Red Queen: A Review

My favorite dystopian series, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is about Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old girl and her powers. In the book, people with silver blood have powers, ones that range from invisibility to fire control. People with red blood have no powers and are often poor. Because of Silvers, they are sent into a raging war through a draft. One day, Mare learns that she has powers of her own, despite having red blood. Taken in by the royal family, she is forced to hide her blood and pretend to be part of their family all along.

Discovering the evil secrets hidden by the government, Mare uses her position in the palace to her advantage. Mare is determined to change the system, for it to be fairer for Reds. The story revolves around her trying to take down the monarchy and hatching plans, finding companions and traitors, as well as the dark secrets hidden everywhere.

Overall, this book was compelling and well written. To be honest though, some parts felt very cliche with princes and princesses. Despite that, Aveyard wrote the story very well, filled with action. It’s quite fast-paced, and so is the rest of the series (My favorite was the third book, so stick with it!).

I felt that the story really picked up in the last half of the novel, as most of the action happened then. Along with that, a major plot twist happened at the end, seemingly random. However, on my second read I saw details that explained it! The storyline was carried out well and the characters were complex. I definitely recommend the book to anyone who enjoys fantasy and a classic dystopian plot!