Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard Review!

Title : Red Queen
Author : Victoria Aveyard
Pages : 400
Published : February 10th 2015
Publisher : HarperTeen
Source : Edelweiss
Purchase : Amazon / Book Depository

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into the army she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own—an ability she didn't know she had. Except . . . her blood is Red.

To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into 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 her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and Mare against her own heart.

From debut author Victoria Aveyard comes a lush, vivid fantasy series where loyalty and desire can tear you apart and the only certainty is betrayal.

My Thoughts : 

Red Queen can be summed up in one word..... EPIC!! I absolutely adored this book. 

What can I say to do this book justice! I think I'll start with some of my favourite things. 

The world building was phenomenal. The idea that you are graded, basically, by the colour of your blood. There are the lowly Reds, they are the work force and masses of the world. They do the dirty work and are treated accordingly. Then you have the "mighty" Silvers. They are the elite, they have wealth and powers beyond measure. They treat any one under them with derision and don't care who they hurt. I loved the idea of this and how the colour of your blood matters. In a world saturated in books, it's rare enough you will find a truly unique and amazing world. Well Red Queen has it all!! 

The Silvers powers were also amazing. Man, they had some cool powers!! Some could manipulate water, some electricity, some metal, some fire etc. Each family had a unique one and I loved seeing them in action. 

Then we have the characters. Mare is a lowly Red but she has a fighters spirit and hates the Silvers. She is due to conscript to the army when she turns of age but when her best friend says he is to go soon, she decides that, enough is enough, and tries to buy them passage to anywhere other than where they are. By a twist of fate though, she ends up meeting someone who gets her a job in the palace. She thinks if she takes it she may be able to help her people. What she doesn't know is things come to light in ways she couldn't imagine and she is thrown into palace life. Mare was such a plucky girl but yet she is so naive at times and trusts too easy. All she wants is for a normal life but when you can't do anything for yourself and you are treated like dirt, it wears on you. She wants to do whats best, but at what cost?? 

We have 2 Princes, the Kings heir and favourite, Cal and his younger step brother and Mares rock during her time at the palace, Maven. Cal is like all future Kings and knows his own mind, he is strong, brave and idealistic, though maybe with the wrong ideals. Mare feels drawn to him and wants so much for him to help her, but can she trust him?

Maven on the other hand is kind and nice to Mare all the time and will do anything to help her. She can't help but like his easy going and kind manner and ends up relying on him more and more. He is the brother living in the shadow of a greater brother and Mare feels for him. 

Now, I suppose you could say that there is a love triangle in Red Queen, though Mares' feelings are plain for all to see, so I'm not sure if I can call it a love triangle! I normally hate them in books but because this is necessary to the story and Mare isn't torn between them, I didn't mind. 

Now I could keep gushing about the book but I better wrap it up!! Lol. Red Queen is one of those books that you want to read for the first time again. It blew me away and I'm impatiently awaiting the next one. There is so much in this book to love. It is action packed, unique, full of twits and turns and with gasp out loud moments. Believe me, I gasped at a certain part because I was fooled too!! The Queen is the epitome of Evil and very very cunning. There is so much you don't see till it's too late, that I was left reeling. It's a unique and captivating read and one that will stay with me forever. Those characters stole a piece of my heart and I need book 2 like yesterday. What else can I say about this magnificent piece of writing other that, go buy it now!!!