Red Queen (#1) by Victoria Aveyard
Published by: Harper Teen on February 10th 2015
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Magic, Dystopia
Pages: 383
Format: Audiobook
Source: Downloaded

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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.

Review: “Anyone can betray anyone” – I feel like I had a different experience than others as I had the opportunity to listen to the book being read rather than reading it myself. Choosing the audiobook form was a good choice as I got to hear the different voices and be able to imagine the words/pictures that were being created. A lot of reviews say don’t believe the hype. I went in with no expectations or knowing what the book was about and I actually liked it. I had no pacing issues which is rare. Most books usually have a lull for me. This one kept my interest (no matter how predictable) from start to finish.

The Plot – Was not original in anyway. It’s the same YA storyline that we’ve all read before. Girl in poor conditions. Two sides. One side rich and treated great. The other side poor and treated crappy. Girl ends up being secretly more like the other side. Love triangle between brothers who happen to be princes. BFF is a male. A rebellion starts. Ouu plot twist. The End.

The World – Although I found the plot to be unoriginal I did find the description of the world to be quite nice. It was described in away that I could see what was happening in my mind. I feel like it was the combination of the authors words and how the voice actor was portraying them. If you can’t visually see what’s happening in your mind I don’t think the author did the world justice.

The Characters – Typical YA dystopian characters. Female lead with a male BFF and confused about liking two men. With the princes having multiple names (given & nickname) was quite confusing. I was never sure what was going on when either were in the dialogue.

The Cover – Amazing!

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