Synopsis:
This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.
The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.
That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.
Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.
But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.
Favorite Lines:
“In school, we learned about the world before ours, about the angels and the gods that lived in the sky, ruling the earth with kind and loving hands. Some say those are just stories, but I don’t believe that. The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind.”
“The world is Silver, but it is also gray. There is no black-and-white.”
“Anyone can betray anyone”
My Opinion:
This book will drive you crazy and leave you wanting more. I had to cut myself off at 2:30am one night because I had work the next day; that’s how addicting it is. It reminds me of Hunger Games or the Shatter Me series; if you liked either of those series then you will love this one. The series takes place in a society separated by the color of blood. Red bloods are normal people like we are, and Silver bloods have special powers. Red bloods are ruled by Silver bloods and looked down on as less. The story follows Mare Barrows, a seemingly regular red blood girl who turns out to be extraordinary. She is thrown into a world she doesn’t understand and has to figure out how to navigate in her dangerous new life.
What I really loved but also really hated about this book was that it doesn’t revolve around a relationship and love. While it is definitely a part of the story, most books make that the focus and characters sacrifice everything for that love. In Red Queen, the characters recognize their feelings, but they also recognize that there are more important things going on in their lives and that their feelings need to take a back seat. I loved this because its different than most stories that I read and more realistic, but I hated it because I’m a hopeless romantic.
Of course, there is a love triangle in this book and you’ll find yourself taking sides as to who you want Mare to end up with; I know I did. But it’s not a clear decision, I found myself picking the one that wasn’t the obvious choice. Both choices are good choices, one isn’t better than the other so it’s difficult to pick one over the other; I felt bad for the one I didn’t choose. You will fall in love with all the characters in this book (except for the bad ones, forget about them).
All I can say is…HOLY PLOT TWIST! I’m not kidding. Usually I am pretty good at seeing at what is going to happen in books, but I was blind-sided and heartbroken. My fingers are crossed that it’s somehow all a trick that will be revealed in a later book because I can’t take the betrayal (dramatic, I know). Aveyard does a really good job at steering the story in one direction and then hitting readers hard with a major twist that none of us saw coming. My advice to you as a reader is to prepare yourself and know that other readers have suffered through what you will suffer through.
Summary:
I highly recommend this book if you want a story centered around danger, action and adventure with some romance thrown in. Like I said in my opinion, love isn’t the focus (as much as I would love for it to be) but I am strangely okay with that. This book is about how much sacrifice is needed to better society. How much will the characters have to give to see change in the world? You’ll fall in love with all the characters and crave more of the series by the end of this book; I suggest you just buy them all at once so you don’t have to wait to buy the next one. I’m so sorry for what I am getting you into but I also don’t regret it at all. It’s an excellent, well written series and I can’t wait to see what else Aveyard is going to throw at us. Good luck with that plot twist and happy reading!
Likely Story 