Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Series: Red Queen #1
Followed By: Glass Sword
Published: February 10th, 2015
Pages: 383 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia YA
Review:
This book is so good I'm probably going to fangirl about it for months. The story and the telling (of storytelling, ha, get it?) are impeccable. This book draws you in right from the beginning. It’s filled with action that gets you excited and your adrenaline going. Mare is a caring but somewhat badass girl whose life turns upside-down with the discovery of her new power. There are betrayals that leave your eyes wide and jaw dropped. And, best of all, it’s realistic (not counting the superpowers or blood color the characters have). Characters die, they lie, they betray, they lose hope, they learn, they fail. Mare isn’t always lucky and she doesn't always have the power to be successful at everything she does. When books make the main character so powerful that nothing can stop him/her, it really gets on my nerves because it's so unrealistic.The only unrealistic part would probably be the fact that almost all the guys in this book fall in love with Mare, it's unrealistic but makes for a good subplot.
Every character has his/her own personality, albeit the characters have somewhat predictable characteristics. Even though the book is from Mare’s perspective, the development of all the characters’ personalities is still well done. The characters develop at just the right pace, changing a little, but sometimes going back to the old personality. Mare is serious yet likes to tease, puts herself out there to save others yet still knows self-preservation, stealthy yet sometimes un-observative. Cal is protective, loyal, clever, fearless, and tough. Maven's got the brains and the manners and the self-interest.
The chapters in this book all contribute to the story each with some problem to solve or goal to reach. Some books are illogical or become boring as the chapters don’t fit together or there are parts that are just unnecessary. But, this book does not have those problems at all. It’s not that the book is so logical that you can predict what will happen. It’s so good because you can’t predict what will happen. It leaves you in suspense where you can’t piece together what will happen next, but at the same time, it doesn’t leave you so lost that there is no motive to continue reading. There are at times illogical and frustrating moments in the story, like how the people never questioned the new King's reason that Mare, a Red, had powers because of some act they put together. If it was an act, who provided the lightning? And, take Arven out of the picture to see if Mare truly has no powers!! [end of rant]
This book also has the biggest plot twist I have ever read, plus a few smaller plot twists that were equally surprising. I had no idea this certain character would betray everyone. Even if I knew the end result was going to be a certain way, I would never have guessed it would happen how it did or when it did. It even gets you questioning whether your prior knowledge was correct or not. You get so sure something will happen a certain way that the turn of events is so shocking. That’s why this book is so captivating and so exciting.
Aside from a few minor frustrations, this book is honestly amazing. I can’t tell you how good it is, you just have to trust me and read it! I know it seems like I say that to every book I read, but this one truly deserves 5 out of 5 stars. I feel like I might even have to lower some of my ratings for the other books…. It has parallels with The Selection by Kiera Cass and The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. It has A LOT of action and the anticipation for what will happen next is a killer. On top of that, the betrayals and the way the story is structured and written makes the book so thrilling that it’s hard to put down.