now everyone in the palace is threatened by her and makes it their agenda to have her killed. They were intrigued on how a common Red girl could acquire such a unique and strong power. But instead of doing the latter, they chose to deal with it by confining her in the palace, make her take on a different identity and engage her to be married to the younger Prince, Maven. She takes this opportunity to do something for her people and free them from being oppressed and from corruption, like an inside job, a spy. But it also frustrated me how reckless she can  be and how she quick she is to trust.


"If you know someone's fear, you know them."

It appears to me that there is a love square in this book (love square, does that exist? it does here anyway). It starts off with this guy, Kilorn, her childhood crush. But turns out he doesn't have feelings for her. Then there's Cal and Maven, the brothers. If you ask me who I ship though, I definitely ship Cal x Mare. Besides me mentioning ships, Red Queen actually has a very small inclusion of Romance, it's mostly focused on the war and politics. So if you want something different than your usual YA books, which usually has a huge part of romance in it then this is the book for you! 


"Flame and shadow. One cannot exist without the other."

This book was such a thrilling ride, it has so much twists and turns. By the time you put the book down you'll have trust issues. We better keep an eye on this book because this is apparently getting turned into a film, I usually have low expectations on book to film adaptations because they're never half as good but I will give it a chance. The second book of the trilogy is called Glass Sword and it's due to be released this 2016. Yes, I'll read the sequel and probably do anything to get an ARC of it.

Is Red Queen in your "to be read" list? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the book if you've read it in the comments below :-) 


14 comments:

  1. I agree how the author just recycled different YA fantasy/dystopian stories which made me give this book a lower rating. I saw that twist coming too so I wasn't really amazed by Red Queen. I thought it was still a very good read, and I'll def. read the sequel, but it didn't make it to my favorites list. I'm excited for the movie, too! I hope they do justice and stay true to the book.

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    1. i'm glad you think this way too!

      i had a feeling at the back of my neck that maven was dodgy i mean he was too good to be true ah

      same, i hope they also do justice on the casting and not just pick random famous characters

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  2. 'By the time you put the book down you'll have trust issues.' HAHAHAHAHA SO TRUE
    I actually really enjoyed Red Queen because it just pulled me in and the plot was amazingly fastpaced. I'm so looking forward to the next book!

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    1. me too ah! and arcs for it exists too oh my god

      *starts praying to arc gods to bless me*

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  3. Ooh, I TOTALLY agree that it felt recycled! Absolutely! That was my main quibble with it actually....I could just pick out a dozen YA books that had already used those plot twists (so much of The Selection in there too, tho) and my ONLY love was the plot twists at the end because I think they were clever and I never saw it coming. (Omg Maven!) but yeah. I feel like this one is a liiiittle overhyped since it's not really unique?
    Thanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!

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    1. After reading Shadow & Bone I've had trust issues hahah 🙈 so I felt like he was too good to be true lol. I think it's only hyped because of its publisher to be honest hmm.

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  4. I read this book a few days ago, and to be honest, I actually think that the book didn't live up to all that hype! And maybe I shouldn't have expected too much from the book.
    One thing I did love in the book was the plot twists! Tbh, I saw the main one coming, but still, it was interesting to see it unravel. Plus I also loved Maven's character! He was the best character in the book for me!:)

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    1. it often happens when a book is hyped up and you get disappointed ah :/// ah mishma why do we always like different characters in a book *sighs*

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  5. Great review! I haven't read it but I have heard a lot of the same things that you mention in your post so I am still deciding whether or not I should read it.

    Jamie @ Books and Ladders

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    1. it's one of those books where i think u should just read it just for the sake of reading it.... i mean it is going to be one of the ""big ya books"" soon

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  6. I just picked up this book! Only two chapters in. I haven't read the Selection, so I won't be able to see the parallels, but so far I'm not all that hooked on the story. Mare is really angry (idk why but that's always a turn off to me? xD She's like a frenzied anger), and that Kilorn fella is now crying because he's going to be drafted. That's where I am! Hopefully I can get into this book and actually end up liking it :) (also I really like romance so if there's not a lot in this book then I'M IN FOR A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT)

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    1. the selection isn't the only book that i felt like she copied ideas form, i heard it's very similar to red rising also. give it a few pages, the start is a bit slow and boring but the second half of the book will make up for it!

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  7. Cal and Mare!! I was shipping them the entire book even though I know a lot about people like Maven.

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    1. i've always been team cal! even though the romance between them two was slow ugh. man was too dreamy and perfect for me, and after reading about the darkling, i just knew maven was too good to be true....... after that cliffhanger in the red queen?? im crying i hope cal and mare can mend their relationship 😭

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