Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Red Queen is the first book of a four-book series by Victoria Aveyard. It’s a fantasy novel that follows Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old girl stuck in poverty and hardship. The world is divided by the color of people’s blood: red or silver. The Reds are the commoner slave class, ruled by the elite Silvers. The Silvers possess supernatural powers, with different families specializing in different types of magic. In an unexpected turn of events, Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace as a servant. At the palace she accidentally discovers that she possesses electric magical powers despite her blood running red. The Silver royals grow fearful of what might happen if this information leaks and create cover for Mare, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess. Mare lives in the palace, silently attempting to aid the Red Guard, a resistance group looking to overthrow the Silver regime. The rest of the book follows her journey as she fights for her people. There’s plenty of betrayal, romance, and political tension along the way.
Despite my summary implying that the novel could be interesting, I didn’t enjoy the book much at all. The descriptions drag heavily, and there are so many unnecessary words that make the book boring to read. The concept of the Red and Silver divide seemed pretty interesting, but in the end the premise of the novel just ends up being cliche. A poor unfortunate girl suddenly finds herself blessed with luck and thrown into a whole new world. Along with that, I found Mare to be an unbearable heroine. She’s selfish and naive, making stupid decisions that cost lives, and is constantly in need of saving. You could argue that her flaws leave room for development, but I’ve read the later books in the series, and her character remains the same.
The novel also contains an excess amount of angst; Mare is more focused on complaining about her awful, difficult life (in her grand gilded palace) and being torn over which guy she should choose over saving her people’s lives. On top of that, the male leads are bland and hard to like. The author pits girls against one another, immediately making any girl Mare encounters her “enemy”. I can understand why people would like this book, but it just isn’t for me.
- Hannah
I LOVED this review. You were right when you said that your summary may imply that the book may be interesting, so I was surprised when you said you didn't actually like it. But you made a lot of very fair points, I also personally dislike whiny protagonists, especially when the author makes it their mission to hate every other female character. Overall, great job keep up the good work :)
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that you said you dislike the book, considering how interesting the plot makes it seem. I can definitely see how a new concept like this can quickly turn into something rather cliché though. It sounds rather disappointing that Mare has no character development in the later books at all, with such large room for growth. The whole "making girls her enemy" thing sounds terrible as well. I hate when authors or even just people, in general, make it seem like girls are always against each other. Props to you for the honest review and I hope you find a much better book to read!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great review Hannah! After the description you gave at the start I did think that this book sounded quite interesting, though after reading the whole review I see why it could be not as entertaining to read. I find when I am reading some books that the main characters are annoying or irritating, especially when choosing one of two guys and things like, and that is one of the things that makes me dislike a book. So, I am very glad that you included that fact in your review. Great job!
ReplyDelete- Claire
NOOOO. This book has been on my to-read list for a while but from your review I don't think I'll like it too much. The plot does sound interesting, which probably adds to the disappointment of this book for you. Good review Hannah!
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