Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (Spoiler-free) Review

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.

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Mare Barrow is part of a world that is divided by the color of the blood that runs in their veins. Those with red blood are classified as the lower-class workers, a.k.a. the common people and servants. Those with silver blood make up the upper class, a.k.a. royalty. Besides just the color of blood being what makes up the different classes, silvers also have extraordinary abilities. Some of these abilities are whispers (those that can get into the mind), burners (those that control fire), and nymphs (those that can control water), and etc. These abilities are what keep the silvers on top since the reds have no way of fighting them being that they are just regular people. That is until one day Mare is discovered to be more than what meets the eye…

Mare is special compared to the rest of the red bloods. Being that she is different, she is taken out of her common life and thrown into the world of the royals. She has to try to find a way to make it out alive–surviving the royal life is not as easy as expected. Mare has to hide her true identity to fit in with the silvers.

Being that Mare is living among the silvers, she finds a way to help those of her true blood, the reds. Just because she is living as a silver, doesn’t mean she is on their side. She will do whatever it takes to bring justice to her true people.

While Red Queen isn’t completely original, it is still an entertaining young adult fantasy novel. Yes, this book doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre, but I can easily say that I was enraptured by the story. I do plan on continuing this series as I found Mare’s story to be quite addicting and I cannot wait to see what happens next. I am giving this book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars!