Title: Red Queen
Author:Victoria Aveyard
Pub Date: February 10th, 2015
Publisher: Orion
Page Count: 320
[Red Queen] starts with a impossible event that defies everything its society thought to be true. I'd like to think that all of us have the main character, Mare's potential to do the impossible in us, which is why I connected with her so well. - Nova @ Out of Time
This has been one of the books I was most excited to read. I didn't really know if it was good or bad, but the idea seemed so interesting I decided to just take a chance on it. I'm glad I did because this book blew me away and I don't know if I'll be able to stop thinking about it (Note: this review was written in September.)
Victoria Aveyard is a debut but I wouldn't be able to tell. She's got such a polished style to her description and dialogue that I just couldn't help but fall in love with everything that was being written. (Not even kidding, I loved the descriptions, dialogue was real and Mare's monologues were written so beautifully and invoked emotion out of me.) I got completely sucked into this world, which isn't always easy. I have this problem where I don't imagine and though this story was no different, I could feel the characters and the places in ways I don't know if I've ever done before. Plus, she makes me jealous of my own writing!
I loved every character. Every last one had their contribution to the story as a whole. And I'm so glad because this wasn't just a "Mare" show where it's all about the main character. The other characters had their significance with each other to create story far bigger than solely Mare's. Each character had personalities that shone through the cracks of the very serious issues in this book. Even the villains, they were brilliant and conniving, like they should be. Scheming and hiding in plain sight until the right time, it was all so brilliant. And I'd love to give you some examples but that may be spoilery.
Which leads me to my next point. This book had such a strong element of betrayal and trust. We all know that in life there are going to be people to trust and people to never trust. However, like in life, Red Queen takes you through a journey where the ones you're not supposed to trust are the ones you do. I didn't predict anything. If there was foreshadowing, I didn't see it. All I saw was right in front of me and this book left me with that "dammit! I should've seen this coming," thought. This book messed with my head until the end. And it kind of left me dazed, actually, because the ending was so abrupt. I wanted more and I couldn't have it.
So why is this not a five star rating? Haha, you guessed it. Red Queen gets one of my prestigious (not really) ratings of Infinity Stars. What separates a 5 from infinity? Feels. If you don't know the way I operate, it's mainly that if a book is completely perfect (which I do think it can be), it gets five stars. Red Queen was perfect to me. I enjoyed it the entire time. I cannot point out flaws. But it gets this higher rating because of the feelings that came out of me. I felt so much, more than I usually do and that's what really impressed me about this book.
I completely left the dim lighting of my iPod in a dark room, taken into this world and to be honest, I kind of want to be back in it.
Author:Victoria Aveyard
Pub Date: February 10th, 2015
Publisher: Orion
Page Count: 320
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 betroths 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.
From debut author Victoria Aveyard comes a lush, vivid fantasy series where loyalty and desire can tear you apart and the only certainty is betrayal.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Chapters Indigo
[Red Queen] starts with a impossible event that defies everything its society thought to be true. I'd like to think that all of us have the main character, Mare's potential to do the impossible in us, which is why I connected with her so well. - Nova @ Out of Time
This has been one of the books I was most excited to read. I didn't really know if it was good or bad, but the idea seemed so interesting I decided to just take a chance on it. I'm glad I did because this book blew me away and I don't know if I'll be able to stop thinking about it (Note: this review was written in September.)
Victoria Aveyard is a debut but I wouldn't be able to tell. She's got such a polished style to her description and dialogue that I just couldn't help but fall in love with everything that was being written. (Not even kidding, I loved the descriptions, dialogue was real and Mare's monologues were written so beautifully and invoked emotion out of me.) I got completely sucked into this world, which isn't always easy. I have this problem where I don't imagine and though this story was no different, I could feel the characters and the places in ways I don't know if I've ever done before. Plus, she makes me jealous of my own writing!
I loved every character. Every last one had their contribution to the story as a whole. And I'm so glad because this wasn't just a "Mare" show where it's all about the main character. The other characters had their significance with each other to create story far bigger than solely Mare's. Each character had personalities that shone through the cracks of the very serious issues in this book. Even the villains, they were brilliant and conniving, like they should be. Scheming and hiding in plain sight until the right time, it was all so brilliant. And I'd love to give you some examples but that may be spoilery.
Which leads me to my next point. This book had such a strong element of betrayal and trust. We all know that in life there are going to be people to trust and people to never trust. However, like in life, Red Queen takes you through a journey where the ones you're not supposed to trust are the ones you do. I didn't predict anything. If there was foreshadowing, I didn't see it. All I saw was right in front of me and this book left me with that "dammit! I should've seen this coming," thought. This book messed with my head until the end. And it kind of left me dazed, actually, because the ending was so abrupt. I wanted more and I couldn't have it.
So why is this not a five star rating? Haha, you guessed it. Red Queen gets one of my prestigious (not really) ratings of Infinity Stars. What separates a 5 from infinity? Feels. If you don't know the way I operate, it's mainly that if a book is completely perfect (which I do think it can be), it gets five stars. Red Queen was perfect to me. I enjoyed it the entire time. I cannot point out flaws. But it gets this higher rating because of the feelings that came out of me. I felt so much, more than I usually do and that's what really impressed me about this book.
I completely left the dim lighting of my iPod in a dark room, taken into this world and to be honest, I kind of want to be back in it.
Wow, an infinity rating? That's a pretty awesome idea, and clearly I need to read this book when it comes out. I think it's wonderful that the cast of characters is so much wider than just Mare herself. That's what it's like in real life, so that's what it should be like in books. In real life, so many different people come together to enhance and communicate with and help each other, which is what makes life so complex.
ReplyDeleteWow wow wow!!! I've heard nothing but good things about this book! This makes me so excited to read it and I can't wait to see if I get the same feels as you did!!! Love this review so much!
ReplyDeleteI've heard many mixed things about this book so I'm so happy to hear that you loved it enough to give it an infinity rating! I'm definitely going to have to pick this one up when it comes out! Great review, Nova! :)
ReplyDeleteEm @ Books & Cleverness
OH MY GOSH YES THIS BOOK IS AMAZING AND I CANNOT EVEN. I need the next book ASAP. I definitely couldn't tell that the author was a debut; her prose was so polished. Mare was an awesome character too, and that plot twist just about killed me.
ReplyDeleteI want this book so bad. The cover is magnificent and I've only heard good things about. Lovely review!
ReplyDeleteWOAH - first thought as I opened your review: Your blockquote background is SUPER AWESOME.And plus, that Goodreads description just makes me OH SO HAPPY that I am currently reading this one (4% in, ha ha!). Oooh villains that scheme and hide in plain sight?! Intriguing! I'm pretty naive when it comes to guessing whom I can trust and who I can't in a book... I just finished Suspicion by Alexandra Monir, and there are so many times I was led to believe something, and I FELL FOR IT. And by the end I kind of hated that fact that I was so blind, haha. So yeah, I'm gullible. I'm so excited to keep reading this! Great review, Nova! ^^
ReplyDeleteRosie // Rosie Reads