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 . . .
My Review:
Rating: 4/5 stars
Rise, as Red as the dawn.
I tried to read this book a couple of years ago but put it down for something else which put me off picking it up again. I am so glad that I did! I really love Mare's character with her rebellious streek that ran throughout this book. I do love a good YA dystopian fantasy and have read a few series when I was younger (Uglies, Hunger Games etc). Red Queen seems to have captured my attention a lot better than what I've read previously.
I thought the themes of inequality worked really well and are still very relevant now, 6 years after this book was published. I really can't wait to see what happens in the rest of the series. Cal and Maven were both great characters that both had me fooled all the time. I really couldn't decide who to trust. I thought the twist in the last 60 pages was really good because it did not guess that at all. I always find it better when I don't guess the twists. Sometimes I think I wouldn't last long in any of these books because I seem to trust the wrong characters!
After reading a lot of Sarah J. Maas fantasy fiction I kind of forgot what real YA fantasy was like. I found it refreshing that there wasn't too much romance to get in the way of the plot. I hope that the rest of the series continues on this path! If you haven't yet then I'd recommend that you give this a read (then we can discuss it)!