Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Series: Red Queen Trilogy #1
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy
Release Date: February 10, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Summary:
Mare Barrow’s world is divided by blood – those with Red blood serve the elite, whose Silver blood gifts them with superhuman abilities.
Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has power, too – an ability all her own.
To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. Mare is drawn quickly into the Silver world, but risks everything to help the Scarlet Guard – a growing Red rebellion – even as her heart tugs her in an impractical direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, and in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainly is betrayal.
Recent USC grad Victoria Aveyard’s internationally sought-after story of court intrigue and deception will keep readers hurtling along, desperate to find out Mare’s fate. Her honestly and determination, as well as her no-holds-barred attitude, will surely make readers fall in love with her.
First Sentence: I hate First Friday.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.
My Review:
Let me start with this: Red Queen really disappointed me. Let me start from the very beginning: Red Queen wasn’t on my radar until its cover was revealed. From then on, I had my eyes on it because let’s face it, the cover is stunning. I was beyond excited when by the luck of the draw, I somehow got my hands on Red Queen, only to read it two months later and end up very disappointed and wary.
The beginning of Red Queen was pretty epic. I was immediately intrigued with the world of the Reds and the Silvers, Mare’s tough situation, and the rebels. I was so into the book that I was seriously considering ditching class just to read on and sent a tweet to the author about how much I’m loving her book so far.
The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind. (ARC 11)
After the strong beginning, the book started to slowly get dull. Mare would constantly tell us the significant meaning of the actions of other people – I wasn’t bothered by that when Mare did that once or twice, but anything more than that just made me annoyed because hey, we can figure it out ourselves too you know? There was also no action, just Mare learning how to be a princess scenes and Silver gossip, both things I’ll usually like in a book, but just didn’t interest me at all in Red Queen.
Then the first hint of a romance came along and when the romance did ended up happening, I knew that that was it. There was just no way Red Queen could redeem itself after that – the romance was beyond cringe-worthy with absolutely no chemistry in it and just whyyyyy did it have to happen?! I seriously considering DNFing Red Queen after that, but decided not to since I’ve already read a little less than half the book already. Instead, I speed-read through Red Queen and I’m sad to say that nothing else made me stop and want to read on in a normal pacing.
A spy. I’m standing in front of a spy.
I force myself to smile, if only to try and hide my fear. Sweat breaks out on my palms and I hope I don’t have to shake any hands. (ARC 123)
To my surprise, I actually like Mare (with the annoying exception of her almost always telling us the significant meanings of events) like the summary said I would. Usually when summaries tell me that I’ll like this person and this person, I turn out not liking them at all, so imagine my surprise when I found myself admiring Mare. Sure, there were times where I didn’t approve of her decisions and thought what she was doing was a horrible decision, but I could relate to Mare and understand why she did the things she has done.
Overall, like I’ve said two or three times already, I’m really disappointed with Red Queen. I definitely won’t be reading the sequel and will sadly be avoiding the hype.
I’m really disappointed since I had just read the first five chapter preview and literally cannot wait for the book! But its good to see an honest review and I hope that when I read this, Mare won’t annoy me that much.
I’ve read a lot of bad reviews for this book… it seems that it has a diverse rating, with some LOVING it and many saying MEH.
Claire recently posted…Is It Worth The Struggle?
It sucks that you were so disappointed with Red Queen… I really wanted to like it too but I’ve seen quite a few bloggers say that it’s less-than-wonderful… I’ll maybe check it out if my library gets it. Hopefully there aren’t too many disappointing releases this year!
Raven (The Bookish Raven) recently posted…ARC Book Review – None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio
What an honest review. It’s always refreshing to see when people aren’t a fan of a super hyped new release, a lot of people really shy away from it. I find the whole main character telling the reader the meaning behind peoples’ actions so irritating, and unfortunately really common in YA.
Nic recently posted…REVIEW: I Was Here by Gayle Forman
I’ve heard mixed things about this book! I still want to read it because of all the hype, but I’ll definitely go into it with open eyes. Thanks for the honest review :)
Jade @ Bedtime Bookworm recently posted…2nd Annual Love for Books Readathon
Thanks for your honest review! This ARC has such a pretty cover that made is seem like a compelling read. Too bad you didn’t turn out liking it.
Aw. hugs :( I’m so sorry you had so many issues with this book Kelly. But I also fully understand you, hah :) It was a three star for me.. though lower at times :p but yess. The beginning was strong. Hmph. Then it went downhill a bit :p But I’m glad you enjoyed some parts of the book :) Thank you for sharing your thoughts sweetie. <3
Carina Olsen recently posted…Red Queen Blog Tour: Review + Q&A with Victoria Aveyard
I had the same feelings about Red Queen! I was really hoping it would blow me away!
Lily Lucas recently posted…Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Oh no, it’s awful you didn’t love it like you wanted, like how beautiful the cover was.
It’s good when a romance works, but when it doesn’t it takes away from the story but I do want court life to be interesting.
Lovely review :)
It’s always disappointing when one is really looking forward to reading a book and then it lets you down! Like with Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, everyone and their mother said how great it was and then when I read it I was severely disappointed. I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy this! I will still be reading it but I’ll lower my expectations slightly haha! Thank you for the honest review! <3
Kyra recently posted…Review – Colonial Madness – Jo Whittemore
I was disappointed with Red Queen too. I found it very predictable.
Such as shame as I was really looking forward to reading it.
Great review!
Jess W (A Book Addict’s Bookshelves) recently posted…Review – Conspiracy Girl by Sarah Alderson
That sucks…I actually thought you might end up loving Red Queen because everyone else seems to have fallen in love with the story. I think your review is the first review I’ve read with less than a three star rating too. I still want to read this story though. I know I may be asking for disappointment, but I’m curious. And curiosity will kill my wallet, but that’s okay. Hopefully you change your mind about the sequel. I heard there was a twist at the end?
I think this is the first negative review that I read, but I think I might believe you because I don’t like this first sentence. It sucks that you did not enjoy this, but amazing review nonetheless.
Kim @ Divergent Gryffindor: BLOG || VLOG
Kim recently posted…Battle of the Covers #1
i am really getting wary of my expectations of this book….sadly you are not the only one who has the same reaction. one other blogger also expressed her “sour” disappointment :/
still i’m going to get my ebook copy first but with lowered expectations *sigh*
I’ve seen such mixed reviews of this. I’m conflicted as to whether or not I’ll eventually pick it up. Thanks for your honest review!
Lola recently posted…Forsaken (Daughters of the Sea #1) by Kristen Day
Oh no! I read it and actually loved it. I think part of why I loved it is because I read really fast. Because of this, I didnt’ really get Mare’s telling of significant things. Instead, I just skimmed to the really exciting parts and even though I totally should, I didn’t see the ending coming.
I can see why you didn’t like it, but I actually followed the hype.
Great review, though, girl!
Nova @ Out of Time recently posted…Book Review: The Girl from the Well – Rin Chupeco
Good on you for this honest review! I review books from time to time and I know how difficult it can be to review something you didn’t necessarily like.
I was lucky enough to avoid most of the hype and now that I’ve read a few reviews, I’m glad for it. Perhaps, I’ll be able to enjoy it because I’m not that excited for it, if that makes any sense.
Great review!
Kari recently posted…I Wrote A Short Story!
I am so torn on this one. I have heard rave reviews. but I have also heard reviews from people who were disappointed with it, like you. I may still give it a chance though. Great review.
Cynthia recently posted…Teaser Tuesday
*Gasp* Oh no, I’m so sad to read that Red Queen disappointed you :( Before now, I’ve heard nothing but good things about it and it really got me even more excited for it. I’ll probably try to avoid the reviews of others so that way it won’t affect my own opinion of it or my feelings on reading it once it comes out.
Nevertheless, it’s nice to read an honest review :D
EM @ Books and Iced Coffee recently posted…Elyssa’s Monthly Reads: February 2015 TBR
I can’t even… I have nothing that I can say. Only a frown on my face, and serious disappointment in my head. This is one of the ones that I have been WAITING for, anticipating, and having no doubt that I would love. Now, I am beyond wary. And kind of sad….
Jaime Lester recently posted…Circle of Nine: Beltany by Valerie Biel ~ Jaime’s Blog Tour Spotlight & Giveaway!
Aww….i think this book will never on my radar, because i prefer read paranormal genre, but i like read review.
Thanks for sharing your review :)
I am sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it :( I have yet to read it and I have heard some mixed reviews about it
sorry Red Queen disappointed you! I thought it was a great read, but I think it doesn’t live up to the hype. I had a couple of issues with it too like it resembles other dystopian / fantasy books so much! I gave it a 3.5 stars.
Leigh @ Little Book Star recently posted…Stacking the Shelves #13
I am actually wanting to read this book as well even though I have been seeing a lot of mixed reviews. I am not sure why everyone loves the cover because it hasn’t really captivated me that much xD But oh well :P I does seem like the romance is not entirely necessary and that there is too much telling instead of showing here!
Olivia recently posted…The Canary Room (Review)
You have gotten further with the book than I did. I gave it up around page 40 or so. Maybe I should have stayed away from it, I tend to disliked Fantasy, but I heard so much good about this book. People were really raving about it and I got curious. The main character was pretty meh and bland, maybe if there was a great main character I would still have continued.
It was also a bit strange, the book felt like it was set in the medieval ages, but yet there were things that were from this time. Like Electricity.
Thanks for the review, I really liked reading it.
Mehsi recently posted…Weekly Quote for Week-9 2015
Just started reading this and I have loved it so far…
Little bit nervous to continue!
Michaela recently posted…The Theory of Everything
too bad you didn’t enjoy it