Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard Book Review

First, the hype around this book was palpable. It was like one of the most talked about books that came out this year. So I was curious, but not so much that I would risk being spoiled so I tried to stay away from the reviews and sticked to the synopsis.

I've waited for this book for 2 months. Two freaking months of people actually reading it already and me waiting and waiting... And when it arrived, I just admired the book cover because it's so freaking beautiful in its simplicity. Silver crown tainted with red blood (very fitting with the story) and the big words, RED QUEEN. Gorgeous *in a singsong voice*.

You can sneak a peek at the beautiful book right HERE.


Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Published by: HarperTeen, 10th February 2015
Series: Red Queen #1
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopian
Format: Hardcover, 383 pages
My Copy Source: Bought [Barnes & Noble]
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | FullyBooked [PH] | NBS [PH]
Rating: 4 Roses

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 betrothes 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.

Read Excerpt

I dived into this book half blind. All I know is that the world is divided into two, the silvers and the red. The silvers having god-like powers and rules above the reds who are lowly and powerless. Mare Barrow is nothing special, just one of the faces from the unworthy reds but there is something special about her, one that she has no idea about and one that nobody understands. Those are the things that I kept and the only things that I need to know before reading it so that I won't be expecting a lot, although actually, I was expecting much because of the freaking hype that's why the best I could do was to avoid the reviews.

It took me long enough to finish this book because the beginning was dragging, all but drawing the world in front of me that it bored me. The thing is, of course, you want the world to be as vivid as possible because it's a different world, but then again there's also this thing where an author can paint an amazing world without boring its readers, but the world building in this book didn't do it for me. Despite the fact that it bored me, it still amazed me. It's not magical for me, but it's powerful and scary at the same time.

It was hard to connect with the characters at first because I was bored with the first few pages. You know I only ever got the chance to quicken my reading pace when the extraordinary Mare was known and then became slow again inside the palace and then bam, bam, bam! The second half was freaking ACTION-PACKED, especially the ending. Woah super awesome and kick-ass!

* * *

Silvers are awesome but hollow and stupid. I mean, yes, they know how to oppress, they have the power to kill a person with a single flick or wink or anything but they are just as destructible as a normal human being. They look at themselves as gods but they are such scaredy-cats. But anyway, they have the right to be scared when the resistance is lurking in the shadows, though it's just weird that their characters don't come out as strong when they are supposed to especially that they should live up to their names as "silvers". I don't really know how to explain it...

Anyway, Mare is a kick-ass newbie! Haha, despite having no knowledge of who she is or what she's capable of, she knows when to stand her ground and fight and when to back down and hide (not literally). That's the thing that you will love about her, she's strong, but the thing is, she's indecisive and fickle. Hahaha, I can't blame ger though, the people around her are just so..... *can't spoil ya guys* I can't tell you enough about the awesomeness of the ending of the book, it's like gladiators inside an arena and 5 silvers are trying to kill 2 people and ugggh! The best surprises are best left to the end of the book, but don't you forget the cliff hangers too!

Damn the wait again.

HAHAHAHA, a never ending laugh for another love square! =))) It's not like romance is a big thing in this book but there's just no story to it at all. They all just felt the attractions and bam! Mare loves Cal but Cal is a leader who has no compassion for the reds so Mare is torn between liking Maven, the perfect prince, but there's still Kilorn, the childhood bestie... Oh Mare, such a beautiful girl *scoff*. Kidding. The best thing about the romances escalating quickly in this book is that you don't know who you'll root for! I mean, for me, I don't know who I'll pick for Mare. Cal is like the obvious choice but Maven is perfect and there's Kilorn who she cares for too damn much. But hey, knowing that this is a baby of The Hunger Games [refer below], I'm guessing Kilorn will just be the best friend forever. Bwahaha, let's see in the coming books. Aryt?

What else to say... Why 3.8 stars? I love the book but I didn't LOVE the book, y'kno what I'm saying? Ya, I know you don't. :( Okay, first, I didn't end up loving it as much as I thought I would but I enjoyed it despite the boring parts. Another thing why it didn't get a whole 5 stars is because the story is not really all that original and unique. It's like a baby of The Hunger Games Trilogy and The Selection and Divergent and X-Men and Idk, others as well, i think. Hahahah they all hook up to make way for their baby, RED QUEEN. Hahaa, and speaking of that, why is it entitled Red Queen by the way? It's not like she became queen at all! Ugh, misleading, misleading!

Lots of issues with the book but 3.8 stars eh? Haha because it's the ending that got me! That was a literal BAM! BAM! BAM! I just can't stop talking about it. Intrigued??

Okay, guys, read the book and then come back here with your jaw dropped to the ground when you get to the major plot twist and the betrayal and the ending, okay? Coz I'm pretty sure you'll be speechless with all those scenes that will be thrown at you by the last quarter of the book.

Enjoy Wormiees!